YouTube Chapter Generator

YouTube silently drops the entire chapter list if your description breaks any of three rules: the first chapter must start at exactly 0:00, you need at least 3 chapters total, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. The validator on this page checks all three in real time and offers one-click fixes (snap to 0:00, merge short chapters) so the list actually renders in the player.

No upload. When you paste a YouTube URL, we call the public caption track that the YouTube player itself loads — the same timedtext endpoint every transcript viewer uses. The video file never leaves YouTube. We only cache the transcript for 24 hours on our server so subsequent runs are instant. Paste mode is 100% browser-only and involves no server round-trip at all.

Not from the URL directly — YouTube only exposes transcripts for videos with captions enabled (auto-generated or manual). If your target video has no captions, use our free YouTube Transcriber to generate one locally in your browser, then paste the SRT output into this tool. Both tools are free and don't require an account.

Each chapter is one line in the video description: a timestamp followed by a space and a title. Example: "0:00 Intro" then "1:24 Main point" on the next line. Use "m:ss" for videos under an hour and "h:mm:ss" for longer ones. The tool picks the right format automatically based on the video length.

The minimum is 3 (below that, chapters don't appear at all). A practical sweet spot is one chapter every 60–90 seconds for shorter videos and every 5–7 minutes for long podcasts. The automatic chapter generator uses these rules: 3 chapters for <5 min videos, 5 for <15 min, 7 for <30 min, and scaled higher from there.

YouTube does generate chapters automatically for some videos — but only when the auto-detection is confident (clear topic shifts, distinct visuals). For podcasts, interviews, tutorials, and most long-form content, YouTube rarely detects chapters. Writing them manually in the description always wins, which is why the vast majority of creators do it by hand.

Yes. The "From URL" mode pulls the transcript and generates a first-pass chapter list using the first non-trivial sentence of each section as the title. The editor shows every chapter with an editable timestamp and title, so you can rewrite, reorder, merge, or delete rows before copying.

Anything with timestamps: • SRT subtitle files (numbered cues with --> ranges) • VTT subtitle files (the WebVTT format) • Plain lists: "0:23 Title" one per line • Markdown bullets: "- [1:45] Title" • Hour-based: "1:02:03 Title" • Second-based: "123s Title" The parser normalizes all of them and drops any line without a valid timestamp.

Quick actions include "Shift all −5s" and "Shift all +5s". This is useful when you add an intro or change the video edit — instead of nudging every timestamp manually, shift the whole list at once. There's also "Round to nearest 5s / 10s" if you want cleaner timestamps.

Yes — genuinely free. No signup, no watermark, no "upgrade to unlock." The tool is part of SocialCal's free social media toolkit (30+ tools) and acts as a lead magnet for our paid scheduling product. You can use the chapter generator forever without paying anything.

TubeBuddy and vidIQ bundle chapter helpers inside their broader YouTube SEO suites, which require a browser extension, signup, and (for full features) a paid plan. This tool is single-purpose and free — one URL or paste gets you a valid chapter list in 30 seconds. If you're already paying for vidIQ or TubeBuddy, their tools are fine; if you just need chapters, this is zero-friction.

No — Shorts don't support chapters at all. YouTube chapters only render on standard videos (horizontal, 1 minute or longer with captions). Use this tool for regular uploads, podcasts, tutorials, and long-form content.

Yes — that's what SocialCal does. This tool gives you the chapter block, and SocialCal's YouTube integration includes the full description (with your chapter list) when scheduling uploads. Free trial available from the pricing page; the chapter generator stays free forever regardless.

YouTube regenerates auto-captions after every re-upload, and the new timings may not match your chapter timestamps. If you re-cut the video, fetch the new URL again or use the "Shift all" quick action to nudge the whole list by whatever amount you added or removed.