YouTube chapters from a transcript or caption file
Turn a timestamped transcript or caption file into chapters, checked against YouTube's rules.
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- Runs in your browser
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About the YouTube Chapters from Transcript
Paste a transcript with timestamps, or open the video's SubRip (.srt), WebVTT (.vtt) or SubViewer (.sbv) caption file, and get chapters to paste into the video's description. The tool starts a new chapter where the words change topic, close to the chapter length you choose, and suggests a short title for each from its most distinctive words. Edit any time or title, add or delete chapters, and the list is checked against YouTube's chapter rules as you go. It works with word counts, not AI, and runs in your browser.
How it works
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Step 1
Paste the transcript with its timestamps, open a caption file, or click "Try an example".
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Step 2
Add the video length and choose roughly how long each chapter should be.
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Step 3
Edit the times and titles, then copy the chapters into the video's description on YouTube.
YouTube's chapter rules
YouTube shows chapters when the description lists at least three timestamps in ascending order, the first at 00:00, and every chapter is at least 10 seconds long. Descriptions can have up to 5,000 characters and cannot contain angled brackets (< or >), so the tool checks your titles for those too.
How the chapters are found
Our method: common English and Hinglish words such as "the", "hai" and "matlab" are left out, and the words just before each timestamp are compared with the words just after it. A new chapter starts where they share least, kept close to the length you choose. Each title comes from the words and phrases used most in that chapter and least in the others.
What this tool cannot do
It does not watch or listen to your video, use AI or connect to YouTube, so it only knows what the transcript says, and it cannot fetch captions from YouTube for you. The titles are a starting point: check each time against the video and rewrite the titles in words your viewers use.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add chapters to a YouTube video?
List the timestamps and titles in the video's description, each on its own line, starting with 00:00. YouTube needs at least three, in ascending order, with every chapter at least 10 seconds long. Copy the list from this tool, paste it into the description in YouTube Studio and save.
Which transcript formats can I use?
Plain text with a time at the start of each line, such as "1:05 Warm-up" or "[00:01:05] Warm-up", or a time on its own line with the words below it. You can also open a SubRip (.srt), WebVTT (.vtt) or SubViewer (.sbv) caption file; the tool uses each caption's start time and text.
Why are my chapters not showing on YouTube?
Usually one rule is not met: the first timestamp is not 00:00, there are fewer than three, they are not in ascending order, or a chapter is shorter than 10 seconds. The tool checks each of these as you edit, and our Video SEO Checker checks the whole description.
Does it work for Hinglish videos?
Yes. Common Hinglish words such as "hai", "toh" and "matlab" are left out along with common English words before the transcript is compared, so the titles come from the words that carry the topic. Other languages work too, but their common words are not left out, so the titles may need more editing.
Can chapters help my video show key moments in Google?
Google says that for YouTube videos, Google Search may automatically enable key moments based on the video's description on YouTube. Chapters in the description give it timestamps to work with, but Google decides whether to show them.
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