--- title: Troubleshooting description: The most common snags people hit with BitterClip, each with a quick fix. navigation: label: Troubleshooting order: 2 section: help updated: '2026-09-03' tags: - help - troubleshooting --- # 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. ::callout{type="tip"} If you signed up with Google, your email is already verified, since Google has confirmed your address. :: ## 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. ## My Zoom recording did not arrive First confirm that Zoom finished processing a **cloud recording**. A recording stored only on your computer does not enter the automatic import. In BitterClip, click your name or avatar, then **Settings**. Scroll to **Recording import → Zoom** and check the status and destination Project. If the row says **Configured**, click **Check for updates** and look under **Recent Zoom deliveries**. Click **Open Capture Session** when that action appears for the meeting. If the meeting says **Needs attention**, read the recovery sentence on the row. Click **Retry Zoom import** once only when that action is offered, then **Open Capture Session** to watch its progress. Keep the original recording in Zoom. If the Capture Session exists, preserve the files already there and use **Browse files** only for missing footage. If there is no Capture Session and no retry, click **Open target Project**, **Add footage**, then **Browse files**. The full [Zoom cloud recording guide](/docs/getting-started/import-zoom-cloud-recording) includes the exact click path and verification checklist. Never send a Zoom download link, passcode, client secret, or webhook secret in a support message. The meeting topic, approximate end time, and BitterClip status are enough to start diagnosis. ## 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](/docs/getting-started/find-and-share-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 archive import is missing videos First, make sure you selected every ZIP part from the same Google Takeout export. A 2 GB archive size can produce many parts, and a missing part can hold videos or their metadata. If the files are all there, check which Google account created the export. Channels attached to a Brand Account need an export made while that Brand Account is selected. Also confirm that videos were included under **YouTube and YouTube Music** in Takeout. The [YouTube archive import guide](/docs/getting-started/import-youtube-takeout) covers the exact setup and how to continue a batch without duplicating completed Episodes. ## 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: ::you-tube-brand-account-warning :: The full walkthrough is in [Connect YouTube](/docs/connect/youtube). ## A channel says "Reconnect required" ::reconnect-note{connector="youtube"} :: ## 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 ::instagram-capped-note :: For the full picture, see [Connect Instagram](/docs/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. ::callout{type="warning"} Don't hit publish again. A second try could post your clip twice. Open the channel you were posting to, confirm whether the clip is already there, and go from what you find. :: 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](#still-stuck) and we'll sort it out with you. ## Still stuck ::support-contact :: ::next-steps --- links: - to: /docs/getting-started/your-first-clip label: Your first clip - to: /docs/getting-started/import-youtube-takeout label: Import your YouTube archive - to: /docs/getting-started/import-zoom-cloud-recording label: Import a Zoom cloud recording - to: /docs/connect/youtube label: Connect YouTube - to: /docs/connect/instagram label: Connect Instagram - to: /docs/changelog label: What's new --- ::