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Ali Yılmaz Dok
Ali Yılmaz Dok

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I Built a Zero-Cost AI Video Factory That Runs 365 Days/Year on a $5 VPS

#n8n #automation #python #tutorial

The Problem

Posting short-form videos to YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram is time-consuming. SaaS tools charge $50-200/month. AI video generators cost even more.

I wanted something different: fully autonomous, zero monthly cost, multi-platform.

The Solution

A single n8n workflow + Python pipeline that runs on a $5 VPS. Every day it:

  1. 🧠 Generates trending content with OpenRouter GPT-OSS-120B (FREE)
  2. 🖼️ Downloads matching images from Unsplash (50 req/hour, FREE)
  3. 🎙️ Creates voiceover with Microsoft Edge neural TTS (FREE)
  4. 🎬 Produces 25s vertical video with ffmpeg — transitions, subtitles, all of it
  5. 📤 Auto-posts to 4 platforms via Zernio API — YouTube Shorts, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram

The Stack (All FREE)

Service What It Does Cost
OpenRouter AI content generation FREE
Unsplash Background images FREE (50/h)
Microsoft Edge TTS Neural voiceover FREE
Zernio Multi-platform posting FREE (2 accounts)
n8n Workflow automation FREE (self-hosted)
ffmpeg Video production FREE (open source)

Total monthly API cost: $0.00

How It Works 

Schedule Trigger → Python Pipeline → 4 HTTP Request Nodes
                         ↓
              AI Content → Images → Voice → Video
                         ↓
              JSON Output {title, description, hashtags, video_url}
                         ↓
        YouTube Shorts + YouTube + TikTok + Instagram
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The Python script (434 lines) orchestrates everything. The n8n workflow (7 nodes) handles scheduling and posting.

Setup Takes 15 Minutes

  1. Install dependencies: apt install ffmpeg && pip install edge-tts
  2. Get 5 free API keys (guide included)
  3. Import the workflow JSON into n8n
  4. Replace placeholder keys with your own
  5. Activate — done.

The Result

Every day at your scheduled time, a fresh AI-generated vertical video appears on 4 platforms simultaneously. You never touch it again.

Get the Complete Pipeline

I packaged everything and put it on Gumroad:

👉 AI Shorts Factory — $20 Lifetime

Includes:

  • n8n workflow JSON (import-ready)
  • Full Python pipeline (434 lines)
  • Step-by-step setup guide
  • Lifetime updates

What would you build with a zero-cost automated video pipeline?

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