Add your sections and times, and get a clean chapter block that passes YouTube's rules: first at 0:00, three or more, ten seconds apart. Copy and paste into your description.
No signup. No email. Runs in your browser.
Chapters help retention
Chapters keep viewers in. Retention is what ranks.
YTGrowth's free AI audit reads your retention curves and tells you which videos lose viewers and where, so you fix the drop-offs chapters cannot.
Get my free audit →Free trial · no card · upgrade anytime
0:00 Intro
Chapters only switch on when the first line of your list starts at 0:00. Miss this and YouTube ignores the whole set, so this tool defaults your first chapter to 0:00 and flags it if you change it.
You need a minimum of three timestamps, listed in ascending order. Two will not trigger chapters, and times that jump backward break the set. The validator checks both as you type.
Every chapter has to run at least 10 seconds, which means your timestamps must be 10 or more seconds apart. Slice too finely and chapters fail to appear.
Once the set is valid, drop it into your video description in YouTube Studio. The chapters show on the progress bar within a short time, and you can edit them on existing videos whenever you want.
Retention only matters once a click happens. YTGrowth helps you win the click and the rank.
Description Generator
Drop your chapters into a complete, keyword-rich description with links and hashtags, in seconds.
Title Generator
Generate and score titles against the CTR signals that earn the click your chapters then hold.
AI Channel Audit
A 10-dimension audit reads your retention curves and shows exactly where viewers leave, and what to fix.
Connect your channel for a free AI audit that reads your retention curves and shows where viewers leave, plus the titles and thumbnails to fix.
Get my free audit →Free trial · no card · upgrade anytime
Everything creators ask about YouTube chapters and timestamps. Still unsure? Email us.
Chapters split your video into labeled sections that appear as markers on the progress bar and as a clickable list, so viewers can jump straight to the part they want. You create them by adding timestamps to your video description: a time followed by a label, one per line. When the format is right, YouTube turns them into chapters automatically. They improve the viewing experience and can lift watch time because people find what they came for instead of bouncing.
Three rules. First, the very first timestamp must be 0:00. Second, you need at least three timestamps in ascending order. Third, each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long, so your timestamps have to be 10 or more seconds apart. If any rule is broken, YouTube quietly ignores all of them and you get no chapters. This tool checks all three as you type and tells you the moment something is off.
Put them in your video description. Open YouTube Studio, go to the video, then Details, and paste the chapter block into the description box, ideally near the top or in a clearly labeled section. Save, and within a short time the chapters appear on the player. You can add or edit chapters on existing videos at any time without affecting their performance history.
They help the viewer experience, which feeds the metrics that matter. When viewers can jump to the section they want, they are more likely to keep watching instead of leaving, and better retention is a strong signal to YouTube. Chapters also give the algorithm extra structured context about what your video covers. They will not rescue a weak video, but on a solid one they are a free, easy win.
Enough to map the real sections of your video without slicing it so finely that each chapter is a few seconds long. For most videos that means somewhere between three and ten chapters. Name them clearly and usefully (a viewer scanning the list should understand what each section delivers), and remember the 10-second minimum length per chapter.
No. Chapters apply to regular long-form videos, not to Shorts, which are too short to benefit and do not show a chapter list. Use chapters on your standard uploads, especially tutorials, guides, reviews, and any video long enough that viewers will want to navigate it.
Free forever, no signup, no email. The generator runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to or stored on our servers. We built it as a genuine free tool to make a fiddly formatting job painless. If you want your titles and descriptions scored against the videos already ranking for your keyword, you can connect your channel for a free AI audit, but that is entirely optional.