diff --git a/react/actions/publish.js b/react/actions/publish.js
index ba7e2714..9c90e2b0 100644
--- a/react/actions/publish.js
+++ b/react/actions/publish.js
@@ -85,3 +85,9 @@ export function updateThumbnailSelectedFile (file) {
     data: file,
   };
 };
+
+export function startPublish () {
+  return {
+    type: actions.PUBLISH_START,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/react/api/publishApi.js b/react/api/publishApi.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e3d9939f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/react/api/publishApi.js
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+import Request from 'utils/request';
+const { site: { host } } = require('../../config/speechConfig.js');
+
+export function publish () {
+  // const url = `${host}/api/file/availability/${name}/${claimId}`;
+
+}
diff --git a/react/constants/publish_action_types.js b/react/constants/publish_action_types.js
index f3c70947..42487c3b 100644
--- a/react/constants/publish_action_types.js
+++ b/react/constants/publish_action_types.js
@@ -9,3 +9,4 @@ export const SELECTED_CHANNEL_UPDATE = 'SELECTED_CHANNEL_UPDATE';
 export const TOGGLE_METADATA_INPUTS = 'TOGGLE_METADATA_INPUTS';
 export const THUMBNAIL_CLAIM_UPDATE = 'THUMBNAIL_CLAIM_UPDATE';
 export const THUMBNAIL_FILE_SELECT = 'THUMBNAIL_FILE_SELECT';
+export const PUBLISH_START = 'PUBLISH_START';
diff --git a/react/containers/PublishForm/index.js b/react/containers/PublishForm/index.js
index e0bc4473..1eb77195 100644
--- a/react/containers/PublishForm/index.js
+++ b/react/containers/PublishForm/index.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {connect} from 'react-redux';
-import {clearFile, updateError, updatePublishStatus} from 'actions/publish';
+import {clearFile, updateError, updatePublishStatus, startPublish} from 'actions/publish';
 import View from './view';
 
 const mapStateToProps = ({ channel, publish }) => {
@@ -28,12 +28,10 @@ const mapDispatchToProps = dispatch => {
     onPublishStatusChange: (status, message) => {
       dispatch(updatePublishStatus(status, message));
     },
-    onChannelSelectionError: (value) => {
-      dispatch(updateError('channel', value));
-    },
     onPublishSubmitError: (value) => {
       dispatch(updateError('publishSubmit', value));
     },
+    startPublish,
   };
 };
 
diff --git a/react/containers/PublishForm/view.jsx b/react/containers/PublishForm/view.jsx
index 90e0ce51..b8e40476 100644
--- a/react/containers/PublishForm/view.jsx
+++ b/react/containers/PublishForm/view.jsx
@@ -9,120 +9,6 @@ import ChannelSelect from 'containers/ChannelSelect';
 import * as publishStates from 'constants/publish_claim_states';
 
 class PublishForm extends React.Component {
-  constructor (props) {
-    super(props);
-    // this.makePublishRequest = this.makePublishRequest.bind(this);
-    this.publish = this.publish.bind(this);
-  }
-  validateChannelSelection () {
-    console.log('validating channel selection');
-    // make sure all required data is provided
-    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      // if publishInChannel is true, is a channel selected & logged in?
-      if (this.props.publishInChannel && (this.props.selectedChannel !== this.props.loggedInChannel.name)) {
-        // update state with error
-        this.props.onChannelSelectionError('Log in to a channel or select Anonymous"');
-        // reject this promise
-        return reject(new Error('Fix the channel'));
-      }
-      resolve();
-    });
-  }
-  validatePublishParams () {
-    console.log('validating publish params');
-    // make sure all required data is provided
-    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      // is there a file?
-      if (!this.props.file) {
-        return reject(new Error('Please choose a file'));
-      }
-      // is there a claim chosen?
-      if (!this.props.claim) {
-        return reject(new Error('Please enter a URL'));
-      }
-      if (this.props.urlError) {
-        return reject(new Error('Fix the url'));
-      }
-      resolve();
-    });
-  }
-  makePublishRequest (file, metadata) {
-    console.log('making publish request');
-    const uri = '/api/claim/publish';
-    const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
-    const fd = this.appendDataToFormData(file, metadata);
-    xhr.upload.addEventListener('loadstart', () => {
-      this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.LOAD_START, 'upload started');
-    });
-    xhr.upload.addEventListener('progress', (e) => {
-      if (e.lengthComputable) {
-        const percentage = Math.round((e.loaded * 100) / e.total);
-        console.log('progress:', percentage);
-        this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.LOADING, `${percentage}%`);
-      }
-    }, false);
-    xhr.upload.addEventListener('load', () => {
-      console.log('loaded 100%');
-      this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.PUBLISHING, null);
-    }, false);
-    xhr.open('POST', uri, true);
-    xhr.onreadystatechange = () => {
-      if (xhr.readyState === 4) {
-        const response = JSON.parse(xhr.response);
-        console.log('publish response:', response);
-        if ((xhr.status === 200) && response.success) {
-          this.props.history.push(`/${response.data.claimId}/${response.data.name}`);
-          this.props.onFileClear();
-        } else {
-          this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.FAILED, response.message);
-        }
-      }
-    };
-    // Initiate a multipart/form-data upload
-    xhr.send(fd);
-  }
-  createMetadata () {
-    console.log('creating metadata');
-    let metadata = {
-      name       : this.props.claim,
-      title      : this.props.title,
-      description: this.props.description,
-      license    : this.props.license,
-      nsfw       : this.props.nsfw,
-      type       : this.props.file.type,
-      thumbnail  : this.props.thumbnail,
-    };
-    if (this.props.publishInChannel) {
-      metadata['channelName'] = this.props.selectedChannel;
-    }
-    return metadata;
-  }
-  appendDataToFormData (file, metadata) {
-    var fd = new FormData();
-    fd.append('file', file);
-    for (var key in metadata) {
-      if (metadata.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
-        fd.append(key, metadata[key]);
-      }
-    }
-    return fd;
-  }
-  publish () {
-    console.log('publishing file');
-    // publish the asset
-    this.validateChannelSelection()
-      .then(() => {
-        return this.validatePublishParams();
-      })
-      .then(() => {
-        const metadata = this.createMetadata();
-        // publish the claim
-        return this.makePublishRequest(this.props.file, metadata);
-      })
-      .catch((error) => {
-        this.props.onPublishSubmitError(error.message);
-      });
-  }
   render () {
     return (
       <div className='row row--no-bottom'>
@@ -153,7 +39,7 @@ class PublishForm extends React.Component {
               <PublishMetadataInputs />
             </div>
             <div className='row row--wide align-content-center'>
-              <button id='publish-submit' className='button--primary button--large' onClick={this.publish}>Publish</button>
+              <button id='publish-submit' className='button--primary button--large' onClick={this.props.startPublish}>Publish</button>
             </div>
             <div className='row row--padded row--no-bottom align-content-center'>
               <button className='button--cancel' onClick={this.props.onFileClear}>Cancel</button>
diff --git a/react/containers/PublishThumbnailInput/view.jsx b/react/containers/PublishThumbnailInput/view.jsx
index ba34b8c4..b964248b 100644
--- a/react/containers/PublishThumbnailInput/view.jsx
+++ b/react/containers/PublishThumbnailInput/view.jsx
@@ -64,8 +64,7 @@ class PublishThumbnailInput extends React.Component {
     canvas.width = video.videoWidth;
     canvas.height = video.videoHeight;
     canvas.getContext('2d').drawImage(video, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
-    const imageDataUrl = canvas.toDataURL();
-    return imageDataUrl;
+    return canvas.toDataURL();
   }
   render () {
     const { error, videoSource, sliderMinRange, sliderMaxRange, sliderValue } = this.state;
diff --git a/react/sagas/index.js b/react/sagas/index.js
index 83936994..ac34adeb 100644
--- a/react/sagas/index.js
+++ b/react/sagas/index.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { watchHandleShowPageUri } from './show_uri';
 import { watchNewAssetRequest } from './show_asset';
 import { watchNewChannelRequest, watchUpdateChannelClaims } from './show_channel';
 import { watchFileIsRequested } from './file';
+import { watchPublishStart } from './publish';
 
 export default function * rootSaga () {
   yield all([
@@ -11,5 +12,6 @@ export default function * rootSaga () {
     watchNewChannelRequest(),
     watchUpdateChannelClaims(),
     watchFileIsRequested(),
+    watchPublishStart(),
   ]);
 }
diff --git a/react/sagas/publish.js b/react/sagas/publish.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b582ab20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/react/sagas/publish.js
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import { call, put, select, takeLatest } from 'redux-saga/effects';
+import * as actions from 'constants/publish_action_types';
+import { updateError } from 'actions/publish';
+// import { publish } from 'api/fileApi';
+import { selectPublishState } from '../selectors/publish';
+import { selectChannelState } from '../selectors/channel';
+import * as publishStates from '../constants/publish_claim_states';
+
+const validateChannelSelection = (publishInChannel, selectedChannel, loggedInChannel) => {
+  console.log('validating channel selection');
+  // make sure all required data is provided
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    // if publishInChannel is true, is a channel selected & logged in?
+    if (publishInChannel && (selectedChannel !== loggedInChannel.name)) {
+      return reject('Log in to a channel or select Anonymous');
+    }
+    resolve();
+  });
+}
+
+const validatePublishParams = (file, claim, urlError) => {
+  console.log('validating publish params');
+  // make sure all required data is provided
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    // is there a file?
+    if (!file) {
+      return reject('Please choose a file');
+    }
+    // is there a claim chosen?
+    if (!claim) {
+      return reject('Please enter a URL');
+    }
+    if (urlError) {
+      return reject('Fix the url');
+    }
+    resolve();
+  });
+}
+
+const createPublishMetadata = (claim, { type }, { title, thumbnail, description, license, nsfw }, publishInChannel, selectedChannel) => {
+  let metadata = {
+    name: claim,
+    title,
+    thumbnail,
+    description,
+    license,
+    nsfw,
+    type,
+  };
+  if (publishInChannel) {
+    metadata['channelName'] = selectedChannel;
+  }
+  return metadata;
+}
+
+const createPublishFormData = (file, metadata) => {
+  var fd = new FormData();
+  // append file
+  fd.append('file', file);
+  // append metadata
+  for (var key in metadata) {
+    if (metadata.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
+      fd.append(key, metadata[key]);
+    }
+  }
+  return fd;
+}
+
+const makePublishRequest = (fd) => {
+  console.log('making publish request');
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const uri = '/api/claim/publish';
+    const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
+    xhr.upload.addEventListener('loadstart', () => {
+      this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.LOAD_START, 'upload started');
+    });
+    xhr.upload.addEventListener('progress', (e) => {
+      if (e.lengthComputable) {
+        const percentage = Math.round((e.loaded * 100) / e.total);
+        console.log('progress:', percentage);
+        this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.LOADING, `${percentage}%`);
+      }
+    }, false);
+    xhr.upload.addEventListener('load', () => {
+      console.log('loaded 100%');
+      this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.PUBLISHING, null);
+    }, false);
+    xhr.open('POST', uri, true);
+    xhr.onreadystatechange = () => {
+      if (xhr.readyState === 4) {
+        const response = JSON.parse(xhr.response);
+        console.log('publish response:', response);
+        if ((xhr.status === 200) && response.success) {
+          this.props.history.push(`/${response.data.claimId}/${response.data.name}`);
+          this.props.onFileClear();
+        } else {
+          this.props.onPublishStatusChange(publishStates.FAILED, response.message);
+        }
+      }
+    };
+    // Initiate a multipart/form-data upload
+    xhr.send(fd);
+  });
+}
+
+function * publishFile () {
+  console.log('publishing file');
+  const { publishInChannel, selectedChannel, file, claim, metadata, error: { url: urlError } } = yield select(selectPublishState);
+  const { loggedInChannel } = yield select(selectChannelState);
+  // validate the channel selection
+  try {
+    yield call(validateChannelSelection, publishInChannel, selectedChannel, loggedInChannel);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return yield put(updateError('channel', error));
+  };
+  // validate publish parameters
+  try {
+    yield call(validatePublishParams, file, claim, urlError);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return yield put(updateError('publishSubmit', error));
+  }
+  // create metadata
+  const publishMetadata = createPublishMetadata(claim, file, metadata, publishInChannel, selectedChannel);
+  // create form data
+  const publishFormData = createPublishFormData(file, publishMetadata);
+  // make the publish request
+  try {
+    yield call(makePublishRequest, publishFormData);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return yield put(updateError('publishSubmit', error));
+  }
+};
+
+export function * watchPublishStart () {
+  yield takeLatest(actions.PUBLISH_START, publishFile);
+};
diff --git a/react/selectors/channel.js b/react/selectors/channel.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..53e1c9f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/react/selectors/channel.js
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+export const selectChannelState = (state) => {
+  return state.channel;
+};
diff --git a/react/selectors/publish.js b/react/selectors/publish.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7cfbc525
--- /dev/null
+++ b/react/selectors/publish.js
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+export const selectPublishState = (state) => {
+  return state.publish;
+};