Free Tool

4.9/5

Free YouTube Timestamp Link Generator

Send viewers to the exact moment. Paste any YouTube URL, pick a start time, and get a clean youtu.be timestamp link with the t parameter, playlist included if you want it.

This tool builds a YouTube link with a timestamp. Just shortening a video URL? Use the YouTube Link Shortener. Making a channel subscribe link? Try the YouTube Subscribe Link Generator.

YouTube video URL

Any form works: youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, Shorts, Live, or embed. If the URL already has a ?t= we prefill the time below.

Start time

Overflow is fine: 90 seconds becomes 1:30 automatically.

Or paste a time

We read hh:mm:ss, mm:ss, plain seconds, and 1h2m3s formats.

Want to know who actually clicks?

Wrap your timestamped links in Flyn short links and see total clicks free on every placement. Full country, device, and referrer breakdowns come with Pro.

Shorten for free

How to Link to a YouTube Moment in 3 Steps

Paste a YouTube URL and set the time

Every real URL form works: youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, Shorts, Live, and embed links, with any extra parameters. Set hours, minutes, and seconds, or paste a time in any format (1:23:45, 12:45, 90s, 1h2m3s). If the URL already has a t parameter, we prefill the time for you.

Generate your timestamped link

You get a clean youtu.be link with the start time converted to plain seconds, the form that works on desktop, mobile web, and in the YouTube app. If your original URL carried a playlist, the Keep playlist toggle preserves it. Copy the link or open it in a new tab to verify the landing spot.

Share a trackable link per placement

Shorten the result with Flyn right below the output. Mint a separate short link for the description, the pinned comment, and your newsletter, and the click counts tell you which placement actually drives plays. Short links stay editable, so a re-upload never breaks what you already posted.

How the YouTube t Parameter Works

The t query parameter tells the YouTube player where to begin playback, measured in seconds from the start of the video. A link like youtu.be/aBcD3fGhIjk?t=765 opens the video and jumps straight to 12:45. It is the same mechanism YouTube uses when you tick "Start at" in the share dialog, and it rides along happily with other parameters like list (playlists) on both youtu.be and youtube.com/watch URLs. That is all a YouTube start time link is: a normal video URL plus one parameter, and it is the only official way to make a YouTube link that starts at a certain time.

You may remember the old #t=1m30s hash form from years ago. That fragment syntax is deprecated: many surfaces ignore everything after the #, and some apps strip it entirely. YouTube still accepts unit notation as a query parameter (?t=1m30s), but plain seconds is the one form that works in every context that honors the parameter at all, which is why this generator always converts your hours, minutes, and seconds into a single seconds value.

One honest caveat: timestamps only work on normal watch pages. The Shorts player and live streams ignore start positions (details in the table below), and iframe embeds use a different parameter (start=) altogether. When you paste a Shorts, Live, or embed URL, we extract the video ID and emit a watch-style youtu.be link so the timestamp has the best possible chance of being honored, but a video that YouTube forces back into the Shorts feed will still start from the beginning.

Which YouTube URL Forms Support Timestamps?

Paste any of these into the generator, we extract the video ID either way and output the form that works.

URL form	Example	t works?	Notes
youtube.com/watch?v=ID	youtube.com/watch?v=aBcD3fGhIjk&t=765	Yes	The canonical watch page. t works everywhere: desktop, mobile web, and the app.
youtu.be/ID	youtu.be/aBcD3fGhIjk?t=765	Yes	YouTube's official short domain, same player as watch. This is what our tool outputs.
youtube.com/shorts/ID	youtube.com/shorts/aBcD3fGhIjk	No	The Shorts player ignores t and always starts at 0:00. We convert Shorts URLs to watch-style links.
youtube.com/embed/ID	youtube.com/embed/aBcD3fGhIjk?start=765	Partial	Iframe embeds use start= (plain seconds) instead of t. A t parameter on an embed is ignored.
youtube.com/live/ID	youtube.com/live/aBcD3fGhIjk	After the stream	No effect while live. Once archived, the video behaves like a normal watch page and t works.

Building a Chapter List for Your Description

Inside a video's own description and comments, you do not need generated links at all: type plain times like 0:00 Intro, 2:14 Setup, 10:05 Results, and YouTube auto-links them. Start the list at 0:00 with at least three ascending entries and YouTube also turns them into chapters on the progress bar. Where generated timestamp links earn their keep is everywhere YouTube's auto-linking does not reach: another video's description, community posts, newsletters, blog posts, docs, and chat apps. We covered description strategy in depth in our guide to YouTube description links.

A practical workflow: build your chapter list in the description first, then use this generator to produce shareable links for the three or four moments people ask about most. Pair it with our YouTube link shortener for the video itself and a subscribe link for your channel, and every touchpoint in your funnel becomes a link you can measure.

Timestamps for Podcast Show Notes

If you publish full podcast episodes on YouTube, timestamped links are the backbone of good show notes. Generate a YouTube link with a timestamp for each segment (the guest intro, the main topic, the audience questions), then paste them into your episode page, newsletter, and social posts. Listeners click through to the exact conversation they care about instead of bouncing off a two-hour wall of video.

The upgrade on top: shorten each segment link before publishing. A raw youtu.be?t= link tells you nothing once it leaves your hands; a short link counts every click, so after a few episodes you know whether your audience jumps to interviews or to Q&A, and which channel (newsletter vs. episode page) sends the most engaged listeners. Our guide to podcast show notes link optimization walks through the full setup.

Where Timestamped Links Shine

Any time the answer lives at a specific minute, a YouTube time link takes your audience straight there.

Tutorials and how-to videos

Answer a support question or forum thread with a link that jumps straight to the fix, no "skip to 14:32" instructions your reader has to follow by hand.

Reaction and commentary content

Point your audience at the exact clip you are responding to. A timestamped link is fair, precise, and keeps the original creator's view counter running.

Courses and cohort programs

Link each lesson module or syllabus row to the exact chapter of a longer recording, so students land on the right concept instead of scrubbing a 2-hour video.

Support docs and knowledge bases

Give every help article a video deep link to the exact time. When the answer lives at 07:41 of your walkthrough, send readers to 07:41.

Timestamp Links + Flyn: Links You Can Measure

The generator is free forever. Add Flyn when you want each placement of a link to report back.

Editable destinations

Re-point a short link anytime. If you re-upload a video, fix every posted link with one edit.

Per-placement analytics

Total clicks free on every link; full country, device, and referrer breakdowns on Pro.

QR codes included

Turn a timestamped link into a QR code for slides and printed materials, free on every link.

A free plan that lasts

25 links a month with total click counts and QR codes. No trial countdown. Custom domains come with Pro.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I link to a specific time in a YouTube video?

Paste the video URL into the generator, set the start time in hours, minutes, and seconds (or paste a time like 1:23:45), and click Generate. You get a youtu.be link with a t parameter in seconds, for example youtu.be/VIDEOID?t=765. Anyone who opens it lands at that exact moment instead of the beginning. It is the fastest way to share a YouTube video at a specific time without telling people to scrub.

What does the t parameter in a YouTube URL do?

The t query parameter tells the YouTube player where to start playback, counted in seconds from the start of the video. ?t=90 starts at 1:30, ?t=3600 starts at the one hour mark. It works on youtube.com/watch and youtu.be links, and it is exactly what YouTube's own "Start at" checkbox in the share dialog adds for you.

Does the t parameter use seconds or minutes?

The reliable modern form is plain seconds: ?t=765 for 12 minutes 45 seconds. YouTube also understands unit notation like ?t=12m45s, and years ago it supported a #t=1m30s hash fragment, but the hash form is deprecated and ignored in many contexts. This tool always outputs plain seconds because that form works everywhere the parameter is honored.

Can I make a timestamp link for YouTube Shorts?

Not one the Shorts player honors: it always starts from the beginning and ignores t. If you paste a Shorts URL here, we extract the video ID and generate a normal youtu.be watch link, where the timestamp is honored when the video opens in the regular player. Some devices still bounce Shorts back into the Shorts feed, in which case the time is dropped, so test the link before publishing it.

Do timestamps work on live streams?

Not while the stream is live: a live player follows the broadcast in real time, so a start position has no meaning. Once the stream ends and YouTube archives it as a normal video, the same URL behaves like any watch page and your t parameter works. That makes timestamped links a great way to index a finished live stream or podcast recording.

What is the difference between youtu.be and youtube.com/watch links?

They open the same video. youtu.be is YouTube's official short domain: youtu.be/ID is equivalent to youtube.com/watch?v=ID, and both accept the same t and list parameters. We output youtu.be because it is shorter, cleaner in descriptions and chat messages, and harder to mangle when copying.

Can I keep the playlist when sharing a timestamped link?

Yes. If the URL you paste contains a list parameter, the tool shows a "Keep playlist" toggle. Leave it on and the generated link carries the same list value, so the video opens at your timestamp with the playlist queue intact. Turn it off to share the video on its own.

How do I add clickable timestamps to a YouTube description or comment?

Type the times as plain text in the video's own description or comments, for example 0:00 Intro, 2:14 Setup, 10:05 Results, and YouTube automatically turns them into clickable jumps for that video. Links generated by this tool are for everywhere else: other videos' descriptions, community posts, newsletters, docs, and chat, where YouTube's auto-linking does not apply.

What is the difference between YouTube chapters and timestamp links?

Chapters live inside one video: you list times in that video's own description and YouTube segments the progress bar for people already watching. A timestamp link is a URL you share anywhere (docs, newsletters, chat, other videos) that opens the video already positioned at your chosen second. Use chapters to organize a video for its own viewers, and timestamp links to send people into the video from the outside.

Do timestamped links work in the YouTube mobile app?

Yes. Opening a youtu.be link with a t parameter on a phone hands off to the YouTube app on both iOS and Android, and the app starts playback at the requested second. Very rarely an in-app browser (inside a social app, for example) strips query parameters; if a link misbehaves there, test it in the system browser to confirm the link itself is fine.

Can I track how many people click my timestamp links?

The youtu.be link itself gives you no click data. Wrap it in a Flyn short link and every click is counted: total click counts are free on every link, and full country, device, and referrer breakdowns come with Pro. Put a different short link in the description, the pinned comment, and your newsletter and see which placement actually drives plays. The short link redirects instantly and keeps the timestamp intact.

Is this tool free, and do you store my URLs?

The generator is completely free, with no sign-up and no usage cap. Everything runs in your browser: the video ID and time are parsed locally, and nothing is sent to a server when you generate. Your recent links are kept in your own browser's localStorage so you can reuse them, and you can clear that history anytime.

Why does my timestamp link start from the beginning?

The usual causes: the video opened in the Shorts player (which ignores t), the link sits inside an iframe embed (embeds use start=, not t), the parameter got mangled when pasting (t must be a plain number of seconds), or an in-app browser stripped the query string. Generate the link with this tool, test it once in a normal browser tab, and it will behave the same for your audience.

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