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YouTube chapters from your transcript

Paste a transcript with times and get a YouTube chapter list that follows YouTube's rules. Edit the titles, then copy it into your video's description.

Updated 3 November 2026. Free, nothing is uploaded.

Your transcript with times (example below, replace it)

00:00:00 Sam: Welcome to Small Room, the show about running a podcast on your own. Today my guest is Priya, who has made 200 episodes from her spare room.
00:00:41 Priya: Thanks for having me. Two hundred sounds like a lot, but it was one a week for four years.
00:01:30 Sam: Let's start where most people get stuck. How do you find guests?
00:02:10 Priya: Cold email. I send five cold emails a week to guests I really want, and I keep the cold email short. Three lines.
00:03:05 Sam: What goes in those three lines of the cold email?
00:03:40 Priya: Why I picked that guest, one episode they can listen to, and a date. Most guests say yes when the cold email shows you did your homework.
00:04:55 Sam: And when a guest says no?
00:05:20 Priya: I ask again in six months. Half my best guests said no the first time.
00:06:40 Sam: Okay, the guests are booked. What about interview questions?
00:07:15 Priya: I used to ask every guest to tell their story. Now my interview questions are about what they got wrong.
00:08:30 Priya: Good interview questions are specific. Not "how did you start", but "what did you do in week one that you'd never do again".
00:09:45 Sam: Do you send the interview questions before the call?
00:10:20 Priya: Only the first two interview questions. The rest stay a surprise, so the answers sound fresh.
00:11:50 Sam: Let's talk about sound. What microphone do you use?
00:12:30 Priya: A dynamic microphone, close to my mouth. The room matters more than the microphone, so I record next to my wardrobe full of clothes.
00:13:45 Sam: What about the guest's audio quality?
00:14:20 Priya: I ask guests to wear wired headphones and sit somewhere soft. Audio quality is the first thing listeners notice.
00:15:40 Sam: Any editing tricks for audio quality?
00:16:10 Priya: Cut the long pauses, keep the laughs, and level the volume. That's it.
00:17:30 Sam: Now short clips. Do you post short clips from every episode?
00:18:05 Priya: Two or three short clips per episode. Each short clip has to make one point on its own.
00:19:20 Sam: Where do you post the short clips?
00:19:50 Priya: Shorts, Reels and TikTok, with captions, because most people watch short clips with the sound off.
00:21:10 Sam: Do short clips bring new listeners?
00:21:45 Priya: Some do. I check which short clips people share, and I make more of those.
00:23:00 Sam: Last topic: your email list. Why bother with an email list?
00:23:35 Priya: The email list is the only audience I own. If an app changes, my email list is still there.
00:24:50 Sam: What do you send to the email list?
00:25:20 Priya: One email a week: the new episode, one quote, and one question for the listeners. The email list replies are where my next episode ideas come from.
00:27:00 Sam: Priya, where can people find you?
00:27:30 Priya: My show is in every podcast app. Search for Spare Room Stories.
00:28:10 Sam: Thanks for listening to Small Room. See you next week.

More options

Or open a caption file (.srt, .vtt or .txt) How many chapters?

Your chapters (edit the titles here)

What are YouTube's rules for chapters?

YouTube's own help page lists them. The first timestamp must be 00:00. You need at least three timestamps, in order from first to last. Each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. Chapters you add yourself replace the automatic ones. The tool checks all of this, also after you edit the list.

Source: YouTube Help, "Video Chapters", checked 3 November 2026.

How do I add the chapters to my video?

Copy the list with the button above.
In YouTube Studio, open the video and click Details.
Paste the list into the description, on its own lines, and click Save.

What times can I paste?

A caption file (.srt or .vtt), or plain lines that start with a time, like 00:01:23 text, 1:23 text or [01:23] Sam: text. Speaker lines like Sam (00:01:23) with the words underneath work too. Most recording and editing apps can export captions as a file; YouTube Studio can download one for a video you uploaded.

How do I write good chapter titles?

Say what the viewer gets, in 2 to 6 words: "Writing a cold email guests answer", not "Part 2".
Use the words people search for.
Keep the first chapter short, so viewers reach the first topic fast.

Chapters done. Want clips from the same episode?

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Questions

What are YouTube's rules for chapters?

YouTube's help page says: the first timestamp must be 00:00, you need at least three timestamps in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. Chapters you add this way replace YouTube's automatic chapters.

Where do I get a transcript with times?

From the tool you record or edit with: most recording and editing apps can export captions as an .srt or .vtt file. YouTube Studio can also download a caption file for a video you uploaded, from the Subtitles page.

How are the chapters picked?

We spread the chapters evenly through the episode and move each one to the nearby point where the words change the most, which is usually a new topic. The titles are drafts made from the words used most in each part. No AI is used, so read them and change them.

Is my transcript uploaded?

No. It is read in your own browser and never sent to us or saved anywhere.

Is it free?

Yes. No account and no email.

YouTube chapters from your transcript

What are YouTube's rules for chapters?

How do I add the chapters to my video?

What times can I paste?

How do I write good chapter titles?

Chapters done. Want clips from the same episode?

Questions

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