SubSwap

Guide

How It Works

Installing takes about a minute. Moving your subscriptions takes two short sittings - one on each account.

Install It

SubSwap isn't in the Chrome Web Store yet, so for now it installs the same way developers load extensions. It's quick:

  1. Download the latest zip and unzip it. You'll get a folder called subswap-1.0.6 - keep it somewhere it won't get deleted, like your Documents folder.
  2. Open chrome://extensions in your browser (in Edge it's edge://extensions, in Brave brave://extensions).
  3. Turn on Developer mode - the switch is in the top corner.
  4. Press Load unpacked and pick the folder you unzipped.
  5. Click the SubSwap icon in your toolbar (it may be under the puzzle-piece menu - pin it while you're there). That opens SubSwap in its own tab, which is where everything happens.

The first time it opens, a four-card walkthrough explains the two steps. You can bring it back any time from Settings.

Step 1 - Save From Your Old Account

  1. Make sure this browser is signed into YouTube with the old account.
  2. Press Save my subscriptions.
  3. A YouTube window opens and scrolls itself through your subscriptions. Leave it be for a few seconds - it has to be on screen to read the list - and it closes itself when it's done.

Nothing on your account is changed; this step only reads. Already have a Google Takeout export? Load its subscriptions CSV from Settings instead.

Step 2 - Subscribe On Your New Account

  1. Sign out of YouTube and sign in with the new account.
  2. Come back to the SubSwap tab and pick your saved list.
  3. Leave Practice run ticked the first time. It goes through the whole list and tells you exactly what it would do, without subscribing to anything.
  4. Happy with it? Untick Practice run and press Subscribe to them all.

It works through the list one channel at a time, with a gap between each and a longer break every twenty. Channels you already follow are skipped. Keep the tab open while it works - and if you close it anyway, nothing is lost: come back and press Resume.

Common Questions

Does SubSwap need my password or a Google sign-in?

No. It works with the YouTube page you're already signed into, in your own browser - the same as clicking yourself. It never sees your password or any access token, and it doesn't use the YouTube API.

My new account is in a different browser profile.

Extension storage doesn't cross browser profiles. After step 1, use Save to a file next to your list, then load that file into SubSwap in the other profile.

Why does it go so slowly?

Because subscribing to hundreds of channels in a few seconds looks like a bot, and that's how accounts get limited. The pauses are deliberate. A few hundred channels takes a while - you can leave it running.

Why does a YouTube window pop up?

YouTube only loads more of your subscription list while the page is actually on screen, so the window has to be visible for the few seconds it spends reading. While it subscribes, the window stays minimized, and it pops back up only if something needs you.

Which browsers does it work in?

Anything built on Chromium: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi and Opera. It doesn't work in Firefox or Safari.

How do I update to a new version?

Download the new zip from the Download page, unzip it over your old folder (or into a new one), then press the reload arrow on SubSwap's card in chrome://extensions. Your saved lists are kept.

How do I remove it?

Press Remove on its card in chrome://extensions. Everything it stored lived in your browser, so removing it deletes all of it.