YouTube Timestamp Link Generator
Note: The embed player uses start and accepts plain seconds only. A t=1m30s copied from the share dialogue into an iframe is silently ignored, which is the usual reason an embedded timestamp appears not to work.
This generator handles both, and takes whatever URL form you have. The share button gives you a youtu.be link where the video id is the path. The address bar gives you a watch link where it is the v parameter. A Shorts URL puts it in the path again. A playlist link carries a list parameter you usually want to keep and an index you usually do not. All four are parsed down to the id and rebuilt cleanly.
The chapter list is the second half of the job. Paste a set of times and titles and you get the description block YouTube reads to build its chapter markers — which has strict rules that are easy to miss. The first entry must be 00:00, there must be at least three, and each must be at least ten seconds long. Get any of those wrong and YouTube shows no chapters at all rather than telling you why. Those three conditions are checked before the block is produced.
The same list is also emitted as Markdown links, which is what you want under an embedded video on your own page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my timestamp not work in an embedded video?
Because the embed player uses start, not t, and it accepts only a plain number of seconds. A t=1m30s copied from a share link does nothing in an iframe. The generated embed code uses start=90 for that reason.
Why are my chapters not showing on YouTube?
One of three rules is broken: the list must begin at 00:00, there must be at least three timestamps, and each chapter must run at least ten seconds. YouTube silently shows no chapters rather than reporting the problem, so the tool checks all three before generating the block.
Does the timestamp work on a Short?
Not usefully. Shorts loop and have no seek behaviour in the normal player, so a start time is ignored. The generator converts a Shorts URL to the standard watch form, where the timestamp does work.
Should I keep the playlist parameter?
Only if you want the viewer to continue into the rest of the playlist afterwards. If you are linking to one specific moment as a citation, drop it — otherwise the video autoplays into unrelated content when the point you were making has finished.
