# Authentication Setup

The YouTube Predownloader now uses simplified OAuth authentication for accessing your personal YouTube subscriptions.

## Setup Instructions

### 1. Get Google API Credentials

1. Go to the [Google Cloud Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/)
2. Create a new project or select an existing one
3. Enable the **YouTube Data API v3**
4. Go to **Credentials** → **Create Credentials** → **OAuth 2.0 Client ID**
5. Choose **Desktop Application**
6. Download the credentials as `client_secret.json`
7. Place the file in your project directory

### 2. Authenticate

Run the interactive authentication:
```bash
python3 auth.py --interactive
```

This will:
- Open a browser window
- Ask you to sign in to Google
- Request permission to access your YouTube data
- Save the authentication token for future use

### 3. Verify Authentication

Test that authentication is working:
```bash
python3 -c "from auth import get_token_non_interactive; print('✅ Auth working' if get_token_non_interactive() else '❌ Auth failed')"
```

## Files

- `client_secret.json` - Your OAuth credentials (keep private)
- `youtube_token.pickle` - Saved authentication token (auto-generated)

## Troubleshooting

### Token Expired
If you see authentication errors, re-run:
```bash
python3 auth.py --interactive
```

### Missing Permissions
Make sure you granted permission to access your YouTube data during authentication.

### No Subscriptions Found
If you get 0 subscriptions, ensure:
1. You're signed in to the correct Google account
2. That account has YouTube subscriptions
3. Authentication completed successfully

## Security Notes

- Keep `client_secret.json` private (add to .gitignore)
- The `youtube_token.pickle` file contains your access token
- Tokens expire and will be automatically refreshed when needed