How to Link to a Specific Part in a YouTube Video

This article explains how to link to a specific part of a YouTube video using the Share feature or by adding a timestamp. These steps pertain to desktop users only. All browsers are supported.

Create a YouTube Link With a Timestamp Using the Share Feature

The simplest method is to add a timestamp using YouTube's sharing options.

1. Open the YouTube video you want to share and play it or move through the timeline until you reach the exact moment you want to use in the timestamp.

2. Stop the video.

3. Click the Share button to open the sharing pop-up.

4. Select the checkbox under the URL that says Start at, and optionally adjust the time if it isn't correct.

5. Copy the updated shortened URL with the timestamp appended.

6. Share this new URL, and anyone who clicks it sees the video beginning at the timestamp you specified. For example, in The Goonies video, the URL might look like this: https://youtu.be/5qA2s_Vh0uE?t=38s.

Manually Add a Timestamp to a YouTube URL

To add a timestamp manually, open the YouTube video in your browser, then locate the URL for this video in your browser's address bar. This is the URL that shows near the top of the browser window when you're watching a video on YouTube.

Depending on the URL, there are two ways to add a timestamp to the video:

• &t=1m30s or
• ?t=1m30s

Use the ampersand example if the URL includes a question mark, like if it ends in

watch?v=Sf5FfA1j590.

Short URLs that are listed as youtu.be don't have a question mark, so those would need to use the second example above.

Here are two examples that jump to the same point in the video (using the two different timestamp options from above):

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5FfA1j590&t=1h10s
• https://youtu.be/Sf5FfA1j590?t=1h10s

The time you choose can be anything: hours, minutes, or seconds. If the video should be started at 56 minutes in, t=56m is all you need to include. If it should be 12 minutes and 12 seconds, t=12m12s is how you'd write it. A 2-hour, 5-second timestamp can skip the minute field altogether: t=2h5s.