2025: Clear YouTube "Watch Later" Playlist

README.md

Known working on 2025-03-08, without any special suffixes or anything on the URL.

May be specific to english language, but I don't think so.

Instructions:

• open the browser debug tools
• navigate to console
• (pay attention to instruction that may say "type 'allow pasting' to proceed")
• paste the code below
• don't close the tab.

alt-version-does-not-use-english-language.js

(function(){
  function deleteNext() {
    const videoItem = document.querySelector('ytd-playlist-video-renderer');
    if (!videoItem) {
      console.log("No more videos found.");
      return;
    }
    const menuButton = videoItem.querySelector('yt-icon-button.dropdown-trigger button[aria-label="Action menu"]');
    if (!menuButton) {
      console.log("Action menu button not found.");
      return;
    }
    menuButton.click();
    setTimeout(() => {
      // Select the third menu item from the listbox (assumed to be "Remove from Watch Later")
      const menuItem = document.querySelector('tp-yt-paper-listbox#items > ytd-menu-service-item-renderer:nth-of-type(3) tp-yt-paper-item');
      if (menuItem) {
        menuItem.click();
        setTimeout(deleteNext, 1000);
      } else {
        console.log("Menu item not found, retrying...");
        setTimeout(deleteNext, 500);
      }
    }, 500);
  }
  deleteNext();
})();

code.js

(function(){
  function deleteNext() {
    const videoItem = document.querySelector('ytd-playlist-video-renderer');
    if (!videoItem) {
      console.log("No more videos found.");
      return;
    }
    const menuButton = videoItem.querySelector('yt-icon-button.dropdown-trigger button[aria-label="Action menu"]');
    if (!menuButton) {
      console.log("Action menu button not found.");
      return;
    }
    menuButton.click();
    setTimeout(() => {
      const xpath = "//tp-yt-paper-item[.//yt-formatted-string[contains(., 'Remove from') and contains(., 'Watch Later')]]";
      const menuItem = document.evaluate(xpath, document, null, XPathResult.FIRST_ORDERED_NODE_TYPE, null).singleNodeValue;
      if (menuItem) {
        menuItem.click();
        setTimeout(deleteNext, 1000);
      } else {
        console.log("Menu item not found, retrying...");
        setTimeout(deleteNext, 500);
      }
    }, 500);
  }
  deleteNext();
})();