AI-Powered Video Pipeline at Scale
n8n · GPT-4 · ElevenLabs · Whisper · FFmpeg · Supabase · Ubuntu VPS · Dec 2025
Overview
End-to-end autonomous content pipeline that transforms gaming news into narrated, subtitled YouTube Shorts and TikTok videos — running 24/7 with zero manual intervention.
Architecture
11 News Sources (RSS + Reddit)
|
Merge + Deduplicate + Relevance Score
|
AI Article Generation (GPT-4)
|
PostgreSQL Storage (Supabase)
|
+-------+
Discord Video Production
Embeds Pipeline (30+ nodes)
|
ElevenLabs TTS
|
Whisper Subtitles
|
FFmpeg Assembly
|
YouTube + TikTok (parallel)Technical Stack
| Category | Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Orchestration | n8n (self-hosted) | Workflow automation |
| Infrastructure | Hostinger VPS, Ubuntu | 24/7 hosting |
| Database | Supabase (PostgreSQL) | Content + token storage |
| AI — Text | OpenAI GPT-4.1-mini | Article + script generation |
| AI — Voice | ElevenLabs | Text-to-speech |
| AI — Transcription | OpenAI Whisper (tiny) | Subtitle generation |
| Video | FFmpeg | Assembly, effects, encoding |
| Distribution | YouTube, TikTok, Discord | Multi-platform |
Key Technical Challenges Solved
Challenge 1: Binary Data Handling in n8n
Problem: Video files corrupted when passed between workflow nodes.
Solution: Maintained direct node connections for binary data flow, avoided intermediate code nodes.
Challenge 2: Batch Processing with Resource Constraints
Problem: Processing 5+ videos simultaneously overloaded VPS during Whisper transcription.
Solution: Split In Batches pattern — sequential processing. Reduced Whisper model from base to tiny for 10x speed improvement.
Challenge 3: TikTok OAuth2 Token Management
Problem: TikTok tokens expire every 24 hours, uses non-standard OAuth (client_key vs client_id).
Solution: Automated token refresh workflow with Supabase storage, refreshed daily at 3am.
Challenge 4: Parallel Upload with Merge Pattern
Problem: Upload to YouTube and TikTok simultaneously, then converge for single database update.
Solution: Split workflow after video encoding, parallel paths per platform, Merge node to recombine.