Online Tool Store
YouTube Chapter Generator
Turn rough timestamp notes into a sorted, correctly-formatted YouTube chapter list, with warnings for YouTube's chapter activation rules.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server.
Example shown — replace it with your own notes. Timestamps and labels can be in either order on each line.
How the YouTube chapter generator works
- Paste your rough notes — a timestamp and a label on each line, in any order, in any order relative to each other.
- The tool finds each timestamp, sorts every line chronologically, and formats them into YouTube's expected chapter list layout.
- Fix any warnings (missing 0:00 start, fewer than 3 chapters), then copy the result into your video description.
FAQ
Why does the first chapter need to be 0:00?
YouTube only turns a description's timestamps into clickable chapter markers if the very first one is exactly 0:00 — this tool flags it if that's missing so you can fix it before publishing.
Why does it want at least 3 chapters?
YouTube requires a minimum of three timestamps for chapters to activate at all — with fewer than that, the timestamps are just plain text in the description, not clickable chapter markers.
Can I paste notes with the timestamp and label in either order?
Yes — "5:30 Setup walkthrough" and "Setup walkthrough 5:30" both work. The tool finds the timestamp wherever it is on the line and treats the rest as the label.
Is my content sent anywhere?
No. Parsing, sorting, and formatting all happen instantly in your browser — nothing is sent to Online Tool Store or YouTube from this page.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | TubeBuddy chapters | Manual formatting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-sorts out-of-order notes | ✓ | ✓ | Manual reordering |
| Warns about YouTube's chapter rules | ✓ | ✓ | Easy to miss |
| No browser extension required | ✓ | Extension required | ✓ |
For a fast way to turn rough notes into a valid, correctly-formatted chapter list, the Online Tool Store YouTube Chapter Generator handles the sorting and rule-checking for you.