YouTube chapters generator
Load an SRT or VTT file and get a chapter list: timestamps from the cue starts, titles you can edit in place, and the platform's requirements checked one by one so you can see which one is holding the chapters back. The file never leaves your browser, and the list is never uploaded anywhere.
Drop an .srt / .vtt file here
or click to choose one, or paste subtitle text anywhere on this page · the chapter list appears below
All numbers are seconds. The merge threshold defaults to the platform's 10-second minimum: when a chapter would be shorter, it is folded into the previous one instead of being emitted broken. The video length is optional and only used for one thing — measuring the last chapter, which otherwise runs to a video end that a subtitle file cannot tell us.
Chapters
Requirements
What you paste into the description
The requirements, quoted from YouTube's own help page
| Requirement | What the help page says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The first timestamp starts at 00:00 | “Make sure that the first timestamp you list starts with 00:00.” | Video Chapters, YouTube Help (retrieved 2026-09-29) |
| At least three timestamps, in ascending order | “Your video should have at least three timestamps listed in ascending order.” | Video Chapters, YouTube Help |
| Each chapter lasts at least 10 seconds | “The minimum length for video chapters is 10 seconds.” | Video Chapters, YouTube Help |
| The list goes in the description | “In the Description, add a list of timestamps and titles.” | Video Chapters, YouTube Help |
| A maximum number of chapters | not stated The help page gives no maximum. Treat any number you see quoted elsewhere as unverified. | Not found on the help page |
| A minimum video length | not stated The help page gives no minimum video length for chapters, only the 10-second minimum per chapter. | Not found on the help page |
Auto-generated chapters exist as a separate feature and the help page describes how to allow or opt out of them; the rules above are the ones that govern a list you write yourself. This page checks those four rows and shows you the wording it is checking against, so you are not trusting a summary.
Timestamp formats, and which one to write
| Form | Looks like | Where it stands | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
m:ss | 0:00 · 1:23 · 62:03 |
Minutes and seconds with the seconds always two digits. This tool's default. The official instruction does not list accepted variants: it writes the first entry as 00:00, which differs from this form only by the leading zero. |
Writing 0:0 or 0.00, or dropping the leading zero on the seconds and getting 0:7 instead of 0:07. |
mm:ss | 00:00 · 01:23 |
Same thing with a padded minute field. Worth using when you want the list to look exactly like the help page's instruction, with the first entry as 00:00. |
Switching between padded and unpadded styles inside one list. Pick one and keep it for the whole list. |
h:mm:ss | 0:00:00 · 1:02:03 |
Hours, minutes and seconds. Needed once the video passes an hour, which is when the minutes field of m:ss stops being obviously a count of minutes. The help page does not spell this format out, so treat the exact over-an-hour form as not stated in the official source. |
Writing 72:00 for a 72-minute video, or padding the hour field when nothing else in the list is padded. |
Switch the style in the tool above and the whole list is rewritten in that form — the numbers never change, only how they are written. A chapter timestamp points at the start of a section, so sub-second precision is dropped rather than rounded up.
From subtitles to chapters: what the machine decides, and what you decide
| Step | What happens | Why it cannot be fully automatic |
|---|---|---|
| Pick the starts | A chapter every N seconds, snapped to the first cue that starts at or after the boundary. The first chapter is pinned to 0:00, because that is what the platform requires. | A cue start is where a line of dialogue begins. A topic boundary is a judgement about meaning, and no timing file contains that. |
| Drop what would break the rules | Any candidate less than the merge threshold away from the previous chapter is folded into it. | Choosing to merge is a trade-off between rule compliance and following the actual structure of the video. The tool takes the safe default; you can lower the threshold and see what the checks then say. |
| Take the text as the title | The cue's own line becomes the starting title — collapsed to one line, trimmed to 60 characters. | A line of dialogue is rarely a section name. It is a readable starting point, which is why every title here is an editable field rather than final output. |
| Check the result | Each requirement is evaluated and reported with the wording it came from. | Nothing to decide: this part is mechanical, and it is the part worth trusting a tool with. |
Subtitles and the video out of step?
Chapters built on a timeline that is already wrong inherit the error. The studio shifts and stretches every open file at once and exports them as one ZIP. Pro is a $9 one-time licence — lifetime, up to 3 devices — with a 7-day refund while the key is unactivated. Single-file work here stays free.
Questions people ask before using it
How many chapters does a YouTube video need?
The help page says your video should have at least three timestamps listed in ascending order, the first of them starting at 00:00, and that the minimum length for video chapters is 10 seconds. Those sentences are the whole published requirement, and they are the ones the checker above tests. The same page states no maximum number of chapters and no minimum video length.
Why are my chapters not showing up?
The usual causes are exactly the published requirements: the list does not start at 00:00, there are fewer than three timestamps, they are not in ascending order, or one of them runs under 10 seconds. The other common mistake is placement — the list has to be in the video description. The same timestamps pasted into a comment become clickable links, but they do not put markers on the progress bar.
Can I use the subtitle timings as chapter starts?
You can, and that is what this page does, but a cue boundary is where a line of dialogue starts, not where the topic changes. Treat the generated list as a first pass: the machine places the starts and merges anything that would break the 10-second minimum, then you decide which starts are real sections and rewrite the titles. Nothing here is uploaded, so the file you loaded stays on your machine.