Add chapters to a YouTube video

Before opening YouTube Studio, play your video and note where each section begins. Prepare one line per section with the time first, followed by a short title describing what viewers will see. The steps below will help you save that list in the description and check that chapters appear in the player. (YouTube Help: video chapters)

Add timestamps to the description

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio with the channel that manages the video.
2. From the left menu, open Content and select the video.
3. Add one timestamp and title per line in the description.
4. Check that the first line starts at 00:00, there are at least three timestamps in ascending order, and each section is at least 10 seconds long.
5. Click Save.

Fictional example for a 10-minute bread tutorial:

00:00 Ingredients
00:35 Mix the dough
02:10 Shape the loaf

YouTube uses these manual chapters instead of automatic chapters. After saving, open the video and check that the player shows the sections. If you don’t have access to chapters, YouTube says to apply for Advanced features.

If chapters don’t appear

Check each condition in order: the first timestamp must be 00:00; the list must contain at least three timestamps in ascending order; and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. Go back to Content, open the video, and confirm that you saved the right description. If the list meets those requirements and chapters still don’t appear, check the channel’s access to Advanced features.

Chapters are navigation points in the video, not text synchronized with speech. If you need to correct words or timing in a text track, follow how to fix YouTube captions. If you need to publish a Short on a later date, see how to schedule YouTube Shorts.

If you expected YouTube to identify sections on its own, see why YouTube automatic chapters aren’t showing.