How does it decide where chapters go?

It spaces them across the video, then nudges each one to land on a sentence break in the captions instead of cutting mid-thought. It also enforces YouTube’s rules: first chapter at 0:00, at least three, none shorter than ten seconds.

Are the chapter titles final?

No. The titles are lifted from what is said at each timestamp, which makes them accurate but plain. The timestamps are the finished part, so rewrite the labels into something a viewer would want to click.

Why does my video not work?

It needs captions, manual or auto-generated, because that is where the timings come from. Videos with captions disabled have nothing to read. Very short videos also fail, since YouTube needs at least three chapters of ten seconds each.

Do chapters actually help?

They help viewers navigate and can surface your video in search results as key moments. They will not rescue a video nobody clicks, but on longer tutorials and reviews they measurably improve the experience.

Free tool · 3 free, then your email

YouTube chapter generator

Turn any video with captions into timestamped chapters you can paste straight into the description.

Needs a video with captions, since that is where the timings come from.

Chapters are one of the few description-box jobs that genuinely change how a video is watched. They let someone skip to the part they came for instead of scrubbing blindly and giving up, and YouTube can surface individual chapters as key moments in search. The catch is that writing them means sitting through your own video with a notepad.

This does the tedious half. It reads the caption track, spaces chapters across the runtime, then moves each boundary onto a sentence break so you are not cutting mid-thought. It also handles the formatting rules YouTube enforces silently: first chapter at 0:00, at least three of them, none under ten seconds. Break any one of those and the whole list quietly fails to render.

The labels are a first draft, deliberately. They are lifted from what you actually said at each mark, which makes them accurate but plain. Paste the block into your description, then spend two minutes rewriting the titles into something a viewer would want to jump to.

Frequently asked questions

How does it decide where chapters go?: It spaces them across the video, then nudges each one to land on a sentence break in the captions instead of cutting mid-thought. It also enforces YouTube’s rules: first chapter at 0:00, at least three, none shorter than ten seconds.
Are the chapter titles final?: No. The titles are lifted from what is said at each timestamp, which makes them accurate but plain. The timestamps are the finished part, so rewrite the labels into something a viewer would want to click.
Why does my video not work?: It needs captions, manual or auto-generated, because that is where the timings come from. Videos with captions disabled have nothing to read. Very short videos also fail, since YouTube needs at least three chapters of ten seconds each.
Do chapters actually help?: They help viewers navigate and can surface your video in search results as key moments. They will not rescue a video nobody clicks, but on longer tutorials and reviews they measurably improve the experience.

This tool lives inside Chewbr

Chewbr does chapters and description packaging, plus the other 46 jobs between filmed and published.

The full app is the finishing system for YouTubers: every video gets a 47-step checklist from Plan to Promote, with tools like this one built into the step where you need them. It has not launched yet, so join the waitlist and you will be first through the door.