Schedule YouTube Shorts in YouTube Studio

If your finished video is square or vertical, you can upload it as a Short in YouTube Studio and choose when it goes public. YouTube supports uploading Shorts up to three minutes long in Studio. For standard channels, square or vertical videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 are classified as Shorts. Official artist channels have a different change date, so check the rule for your channel in YouTube’s three-minute Shorts guidance.

YouTube’s help page documents scheduled publishing for videos in general. For a Short uploaded in Studio, use that flow and check that the result is listed as a Short. Set the date in Studio; if you also plan content before uploading it, see the separate workflows in YouTube MCP and schedule social media posts.

If the caption track has errors or runs ahead of the audio, follow how to fix the text and timing in YouTube Studio. To delegate that work, check channel permissions and the role each person needs.

Check the file before you upload

Have the final file, title, audience setting, and visibility choice ready. Check that the video is square or vertical and no longer than three minutes. For standard channels, YouTube classifies recent uploads with those dimensions as Shorts; the channel type and upload date can change that classification.

Upload the Short and schedule it

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio. Choose Create, then Upload videos.
2. Select the file and complete its details, including its title and audience. Review the preview and any notices Studio displays.
3. In the visibility options, open the Schedule card. YouTube documents this flow for videos and lets you choose a date, time, and time zone.
4. Choose when the video should go public and confirm with Schedule. Before you leave, return to your content list and check that the Short is private/scheduled with the date and time you chose.

Fictional example: a coffee shop uploads a 25-second vertical recipe video and chooses Thursday at 5:30 p.m. UTC. In Studio, the team checks the title, audience, and scheduled date, then reopens the details if the time doesn’t match the intended time zone.

After uploading, you can also add a related video in YouTube Studio to lead viewers to another piece on your channel. That setting has its own access and visibility requirements.

YouTube’s scheduled publishing help explains how to change the date from Content. It also says an active Community Guidelines strike can stop publication. During the penalty period the video stays private, and you must schedule it again after the period ends. YouTube uses Pacific Standard Time for the date shown below a video, so that date can differ from Studio when you schedule from a time zone ahead of Pacific time.

If you can’t find the scheduling option, check that you’re on the video’s visibility screen and Studio has finished processing the upload. To change the time, open the video from Content, go to Visibility, select Edit draft, and choose a new scheduled time.