YouTube chapter checker
Paste your video descriptions — one or fifty. Every timestamp is checked against YouTube’s chapter rules, so you know which videos will show chapters and exactly which line breaks the rest.
How it works
YouTube shows chapters only when the description follows a few strict rules: the first timestamp is 0:00, there are at least three timestamps in ascending order, and every chapter is at least 10 seconds long. One slip and the whole video silently loses its chapters. The usual culprits are a list that starts at 0:15, two lines swapped after an edit, a 1:15 and 1:20 that are too close, or a sentence like “my favourite knife comes up at 5:30” above the list — YouTube reads that time too.
How to use it: paste the description of each video, with a line containing === between videos. Optionally start each one with “# video title” and add a line “Length: 12:34” so the last chapter and times past the end are checked too. Press Check chapters. Nothing is uploaded.
You get a table of every video (OK, will not show chapters, no timestamps), the exact line and reason for each problem, things worth a look (two times on one line, a time not at the start of the line, an empty or repeated title), and a tidied list with 0:00 added where it was missing. Copy all problems as CSV.
FAQ
Is anything uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is stored.
Everything passes but chapters still don’t show?
Check that automatic chapters are not turned off in YouTube Studio, that the video is not a Short, and that the channel has no restrictions such as active strikes. Changes can take a while to appear.
What is the free limit?
50 videos per check.
Does it write chapter titles for me?
No. It checks the format. If you want the channel’s titles, descriptions and chapters reviewed as a whole, see the paid channel report below.