Smart format
Paste rough timestamps, one per line, to format them into valid YouTube chapters. The tool sorts them, removes duplicate times, adds the required 0:00 start, and warns you if there are fewer than three chapters.
How to add YouTube chapters
What gets fixed
YouTube also expects each chapter to be at least 10 seconds long, so check that no two timestamps are too close together.
YouTube only turns timestamps into chapters when the first one is 0:00. The formatter adds an Intro chapter if you leave it out.
You need at least three timestamps in ascending order before YouTube displays the chapter bar on the video.
Chapter titles appear in the player and can appear in search results. Short, specific names help viewers jump to the right part.
Common questions
Requirements, formats, and why chapters sometimes do not show.
Sources
Add a list of timestamps and titles to the video description, starting with 0:00. Each line should begin with a timestamp. Save the description and YouTube creates the chapters automatically.
The most common reasons are a first timestamp other than 0:00, fewer than three timestamps, timestamps out of order, or chapters shorter than 10 seconds. Automatic chapters may also be turned off in the video settings.
Plain seconds such as 95, minutes and seconds such as 1:35, and hours such as 1:02:30. Separators like dashes, colons, or dots between the time and title are cleaned up.
YouTube can generate automatic chapters for some videos. Adding your own timestamps gives you control over where chapters start and what they are called.
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