tigtools

YouTube Timestamp Link Generator

Paste a video link and a time to get share links that start at that moment. Paste a list of timestamps to get a link for each one and to check whether it works as YouTube chapters.

Runs in your browser No sign-up

Video

Any YouTube video link works, including youtu.be and Shorts links.

Link to one moment

For example 90, 1:30, 1:02:03 or 1h2m3s.

Several timestamps and chapters

Time first, then the title: "0:00 Intro", "1:23 - Setup" or "[2:05] Results".

Lets the checker test the last chapter as well.

How to use it

  1. Paste the video link (or just its ID).
  2. Type a start time to get a watch link, a youtu.be link and an embed URL starting there.
  3. For chapters, paste one timestamp per line with its title, and optionally the video length.
  4. Fix any problems listed, then copy the cleaned text into your video description.

How it works

YouTube links can start at a chosen second. Watch links use the t parameter (…watch?v=ID&t=90s), short links use ?t= (youtu.be/ID?t=90) and embedded players use start (…/embed/ID?start=90). If you paste a watch link with other parameters, such as a playlist, they are kept and only the time is replaced. Shorts and other forms are turned into a normal watch link, because Shorts ignore the time parameter.

Timestamps in a video description become clickable automatically. To appear as chapters on the progress bar, YouTube requires that the first timestamp is 0:00, that there are at least three timestamps in ascending order, and that every chapter is at least 10 seconds long. The checker tests exactly these rules; with the video length it also checks the last chapter. YouTube can still decide not to show chapters on some videos, which a checker cannot know.

The cleaned text is written as m:ss or h:mm:ss followed by the title, one chapter per line, which is the format YouTube recognises.

Examples

Share from 1 minute 30

Link youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw and time 1:30 give …watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw&t=90s, youtu.be/jNQXAC9IVRw?t=90 and …/embed/jNQXAC9IVRw?start=90.

A valid chapter list

0:00 Intro, 0:45 Setting up, 2:10 First test, 5:30 Results, 8:05 Wrap-up: starts at 0:00, five chapters, all at least 10 seconds apart.

A chapter that is too short

0:00 Intro, 0:05 Title card, 1:00 Main part fails: the Intro chapter is only 5 seconds long.

Frequently asked questions

Why are my chapters not showing on YouTube?

Most often the first timestamp is not 0:00, there are fewer than three, they are not in order, or one chapter is shorter than 10 seconds. The checker lists each of these problems with its line number.

Should I use t=90 or t=1m30s?

Both work on YouTube. The tool uses plain seconds, which every YouTube link form accepts.

Do timestamps work on Shorts?

No. Shorts links ignore the time, so the tool builds a normal watch link for the same video, which does support it.

Can I write hours?

Yes. Use 1:02:03 or 1h2m3s. In the description text, chapters after the first hour are written as h:mm:ss.

Privacy

Links and chapter checks are built in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere, and no request is made to YouTube.