Tutorial Chapter Builder

How to use it

1. Pick a mode. Build chapters from a beat sheet turns a plan into timestamps; Check existing chapters reads a description you have already written.
2. In build mode, add one row per step, with a title and a length: seconds (45), m:ss (1:30), or h:mm:ss (1:02:03). If the edit is finished, use the real lengths from the timeline, because planned lengths drift.
3. Each chapter starts where the lengths before it add up, so the first starts at 0:00. Anything marked Fix breaks a rule.
4. Copy the chapters, or fill in the description template and paste the whole thing into the Description field in YouTube Studio.
5. To audit a published video, switch to check mode and paste its description. Add the video’s length if you know it.

How it works

Why chapters help viewers and search

YouTube Help describes chapters as breaking a video into sections, each with its own preview, so viewers can rewatch parts of it; chapters may also appear in the transcript. Chapters suit tutorials, where a viewer often needs one step rather than the whole video. In a 2014 analysis of 6.9 million edX viewing sessions, Guo, Kim and Rubin found that students re-watched tutorials more than lectures and suggested they “will often re-watch and jump to relevant parts.” That was a retrospective study of math and science course videos, not an experiment, so it is a reason to try chapters rather than a measured effect. Our guide to recording software tutorials people finish covers the planning that comes first.

For search, Google says it may build key moments for a YouTube video from its description and prioritizes the ones you set yourself. As of October 2026, neither YouTube Help nor Google’s key-moments page says chapter titles in particular affect ranking.

The rules the tool checks

Two points are our reading, not YouTube’s wording: the last chapter has no next timestamp, so we measure it against the video’s length, and three 10-second chapters mean a video needs at least 30 seconds to carry a manual list. Help does not say what happens to a list that breaks a rule, so the tool reports each break as a fix.

How the timestamps are worked out

A chapter starts at the sum of the lengths before it. Parts of 0:20, 0:35 and 1:10 start at 0:00, 0:20 and 0:55, and the video runs 2:05. Help writes the first stamp as 00:00 and gives no hour-long example; Google’s page uses [hour]:[minute]:[second] and lets you drop the hour. The default style writes m:ss under an hour and h:mm:ss on every line from one hour up. Choose “padded” to match Help’s 00:00 exactly.

What the tool does not do

• It does not look at your video. Timestamps come from the lengths you type, so they are only as accurate as those lengths. Compare them with your editor’s timeline before you publish.
• It does not connect to YouTube, add chapters to a video, or tell you whether a channel is eligible for them.
• It does not write titles for you or judge whether they are good. It flags missing and repeated titles only.
• It reads only lines that start with a time, optionally after a bullet or bracket. A line such as “Intro 0:00” is not read as a chapter.
• It cannot promise how YouTube or Google will show your chapters or key moments.

Practical tips

• Name the thing viewers search for. “Set a daily schedule” tells a viewer more than “Step 3”. Put the command, setting, or error message in the title.
• Open with the result. Make the first chapter “What you’ll have by the end”, then one chapter per beat.
• Finish the edit first. Trimming five seconds from part two moves every later timestamp, so update the lengths and copy the list again.
• Merge tiny beats. Anything under 10 seconds belongs with a neighbour; the tool will not pass it.
• Lead with the summary. YouTube’s description tips say viewers see the first few lines before “Show more”, so the template starts there.

Frequently asked questions

My chapters are saved but do not appear. What should I check?

Run the description through check mode: 0:00 start, at least three timestamps, ascending order, and no chapter under 10 seconds. If those pass, Help also says the chapters feature won’t be available when a channel has active strikes or the content may be inappropriate for some viewers, and that you can apply for Advanced features if you don’t yet have access.

Should I turn automatic chapters off?

You do not have to. Help says chapters you add yourself override automatic ones. Automatic chapters are on by default for new uploads, and the “Allow automatic chapters” checkbox in YouTube Studio turns them off for a single video.

How do I write timestamps for a video over an hour?

Use h:mm:ss, such as 1:02:03. The default style then writes every line that way, so the first is 0:00:00. “Compact” adds hours only where needed.

Does the tool store or send what I type?

Nothing you type is sent anywhere; the logic runs in your browser. The page autosaves your work in this browser’s local storage under lhp.chapterBuilder.v1, and “Clear everything and start over” removes it. If storage is blocked, the tool still works until you close the page.

What if I trim the video after planning?

Change the length of each part that moved. Later starts recalculate, and you copy the list again. Check mode confirms that a published description still passes after an edit.

Related guides

• YouTube Chapters, Captions, and Descriptions for Tutorials. The chapter rules YouTube enforces, a beat-sheet-to-timestamps example, a caption review list for commands and flags, and a description template for tutorials.
• How to Record Software Tutorials People Actually Finish. Plan one-task software tutorials with a beat sheet, pre-flight checklist, per-step takes, and chapter and description templates, backed by video research.
• Should You Show Your Face in Software Tutorials? What Studies Found. Studies of instructor presence found higher motivation, no reliable learning gain and an attention cost. Get a decision table, layout options and a lighting checklist.
• Don't Leak Secrets in Screen Recordings: A Pre-Flight Checklist. A three-stage Mac checklist for keeping API keys, notifications and private tabs out of tutorials, plus why blur fails and what to do if a secret slips out.

Sources

• Video Chapters, YouTube Help. Manual chapter rules, automatic chapters, eligibility.
• Upload YouTube videos, YouTube Help. The 5,000-character limit and the Correction: section.
• Tips for video descriptions, YouTube Help. What viewers see before “Show more”.
• Video structured data, Google Search Central. Key moments and the timestamp format.
• Videos resource, YouTube Data API reference. The 5000-byte limit and the < and > restriction.
• How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos, Guo, Kim and Rubin, Learning at Scale 2014. Tutorial re-watching and skimming.