How to Add Chapters to YouTube Videos (and Why They Don't Show Up)

Chapters split a video into labelled sections. They appear as segments in the progress bar and as a list viewers can tap to jump to a part. Google can also show them as "key moments" in search results, which can send viewers straight to the part of your video that answers their question.

They help viewers who would otherwise leave because they can't find the part they came for. And they force you to name the structure of your video — which often shows you where it drags.

Chapters are created from timestamps in your description. They only appear if every rule is met:

• •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.

• •Watch your video once and note the time each new section starts.
• •Write one line per chapter: the timestamp, a space, and a short title, e.g. "2:15 Setting up the lights". Use minutes:seconds, or hours:minutes:seconds for videos over an hour.
• •Paste your list into the YouTube Chapters Formatter to sort it, fix the format, and check every rule.
• •Copy the result into your description on its own lines (usually below the first two lines of summary).
• •Save, then open the video and check the progress bar. Chapters can take a few minutes to appear.

If you added timestamps and nothing happened, check these in order:

• •The first timestamp isn't 0:00 (very common when people start with "0:05 Intro").
• •Two timestamps are less than 10 seconds apart, or share the same time.
• •There are only two timestamps.
• •A timestamp has a typo, such as 1:5 instead of 1:05, or 2;30 with a semicolon.
• •Automatic chapters are turned off and your manual ones break a rule, so neither shows.
• •The video is a Short. Chapters only work on regular videos.

Name each chapter after what the viewer gets, not what you did. Keep it short: the player shows only a few words.