TikTok Studio - Upload Video

URL: https://www.tiktok.com/tiktokstudio/upload?from=upload&lang=en (always append &lang=en)

Prerequisites

• Logged into TikTok in the Chrome profile browser-harness is attached to
• Video file on local disk (mp4, <50MB)

Stale draft banner

TikTok shows "A video you were editing wasn't saved" if a previous upload was abandoned. Dismiss it:

1. Find the banner Discard button (y < 300 in the page)
2. CDP click_at_xy(x, y) on it
3. A confirmation modal appears - find the red Discard button (y > 300) and CDP click_at_xy(x, y)
4. Repeat if multiple stale drafts are stacked

Upload flow

1. Attach file

upload_file('input[type="file"]', "/path/to/video.mp4")
wait(12)  # processing takes ~10s for 5-10MB

2. Caption

TikTok pre-fills caption with the filename. Clear it first:

js("document.querySelector('div[contenteditable=\"true\"][role=\"combobox\"]').focus()")
press_key("End")
for _ in range(25): press_key("Backspace")  # clear filename
type_text("your caption here #hashtag1 #hashtag2")
press_key("Escape")  # dismiss hashtag suggestions
click_at_xy(700, 50)        # click away to deselect

Verify: js('document.querySelector(\'div[contenteditable="true"][role="combobox"]\').innerText')

3. Schedule

Click the Schedule radio label:

js("(()=>{var l=document.querySelectorAll('label');for(var i=0;i<l.length;i++){if(l[i].textContent.trim()==='Schedule'){l[i].click();break}}})()")

Time picker - uses a scroll-wheel list, NOT a native select. Each scroll(dy=32) steps +1 unit, dy=-32 steps -1 unit.

# 1. ScrollIntoView and open the time picker
js("...scrollIntoView the time input...")
click_at_xy(time_input_x, time_input_y)
 
# 2. Read default time, calculate difference
default_hour, default_min = 13, 5  # from input value
target_hour, target_min = 20, 25
 
# 3. Scroll hour column (left, x ≈ 349)
for _ in range(target_hour - default_hour):
    scroll(349, dropdown_y, dy=32)  # +1 hour per step
 
# 4. Scroll minute column (right, x ≈ 437)
for _ in range((target_min - default_min) // 5):
    scroll(437, dropdown_y, dy=32)  # +5 min per step
 
# 5. Close and verify
press_key("Escape")

Date picker - click the date input, then click the target day number span.

4. AI-generated content disclosure

Under "Show more" section. Toggle is [aria-checked] inside the "AI-generated content" parent.

# Expand settings
js("...click 'Show more' span...")
# ScrollIntoView the toggle
js("...scrollIntoView 'ai-generated content' span...")
# Read state and click if false
# A "Turn on" confirmation dialog may appear — click it

5. Submit

Scroll the Schedule button into view, then CDP click_at_xy(x, y). After success, page redirects to /tiktokstudio/content.

js("...scrollIntoView Schedule button (offsetWidth > 100)...")
click_at_xy(button_x, button_y)
wait(6)
assert "content" in page_info()["url"]

Gotchas

• JS .click() doesn't work on TikTok's time picker items - must use CDP click_at_xy(x, y)
• Time picker uses virtual scroll - scroll(x, y, dy=32) changes value, NOT regular DOM scroll
• Caption contenteditable appends on type - always clear with End + Backspace first, never set innerHTML (breaks React state)
• beforeunload dialog blocks navigation if upload is in progress - use cdp("Page.handleJavaScriptDialog", accept=True) to dismiss (see interaction-skills/dialogs.md)
• Schedule button text is "Schedule" only after the Schedule radio is selected (otherwise "Post")
• "Show more" section expands the page and pushes the time picker off-viewport - collapse it before adjusting time, expand after
• Unicode narrow no-break space (char 8239) appears between time and AM/PM in scheduled post listings - use .indexOf('12:30') not exact string match

upload.md · updated Apr 28, 2026 · 514 words