How to link to a specific part of a YouTube video

 This saves a lot of effort from manually adjusting video timing - and there are 4 ways to do it.

How to link to a specific part of a YouTube video

All four methods of linking to a specific part of a video work on YouTube's desktop site. They also work on mobile devices, but require a bit of tweaking.

Link to a specific part of a YouTube video by right-clicking

This is the best option when you're watching a YouTube video and notice a specific part you want to share.

1. Pause the video.
2. Right-click the video or press Control (if you're using macOS).
3. Select Copy video URL for the time being .
4. Share URLs.

When you copy the URL, it will copy from the moment you paused the video. The link will be saved to the clipboard for later sharing. When someone clicks on the link you share, they will be taken to the right time of the video.

Link to a specific part of a YouTube video using the Share feature

This next method works by creating your own start time. It's better to use it when you know the time in a video but aren't watching it right now.

1. Click the Share button at the bottom.
2. Check the Start at box .
3. Enter the time for the video to start.
4. Click Copy , then share the URL.

If you're watching a video and have pressed pause, clicking Share will automatically populate the timestamp next to the Start at box . Otherwise, you will need to enter the start time yourself.

Share a specific part of a YouTube video using Clip

Using YouTube's Clips feature is another way to share a link to a specific part of a video. The only limitation of this method is that the clip can only be a maximum of one minute long.

However, YouTube allows viewers to watch the entire video. To learn more, see the tutorial: How to use YouTube Clip to share a video with others.

Link to a specific part of a YouTube video by modifying the URL

This is a good choice if you're trying to link a lot of YouTube videos and need a quick way to do most of the work for yourself. It's helpful if you already know the start times, so just add them to the end of the URL.

1. Copy the YouTube video URL from the URL bar (on desktop) or by tapping the Share button and selecting Copy link on the YouTube mobile app.
2. Next, add the timestamp to the end of the URL in the format &t=XhXmXs . Replace X with the actual time, so if you want the video to start at 2:20, the timestamp will be &t=2h20m0s . For example, after adding a timestamp, the URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqgWXdaruRM will be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqgWXdaruRM&t=2h20m0s. There is no need to edit the root part of the URL. Even if it's very long, just add &t=XhXmXs.
3. Copy the modified URL then share it.

YouTube has created time-specific links for you on the platform, so it doesn't make sense to do it manually in individual cases. However, if there is a series of YouTube videos that need to link to a specific section, this will make your job much easier. There are other YouTube URL tricks you should learn about if you're curious.

Jessica Tanner

Update 13 July 2024