YouTube’s chapter rules
YouTube creates chapters from timestamps in your video description, but only if all of these are true (per YouTube Help):
- The first timestamp is 0:00.
- There are at least three timestamps.
- They are in ascending order.
- Each chapter is at least 10 seconds long.
If any rule fails, YouTube silently shows no chapters, which is why “YouTube chapters not working” is such a common question.
Paste rough notes, get clean chapters
The generator accepts timestamps written almost any way (“00:00 - Intro”, “Intro 1:05”, “[03:40] Title”, “1:02:03 Q&A”) and outputs a clean list with consistent formatting (hours are added to every line when the video runs over an hour). Problems are listed in plain language. Add the video length to also check that the last chapter is at least 10 seconds long and no timestamp runs past the end.
Good chapter titles
Keep titles short and descriptive: they appear on the progress bar and in search. Use the words viewers would search for, and avoid clickbait: chapters are navigation, not marketing.
Worked example
Here is what the YouTube Chapters Generator returns for its built-in example. Settings used: Sort by time: off. Click Try an example in the tool above to load it, then change it as you like.
00:00 - Intro
1:05 Why chapters matter
[03:40] Writing good chapter titles
7:12 Common mistakes
Wrap-up 11:58| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Chapters | 5 |
| Valid | Yes |
| Problems | 0 |
Questions
Why are my YouTube chapters not showing?
Usually because the first timestamp is not 0:00, there are fewer than three, they are out of order, or one chapter is shorter than 10 seconds.
What format should YouTube timestamps use?
Minutes and seconds like 4:05, or hours like 1:04:05, at the start or end of a line with the chapter title.
Last reviewed · How Textkiln tools work