Bulk upload
A bulk upload publishes a video for each row of a spreadsheet. It can run for hours or days, and you can stop it and continue later.
Make the spreadsheet
Use a CSV or TSV file, with a header row and one row for each video. Numbers and Excel can export both. A CSV file from Excel with semicolons also works.
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| File | The path of the video file. A relative path starts in the folder of the spreadsheet. Required. |
| Title | The title of the video. Without it, Kitset makes a title from the name of the file. |
| Reference | Your own ID for each video, for example a catalogue number. Recommended. |
| Description | The text under the player. |
file,title,reference,description
clips/summer-launch.mov,Summer Launch,MKT-2026-014,Our summer range.
clips/bench.mov,How to Assemble the Bench,DIY-0007,"Step by step, with the tools in the box."
A description can have several lines and paragraphs in its cell. It can also have Markdown: **bold**, *italic*, _italic_ and [text](https://example.com). Each web address becomes a link, as in the description field.
The columns can have any names and any order, and the spreadsheet can have other columns. Kitset keeps every column of your file.
A reference lets Kitset find a video again. With references, a second run skips the rows that are already in the site. Without them, a second run publishes each row again as a new video.
Start a bulk upload
Choose File ▸ Bulk Upload… (⇧⌘O), or drop the spreadsheet on the Library window.
Choose the columns
The Columns section has a menu for each kind of column. Kitset chooses the columns from their names, for example file, path, title, name, reference, ref, id or description. Check the choices. First Rows shows the first rows of the spreadsheet with your choices.
The results copy
Kitset never changes the spreadsheet that you choose. It writes a copy beside it, for example videos (published).csv, and it records the result of each row in that copy, in three new columns:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| Kitset folder | The folder of the video in the bucket. |
| Kitset page URL | The link of the player page. A row with a page URL is done. |
| Kitset status | For example “Published”, “Skipped: already in the bucket” or “Failed:” with the reason. |
The copy is UTF-8 text, so no character is lost.
Run
Click Start Upload. The window shows the count of published, skipped and failed rows, an estimate of the time left, and the duration and the state of each row. Kitset reads the durations of the files in the background, so the column fills in during the run.
- Kitset encodes the next row while the current row uploads, so the network stays busy.
- A failed row does not stop the run. The results copy has the reason.
- Each video is public, with the default audio loudness of the site and the poster that Kitset chooses. To make some videos unlisted, change them together after the run.
- Upload speed limits the upload. You can change it at any time.
- Stop… stops the rows in progress and deletes the files that they uploaded. The finished rows stay.
When the run ends, Show in Finder and Open find the results copy.
Continue a run
Open the same spreadsheet again. Kitset finds the results copy and continues from it: it skips each row that is done, and it does each other row. A row that stopped part of the way starts again from the beginning.
You can add rows to the end of your spreadsheet at any time. The next run adds them to the results copy and publishes them.
If you change the columns of the spreadsheet, Kitset continues from the results without the new rows, and it tells you. To start again, move the results copy to a different folder.
Re-import videos
A re-import gives the videos in the site new files, for example after you change the default audio loudness. Choose it in the Videos in the site menu of the Re-import section.
| Choice | What Kitset does |
|---|---|
| Skip | Skips each row whose reference is already in the site. This is the default. |
| Re-import Video and Audio | Encodes the video and the audio again. |
| Re-import Audio Only | Encodes only the audio again. The video files stay, so the upload is much smaller. |
A re-import keeps the link, the details, the poster and the subtitles of each video, so the title and the description of a row have no effect. It uses the default audio loudness of the site. A person who watches a video during its re-import can see a short error.
For Re-import Audio Only, the file of each row must have the same length as the video in the site, within one second, and the same kind of audio, stereo or surround. A row that fails a check leaves its video as it was. Use the file of the same edit, else the sound does not match the picture.
How a row finds its video
Kitset looks for the video of each row in this order:
- The Kitset folder of the row in the results copy.
- The Existing folder column. It can hold a folder name, a folder path or a page address.
- The reference.
A row with the name of a folder that does not exist fails, so a video that someone deleted does not come back. A row with no video in the site publishes a new video.
The CSV export of the Library is a valid spreadsheet for a re-import: add a column with the paths of the files, and choose Folder as the existing folder.
Re-import rows that are done
A re-import does not change a row that is done. To re-import such rows, click Re-import Done Rows. Kitset removes the page URL of each done row in the results copy, and keeps its folder. To re-import only some rows, clear their page URL in the results copy yourself.
One run at a time
A site runs one bulk upload or Vimeo sync at a time, also across several Macs. On the Mac of the run, a single publish waits until the run ends. When another Mac runs a bulk upload or a sync, the window names that Mac, and Start Upload waits until that run ends.
If a Mac stops during a run, for example in a crash, the other Macs can start a run after about 5 minutes.
The trial
In the trial, a bulk upload publishes new videos until the site has 5. The other rows wait for a licence, and a later run publishes them. Re-imports work in the trial. See Licences and the trial.