How to export YouTube subscriptions to OPML
There’s no shortage of channels to subscribe to on YouTube and there’s certainly no limit to how many channels you can subscribe. Users normally subscribe to a few popular channels and over time, build their subscription list up based on channels they like. For some, this might just be a handful of channels but for others, the list can build up to over a hundred channels. It’s not easy amassing them all so it’s a good idea to back them up. You can export YouTube subscriptions to an OPML file which ought to do the trick
Export YouTube subscriptions
You can export YouTube subscriptions from the manage subscriptions page. The only problem is getting to the right manage subscriptions page. Between the many redesigns that YouTube has undergone, you can’t always get to the right one.
Visit YouTube and make sure you’re signed in. In the column on the left, look at the Subscriptions title above the list of subscribed channels. If it’s clickable, you should be taken to the correct subscriptions manager where you can export YouTube subscriptions. If you can’t click on it, just click here. Make sure you’re signed into YouTube.
On the correct page, scroll to the very bottom and click the Export subscriptions button. This will save all your subscriptions to an OPML file.
Import YouTube subscriptions
Now that you’ve exported your YouTube subscriptions, you’re probably wondering if there’s any way to import them on a different YouTube account. The file your subscriptions exported to is an OPML file which is used with RSS readers. YouTube can’t import anything from a file of that format.
If you want to import YouTube subscriptions from the OPML file to a different account, the first thing you need to do is sign into it on YouTube. Then, head over to this app called Import YouTube Subscriptions. Select your OMPL file, click Import, sign into your YouTube account when prompted and the subscriptions will be imported.
It’s odd that YouTube doesn’t make it easier to subscribe to an entire list of channels. Users may want to share what they watch with their friends. If it’s just one or two channels, subscribing to them isn’t a big deal. If we’re talking over 50 channels, it can take much longer. This app makes it easier and there aren’t that many like it.
YouTube normally restricts accounts that subscribe to 80 channels in one go but the app claims that it doesn’t suffer from the restriction since it’s using the YouTube API.
youtube.com/subscription_manager stopped working a few years ago