YouTube Chapters Builder

Check your YouTube chapter timestamps against YouTube’s rules, fix problems line by line, and copy a clean list for your description. Free, no signup.

Try:

One chapter per line: a time, then the title. Bullets and brackets are fine.

Lets the tool check that no chapter is past the end.

Paste a chapter list to check it, or choose an example above.

Before you publish
  • YouTube turns a list into chapters when it is in the video description, starts at 0:00, has at least three chapters, and every chapter is at least 10 seconds long.
  • Write each line as a time, a space, then the title. YouTube Studio shows the chapters on the video after you save.
  • This tool checks and tidies the list. It cannot know where your sections really start, so use your editor’s timeline for the times.
  • The “spread evenly” button is a way to get a draft. Those times are guesses, so replace them with the real ones before you publish.
  • YouTube’s chapter rules can change. Check YouTube Help if chapters do not show after you save.

Related Tools

About the YouTube Chapters Builder

?What the chapters builder does

You paste a list of chapters, one per line, with a time and a title. The tool checks the list against YouTube’s chapter rules and shows, line by line, what is fine and what needs fixing. It then gives you a clean list to copy into your video description.

It cannot see your video, so it does not know where your sections start. You supply the times. The only time it ever makes up is when you press “spread titles evenly”, which is marked as a draft.

Everything runs in your browser. What you type is not sent to our server.

→How to check your chapters in 4 steps

1

Paste your list

One chapter per line: a time, then the title. Bullets, brackets and dashes are fine.

2

Add the video length (optional)

This lets the tool flag a chapter that is after the end of the video, or that leaves less than 10 seconds at the end.

3

Fix what is flagged

Each line shows a tick or a note. Use the buttons to sort the list, or to set the first chapter to 0:00, if you want the tool to do it.

4

Copy it into your description

Copy the clean list and paste it into the description in YouTube Studio. Save, and the chapters show on the video.

✓What is in the tool

Line-by-line checks

A note on exactly which line breaks which rule.

The real rules

First chapter at 0:00, at least three chapters, at least 10 seconds each, times in order.

Clean copy

Sorted, in the plain format YouTube expects.

You stay in control

The list only changes when you press a button.

Video length check

Flags a chapter after the end of the video.

Flexible input

Accepts bullets, brackets, dashes, and hours.

★Examples

1

A list that is fine

Paste a list that follows the rules.

Example:

“0:00 Intro, 1:20 Why this matters, 3:45 Step-by-step demo, 8:10 Common mistakes, 11:00 Wrap-up” passes every check, and you can copy it as is.

2

A list with problems

Start the first chapter at 0:05 and put two chapters 7 seconds apart.

Example:

The tool flags “The first chapter must start at 0:00” and “Lasts only 7 seconds”, on the exact lines.

3

Only titles

Paste titles with no times and enter the video length.

Example:

Four titles for a 10:00 video get draft times of 0:00, 2:30, 5:00 and 7:30, which you replace with the real ones.

♥Limits to know about

✓

It does not know your video

You supply the real times, from your editor or the video player.

✓

Rules can change

The checks follow YouTube’s published rules. If chapters do not show, check YouTube Help.

✓

Nothing is saved

Copy your list before you close the page.

Frequently Asked Questions