Troubleshooting
Hit a snag? Find your problem below and try the fix.
I get asked to verify my email before I can do something
If you just signed up, check this first. Transcribing a recording costs us real money to run, so we hold it until you've confirmed your address. That means uploading and transcribing are both blocked until you verify. You'll see a banner in the app that says "Verify your email to unlock transcription."
When you signed up, we sent you an email with a verification link. Open it, click the link, and you're set. If you can't find it, check your spam folder. You can also hit the Resend email button in the banner at the top of the app while you're signed in.
My recording isn't showing up as an episode yet
When you upload a recording, BitterClip turns it into its own episode automatically. An episode is the stitched transcript timeline you actually work in.
If you just signed up and nothing uploaded, check the email-verification step above first: an unverified account can't upload yet.
If the upload went through, the episode isn't instant. Transcribing takes a little time, longer for long files. Give it a few moments and refresh. It'll appear once the transcript is ready.
A clip is still processing, or my export is "pending"
Exporting a clip runs in the background so you can keep working. Depending on the length and how busy things are, it can take a bit to finish.
You don't have to sit and wait. Finished clips land in your project's Outputs tab, so check there when you come back and it'll show as ready once the cut is done. See Find and share your clips for where to look.
My file got rejected when I tried to upload it
BitterClip takes any common video or audio file. When an upload bounces, it's almost always because your device tagged the file as something other than audio or video, not because of its name or extension.
The fix is to re-export it as a standard format (mp4 or mov for video, mp3 for audio) and upload that. One more thing to check: very large files depend on your plan, so if a long recording won't go through, that may be the reason.
My YouTube channel doesn't show up when I connect
If you're connecting YouTube and your channel never appears, two things are usually behind it.
First, set your destination channel before you connect. Open Settings, find the YouTube section, and paste your channel URL or ID. The connect flow needs a target to aim at, so it can't find your channel if you haven't told it which one.
Second, sign in with the right account:
The full walkthrough is in Connect YouTube.
A channel says "Reconnect required"
Sometimes a channel you already connected shows "Reconnect required" in Settings. That's normal. It usually means YouTube needs you to sign in again so BitterClip can keep the permissions it needs to post for you. Newer features can also ask for a permission your earlier connection didn't include.
If your YouTube connection ever shows Reconnect required, sign in again with the same channel access to keep posting.
To fix it, open Settings, find YouTube in your connections, and choose Reconnect. You'll sign in and approve again, and the channel goes back to "Connected." Nothing you set up before is lost.
A speaker has the wrong name
If a speaker is labeled wrong, you can fix it yourself. Open the recording where they appear, click the speaker's name in the transcript, and type the correct one. BitterClip updates the captions to match, so your clips show the right person.
Instagram won't post my clip automatically
For the full picture, see Connect Instagram.
A post got stuck and asks me to "verify before retrying"
Sometimes a publish ends in a spot where BitterClip isn't sure whether your post actually went out. When that happens, it pauses and asks you to check before doing anything else.
If the clip did post, you're done, nothing more to do. If it didn't, you can publish it again safely. When you're unsure, reach out and we'll sort it out with you.
Still stuck
Need a hand? Email us at hello@bitterclip.com and tell us what you were trying to do. A real person reads every message, and the more detail you share, the faster we can help.