Organize YouTube videos into playlists and feeds

A saved video is easy to forget. It sits in a long list next to a dozen others, and when you finally need it, you cannot tell which one explains the idea you are looking for. Organizing videos by purpose solves that problem: one list for one goal, and a clear place to start the next session.

ReplayGlows gives you two ways to organize: playlists for a project or course, and feeds for a broader topic.

Playlists for a goal

A playlist works best when it answers one question. Name it after the outcome, not the subject. “Write a research summary in two weeks” is more useful than “Research”, because you can tell at a glance whether a new video belongs.

Keep the playlist short enough to finish. Add a video when it moves the goal forward, and remove it when it no longer does. Order the videos on purpose: foundations first, examples in the middle, advanced material last.

In the web app, you can create a playlist, add videos to it, and open any video from the list to take notes at the exact moment that matters. The Free plan includes 3 playlists. The Pro plan has higher limits.

Feeds for a topic

A ReplayGlows feed groups channels and playlists around one theme and shows their videos as a single list. Instead of checking several channels one by one, you open the feed and see the videos that belong to that theme. If your YouTube account is connected, the feed uses the channels and playlists it contains.

Use a feed when your interest is broad, such as “data visualization”, and a playlist when you are working toward a specific result. When a video from a feed is worth keeping for a project, add it to that project’s playlist.

Sort YouTube playlists in bulk

Sorting a long YouTube playlist one video at a time is slow. The ReplayGlows Chrome extension adds a multi-select mode to YouTube playlist pages:

1. Open the playlist on youtube.com and click Multi-select. In French, the button reads Sélection multiple.
2. Click videos to tick them. Use the keyboard to move through the list and change the selection.
3. Type in the title filter to narrow the list, then choose Select matches to tick every result.
4. Copy or move the selection to another playlist, or to Watch later. Removing videos asks for a second click to confirm.
5. To clean up repeats, choose Remove duplicates. The first click shows how many copies it found, and the second removes them. The first copy of each video stays.

Two things to know before you start. Removing a video removes every copy of it from that playlist. And the extension reports a change as done only after YouTube confirms each batch of edits. If you are not signed in to YouTube, the edits cannot be made. The extension guide explains the current installation status and every playlist control.

An example setup

Suppose you are preparing for a data analysis certification. A setup that works might look like this:

• “SQL basics (two weeks)”: four beginner videos on queries and joins, in order, with a note on the first video that states the goal.
• “Dashboard review (before Friday)”: two videos on the tool your team uses, watched once and then removed.
• “Data visualization” feed: three channels and one conference playlist, checked once a month for new videos worth keeping.

Three playlists fit within the Free plan. When the SQL playlist is finished, remove it, and move any useful video from the feed into the next playlist you create.

A simple routine

Choose one playlist for the topic you are studying this week. Add the videos you intend to watch, then remove the ones you have finished or no longer need. Once a month, open your feeds to see which new videos match your interests.

For what to do with the videos once they are in a playlist, the note-taking guide shows a method that keeps each watch useful after the video ends. Small, regular sorting keeps the whole system useful.