yt-endscreen
Read the shared operating guide for profile lookup, helper paths, capability limits, and cross-skill routing before using this workflow.
An end screen can guide viewers to a relevant next video. Choose by continuity and observed viewer behavior rather than assuming the newest upload is best. Verify current feature eligibility before giving implementation steps. Shorts need a Shorts-appropriate related-video or spoken CTA plan; do not assume long-form end screens/cards are available in the Shorts feed.
Pair it with $yt-retention - the retention curve says where the viewer still is at the end, and whether a card mid-video would catch a leak or cause one.
Before you place
- Use the available voice profile or creator context (see the operating guide) for the close - the end screen has a spoken hand-off, and "one ask, not three" is the rule from $yt-script applied here too.
- If there is a retention export, read it first ($yt-retention). The end-screen timing is only as good as knowing how many viewers are left to see it.
The rules
- End screen: the last 5-20 seconds. Point it at the video that continues the thought, not the newest upload. The best next video is the one a viewer who just finished this one would choose - a part 2, the thing this one referenced, the obvious next question.
- Lead with watch, not subscribe. One video element and one subscribe element is the ceiling. If the video did its job, the next-video click is worth more than the subscribe ask, and it earns the subscribe anyway.
- Hold something back for it. The last 20 seconds need a reason to stay - do not fully resolve before the end screen or there is nothing left to hold the viewer through it. A flat outro is where the final cliff is.
- Cards: at a leak, not at a peak. A card mid-video catches viewers who are about to leave anyway - place it just before a known drop-off from the retention curve, never over a peak where it only distracts a viewer who was staying.
The move
- From the retention curve, find the end-screen window (how many viewers remain) and any mid-video leak a card could catch.
- Pick the next video by continuity, not recency.
- Write the spoken hand-off (one ask) and the end-screen layout.
- Place 0-2 cards, each at a leak, each pointing somewhere relevant.
What to hand back
- the end-screen pick (which video, why), with the spoken hand-off line
- the end-screen layout (video + subscribe), and the seconds to place it
- the card placements (timecode + target), or "none - no leak worth a card"
- one line: the single routing change most likely to lift session time