How to Link to a YouTube Timestamp

You want to send someone a video, but not the whole video. You want them to land on the one moment that matters, at 3 minutes and 12 seconds, without a "skip to 3:12" note that half of them will ignore. A YouTube timestamp link does exactly that: it starts playback at the exact second you choose.

The short version: share the link straight from YouTube and it usually includes a start time, or add the time yourself by putting ?t=90 at the end of the URL (or &t=90 if the URL already has a question mark in it). The number is the start position in seconds. Below are the reliable ways to do it on desktop and mobile, plus how to line up the right moment before you copy anything.

Quick steps on desktop

YouTube gives you two easy paths on a computer.

From the Share button:

1. Play the video and pause at, or just before, the moment you want.
2. Click Share under the video.
3. In the share box, look for a Start at checkbox with a time next to it. Tick it, and adjust the time if you need to.
4. Click Copy.

The copied link now carries your start time. Paste it anywhere and it will open at that point.

From the right-click menu:

1. Right-click directly on the video picture at the moment you want.
2. Choose Copy video URL at current time.

That single click grabs a link stamped with the exact second that was on screen. It is the fastest method when you already have the video paused at the right spot.

Add the timestamp to the URL manually

Sometimes the Share box does not show a start-at option, or you already have a plain link and just want to point it at a moment. You can edit the URL by hand. The rule is simple once you see it.

A timestamp is the t= parameter, and its value is the number of seconds from the start.

• ?t=90 goes on a URL that has no question mark yet. For a full watch link like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEOID, that URL already has a ?, so you actually append with &t=90 (more on that below). The ?t=90 form is for URLs that do not already contain a ?.
• &t=90 is what you use when the URL already has a question mark and other parameters. A standard watch page is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEOID. Because it already contains ?v=, you add the time with an ampersand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEOID&t=90. That starts the video at 90 seconds.
• t=1m30s is the human-readable format. Instead of counting out 90 seconds, you can write t=1m30s, and YouTube reads it as one minute and thirty seconds. Both &t=90 and &t=1m30s land in the same place. Use whichever is easier to double-check.
• youtu.be short links work the same way and are often cleaner. A short link like https://youtu.be/VIDEOID has no question mark, so you add the time with ?t=90: https://youtu.be/VIDEOID?t=90. This is the tidiest link to paste into a document or message.

The one thing to get right is the separator. First parameter on a URL uses ?. Every parameter after that uses &. If a link opens from the beginning even though you added a time, the separator is almost always the reason.

Mobile realities

On a phone, timestamp links are readable and shareable, but creating them is less consistent than on desktop. It helps to know where the rough edges are.

• The Share UI varies. Depending on your app version and operating system, the Share sheet may or may not show a start-at time. When it does, it works. When it does not, there is no toggle to hunt for.
• There is no dependable right-click. The "Copy video URL at current time" trick is a desktop feature. On mobile you cannot count on it.
• Add the parameter yourself when needed. The workaround that always works is to copy the plain video link, paste it somewhere you can edit text, and add &t=90 (or ?t=90 on a youtu.be link) by hand. Fiddly, but reliable.

If you make timestamp links from your phone often, it is usually faster to open the video in a full desktop browser when you can, grab the link there, and send it on.

How timestamps and transcripts work together

The hard part of a timestamp link is rarely the URL. It is finding the exact moment in the first place. Scrubbing back and forth on the timeline to locate one sentence is slow, and you often overshoot by several seconds.

This is where the transcript does the heavy lifting. A transcript lists what was said with a timecode on every line, so you can read to the exact sentence, see the time attached to it, and jump straight there instead of guessing on the scrubber. Find the line, note the time, build your link.

If you are not sure how to open and search that text, how to search a YouTube transcript walks through find-in-page and dedicated search so you can locate a phrase in seconds. For the wider picture of getting, reading, and using transcript text, the YouTube transcript guide covers the whole workflow. And when you want the transcript as clean, timestamped text you can paste or save, the YouTube transcript generator turns a video URL into readable lines with times attached.

Once you can see the moment written down, making a link that starts there stops being a chore.

A faster workflow with Vidskim

If you build timestamped links and quotes regularly, doing it one scrub at a time gets old. Vidskim is a Chrome extension for YouTube that keeps the transcript, the timecodes, and your notes in one place, so finding and citing a moment is a couple of clicks.

Here is how the pieces fit:

• Use the transcript lines to find the moment. Open the transcript panel, read or search to the quote, step, or claim you want, and read the timecode right off the line. That time is what goes into your t= link.
• Treat summary and chat answers as a starting point, not the final word. Vidskim can produce a one-click summary or answer a question about the video, grounded in the transcript. When an answer points you to a claim you plan to quote, click back to the transcript at that timecode and confirm the wording before you share it. A timestamp link is only as good as the moment behind it.
• Export notes with the timecodes attached. When you save or export your notes, keep the times next to each quote. Then anyone reading them can open the source at the exact second instead of taking your word for it.

Transcript, translate, and export are free to use. The summary and chat features run on your own API key, so you stay in control of that part.

Add Vidskim to Chrome, free

Troubleshooting

The link keeps starting at the beginning. This is nearly always the separator. Check that the first parameter uses ? and any later parameter uses &. Remove any stray spaces you may have pasted in around the t= value. When in doubt, use plain seconds, like &t=90, rather than the 1m30s format.

The timestamp seems off by a few seconds. Two things can cause this. Caption timecodes are sometimes approximate, so the line's listed time can sit a beat before or after the exact word. Player behavior also affects perception: an ad or pre-roll before the video, or the moment YouTube needs to buffer, can make the start feel slightly late even when the link is correct. If precision matters, nudge the seconds value by two or three and test.

A messaging or social app strips the parameter. Some apps rewrite or shorten links when you paste them, and the t= can get dropped. If the received link ignores your start time, paste the URL into a plain browser address bar to confirm it works there, then re-add the timestamp manually if the app mangled it. Sending the youtu.be short form with ?t=90 sometimes survives better than the long watch URL.

FAQ

How do I make a YouTube link start at a specific time?

On desktop, pause the video at the moment you want, click Share, check the start-at time if it appears, then copy the link. You can also right-click the video and choose Copy video URL at current time.

What does t= mean in a YouTube link?

The t= parameter tells YouTube where to start playback. For example, t=90 starts at 90 seconds, and t=1m30s starts at one minute and thirty seconds.

Can I add a timestamp to a YouTube link manually?

Yes. Add ?t=90 to a plain YouTube URL, or &t=90 if the URL already has a question mark and other parameters. Replace 90 with the number of seconds you want.

Can I create a timestamp link on mobile?

Usually yes, but mobile is less consistent. The Share menu may not always expose a start-at checkbox, so the reliable workaround is to copy the link and add the t= time manually.

Why should I keep timestamps with transcript notes?

A timestamp makes a quote or summary verifiable. Anyone reading your notes can open the source video at the exact moment instead of searching through the whole recording.