YouTube chapters are a list of timestamps with titles in the video description, starting at 0:00. Below is the list FilmScribe delivers for a 52-minute podcast episode: 9 chapters by topic, in the format YouTube reads, plus the moments inside each part. Copy the list or download the .txt.
0:00 Intro and meet the guest 2:48 How she quit her full-time job 9:15 Separating household and business money 17:40 What to charge for your first project 24:05 A routine without a boss 31:20 How to say no to a client 38:45 Listener questions 47:55 Advice for anyone just starting out 51:10 Wrap-up
The first chapter has to be at 0:00. If the list starts at 0:05 or 1:00, YouTube ignores every chapter.
You need at least three chapters, each 10 seconds or longer. This example has nine, one every five or six minutes of conversation.
One timestamp per line, smallest to largest, as minutes:seconds (2:48) or, for videos over an hour, hours:minutes:seconds (1:02:15).
Short, specific titles like “What to charge for your first project” help people find a passage and show up on the video's progress bar.
Only the chapter list goes into the description. YouTube reads a simple list, one timestamp per line, which is why FilmScribe's copy button only copies the chapters.
Moments say what happened inside each chapter, like a listener question or a story. Each one has a start and an end to play, download or export, and in the .txt they're indented under their chapter. Chapters follow the topic, not a fixed interval: each one starts where the conversation changes direction.
A video or audio file, or a YouTube link, livestreams included. We transcribe it and split the recording by topic.
Each chapter comes with a title and a timestamp. Click to play the passage and adjust anything with the transcript beside it.
One click copies the list in YouTube's format. Paste it into the video description or download the .txt with the moments.
In the video description, write a list with the timestamp and title of each part, one per line, starting at 0:00. Save it and YouTube splits the progress bar. In FilmScribe, you upload the video or paste the link and get the list ready to copy.
It's almost always one of the rules: the list doesn't start at 0:00, it has fewer than three chapters, a chapter is shorter than 10 seconds or the timestamps are out of order. Also check that there's no text before the timestamp on the same line. After fixing it, it can take a few minutes to show up.
Minutes and seconds separated by a colon, like 2:48 or 17:40. For videos longer than an hour, use hours:minutes:seconds, like 1:02:15. After the timestamp comes a space and the title, one chapter per line.
There's no right number. Follow the topic: a new chapter wherever the conversation changes direction. For a 50-minute podcast, six to ten chapters usually works. Too many chapters turn the progress bar into noise.
They're the named parts inside each chapter, like a listener question, a story or a piece of advice, each with its own time. They're indented under the chapter in the .txt and don't go to YouTube. Moments are on Studio and Agency.
Yes. Paste the link to a YouTube livestream once the replay is available, or upload an audio file. For an audio podcast, the list also works in the episode description on podcast apps that support timestamps.
Upload the video or paste a YouTube link. We split the recording by topic and deliver the list in the description format.
See the result on your own recording before adding a card.