How to add chapters to a YouTube video, and write podcast show notes

To add chapters to a YouTube video, paste a list of timestamps and titles into the video's description in YouTube Studio and save. The list must start at 00:00, have at least three timestamps in ascending order, and every chapter must be at least 10 seconds long.¹ The same timestamps work as chapters on Apple Podcasts, and they make the backbone of good podcast show notes. This guide covers YouTube's rules, Apple's, and how to write a description and show notes that help listeners and search.

YouTube chapters: the official rules

From YouTube Help, checked on 3 November 2026:¹

• The first timestamp is 00:00.
• At least three timestamps, listed in ascending order.
• Each chapter is at least 10 seconds long.
• They go in the description. Each line holds a timestamp and a title.
• Your chapters win. Chapters you add yourself override automatic chapters.
• Not every channel has them. YouTube says chapters may be unavailable if your channel has active strikes, or if the content may be inappropriate for some viewers. If you do not have access, YouTube suggests applying for advanced features.

How to add chapters, step by step

A chapter list for a one-hour episode might look like this:

00:00 Introduction
02:15 How our guest got started
09:40 The first big mistake
21:05 What changed after year one
34:30 Tools we use every week
48:10 Questions from listeners
57:20 Where to find us

Common reasons chapters do not show

Each of these comes straight from YouTube's rules:¹

• The list does not start at 00:00. A list that starts at 00:05 or 0:30 will not work.
• Fewer than three timestamps. Two chapters is not enough.
• Times out of order. Every timestamp must be later than the one before.
• A chapter under 10 seconds. Merge a short section into the one next to it.
• Channel or video restrictions. Active strikes, or content that may be inappropriate for some viewers, can switch chapters off.

Automatic chapters

YouTube can also make chapters for you. Allow automatic chapters is ticked by default for new uploads, under Show more on the video's details page. YouTube says not every video is eligible, and not every eligible video will get them.¹ To turn them off for every new upload, untick the setting under Settings > Upload defaults > Advanced settings.¹

Automatic chapters are a fallback. Titles you write yourself say what each part is about in your words, and you can check them before anyone sees them.

Chapters on Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts reads chapters from the episode description too, with slightly different guidance:²

• Start at 00:00:00, with at least three chapters.
• No more than six chapters per hour as a best practice.
• Short titles: no more than 45 characters and fewer than five words, in title case.
• Automatic chapters: Apple creates them for full and bonus episodes in English, on iOS 26.2 and later. It does not make them for trailers, for episodes under 10 minutes, or when it could not make a transcript.

So one list can serve both: write timestamps with hours (00:00:00) and keep titles short.

How to write a podcast description

The description is the first thing people read in a podcast app and under a YouTube video. A good one:

• Says what the episode is about in the first sentence or two. Apple describes the episode description as one or more sentences describing your episode to potential listeners.³
• Names the guest and what they do. Apple suggests putting host and guest names in your show and episode descriptions, so they are spelt correctly in its automatic transcripts.⁴
• Is accurate. Apple's content guidelines say metadata, including titles and descriptions, must always accurately represent the content, and they prohibit trying to influence search with inaccurate or inappropriate terms.⁵

Length limits in Apple Podcasts Connect: up to 150 characters for the episode title and up to 10,000 characters for the description.³

How to write podcast show notes

Show notes are the longer version: everything a listener might want after hearing the episode. A simple structure:

• A summary: two or three sentences on what was discussed and why it matters.
• The guest: name, role, and where to find them.
• Chapters: the timestamp list, so people can jump to the part they want.
• Resources mentioned: books, tools, articles and people, with links.
• Credits: music and other licensed material. If you use a Creative Commons track from YouTube's Audio Library, YouTube says you must credit the artist in the video's description.⁶ Our music guide explains the licences.
• Where to listen and follow: your podcast feed, YouTube channel and social accounts.

Post the show notes on your website too. A page per episode, with a transcript, gives search engines and listeners something to find. Our SRT guide covers transcript formats.

Episode notes written from your transcript with podswitch

On paid plans, podswitch writes episode notes from the transcript of each episode:

• Title ideas for the episode.
• A description for podcast apps and YouTube.
• YouTube chapters, as timestamps and titles.
• Show notes.

Read them through, edit anything you would phrase differently, and paste them in. On the MAX plan, the social kit also puts the description and chapters into one ZIP with the episode's posts and images. See the Social Studio and podcast transcripts pages for more.