---
title: "Add Chapters to an MP4 Video | metadata.video"
description: "Add, rename and retime chapter markers in an MP4, MOV or MKV so players like VLC can jump between sections. Stream copy, no re-encode. Free, nothing uploaded."
url: https://metadata.video/add-chapters-to-mp4
---

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# Add chapter markers to an MP4

Mark the sections of a long recording with titles and start times, and save a copy that VLC and other chapter-aware players can navigate.

To add chapters to an MP4, open the video here, go to **Chapters** in **Edit & clean**, press **Add chapter** for each section, give each one a start time and a title, and press **Download new file**. The new MP4 carries the chapter list, and players that support chapters show it as a menu you can jump through.

Chapters are metadata: a list of times and names stored next to the video, not cuts in it. The picture and sound are copied across unchanged, so adding them costs no quality. You can also see a file’s existing chapters in the **Tracks** section and edit or remove them the same way.

One honest note before you start: YouTube does not read chapters from the file. It builds chapters from timestamps in the video’s description, explained below. Embedded chapters are for files people download and play, such as lectures, recordings of events, tutorials and home videos.

## How to add chapters to an MP4

1. ### Open the video
Press **Open a file** (Ctrl/Cmd+O) or drop it on the page. MP4, MOV, M4V and MKV files can all take chapters.
2. ### Check existing chapters
Look in **Tracks**: any chapters already in the file are listed there with their times and titles.
3. ### Add and name chapters
In **Edit & clean**, open **Chapters** and press **Add chapter**. Set its start time and type a title. Repeat for each section, starting with one at 0:00.
4. ### Download the chaptered copy
Press **Download new file** (Ctrl/Cmd+S). FFmpeg loads in your browser the first time (about 10 MB) and writes the chapters with a stream copy.
5. ### Test it in a player
Open the new file in VLC and look under **Playback** › **Chapter**, or press **Inspect new file** to see the chapter list read back from the copy.

## How chapters are stored

Each container keeps chapters in its own way, but the content is always the same: a start time (and often an end time) plus a title for each section.

* **MP4 and MOV:** the usual form is a small text track holding one sample per chapter, linked from the video track. Apple’s players use it, and so do VLC and many others. Some files also carry an older chapter list box from Nero’s software.
* **MKV and WebM:** a dedicated Chapters element with editions, start and end times and names in several languages if needed.
* **AVI and MPEG-TS:** no standard place for chapters.

In an MP4 the chapter titles and times sit in their own small track alongside the video and audio tracks, inside the movie box; the media data is not touched when chapters are added.

Because chapters change the track layout, they are written with ffmpeg.wasm, a build of FFmpeg that runs in your browser. It copies every stream as it is (no re-encode) and rebuilds the container with the new chapter list. On long files this takes a little longer than a plain tag edit, which only rewrites metadata boxes.

## Which players show chapters

__Support changes between versions; test on the player your audience uses.__
| Player                                         | Shows embedded chapters?            | Where                                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| VLC (Windows, Mac, Linux)                      | Yes                                 | **Playback** › **Chapter** lists them                     |
| Apple players (QuickTime Player, Apple TV app) | Yes, for MP4 and MOV chapter tracks | A chapters control in the player                          |
| mpv, MPC-HC, Kodi, Plex, Jellyfin              | Generally yes                       | Varies by app and version                                 |
| Web browsers playing a file                    | No                                  | Web pages add chapters with separate WebVTT chapter files |
| YouTube, Vimeo, social apps                    | No                                  | Chapters come from what you enter when you post           |
| Messaging apps                                 | No                                  | Copies are usually rebuilt and lose chapters              |

A chapter starts at the time you give it, but a player can only begin decoding from a key frame. Some players therefore land up to a second or two before the chapter. That is normal and not a fault in the chapter list.

Video is stored as groups of frames that each begin with a full key frame; jumping to a chapter means starting from the nearest key frame and decoding forward.

## Planning a useful chapter list

* Start with a chapter at 0:00, even if it is just “Introduction”, so the whole video belongs to a chapter. YouTube requires the same if you reuse the list there.
* Keep titles short enough to read in a menu: “Q&A”, “Setting up the camera”, “Day 2: Lake District”.
* Use the times people will want to jump to, not every small change. For a one-hour talk, six to twelve chapters is plenty.
* Each chapter runs until the next one starts, so you only need start times.

If you are not sure where sections begin, **Find scene changes** in **AI insights** lists the cuts in the video, worked out on your device, which makes a good first draft for a recorded event.

## YouTube chapters come from the description

YouTube ignores chapters embedded in an uploaded file. Its help pages say chapters come from timestamps you list in the video description, and they set three rules: the first timestamp must be 00:00, there must be at least three timestamps in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. YouTube can also make automatic chapters, but your own timestamps take priority.

              `00:00 Introduction
02:15 Setting up the camera
07:40 Recording the first take
15:05 Questions`
            

If you are publishing the same video both as a download and on YouTube, keep one chapter list and use it in both places: type the times into the file here, and paste them into the description in the format above.

## Adding chapters with FFmpeg or MKVToolNix

On the command line, FFmpeg reads chapters from a small text file in its FFMETADATA format. Times here are in milliseconds because of the `TIMEBASE` line:

              `;FFMETADATA1
[CHAPTER]
TIMEBASE=1/1000
START=0
END=135000
title=Introduction
[CHAPTER]
TIMEBASE=1/1000
START=135000
END=460000
title=Setting up the camera`
            

              `ffmpeg -i talk.mp4 -i chapters.txt -map 0 -map_metadata 0 -map_chapters 1 -c copy talk-chapters.mp4`
            

`-map_chapters 1` takes the chapters from the second input (the text file) and `-c copy` keeps the streams as they are. Special characters in titles (`=`, `;`, `#`, `\`) need a backslash in front. For MKV files, MKVToolNix replaces a file’s chapters in place with `mkvpropedit film.mkv --chapters chapters.xml`.

### Steps in short

1. Write the chapter file with a start and end for every chapter.
2. Run the FFmpeg command above.
3. Check the result with ffprobe’s `-show_chapters` option or by opening it here.

## Chapters in MP4 files: questions

### Does adding chapters re-encode the video?

No. The streams are copied as they are and only the container is rebuilt with the chapter list. Quality is identical and the file size barely changes.

### Will YouTube use the chapters in my MP4?

No. YouTube creates chapters from timestamps in the description (starting at 00:00, at least three, each at least 10 seconds long) or makes automatic ones.

### How do I see the chapters in a video?

Open it here and look in **Tracks**, which lists any chapters with their times and titles. In VLC, use **Playback** › **Chapter**.

### Can I add chapters to MOV or MKV files too?

Yes. MOV and M4V use the same chapter track as MP4, and MKV has its own chapters element; both are written the same way here. AVI and MPEG-TS cannot hold chapters.

### Why does my chapter start a moment early?

Players start decoding at the nearest key frame before the chapter time. Camera footage often has a key frame every second or two, so a small offset is normal.

### Will removing metadata delete my chapters?

**Remove all metadata** clears them unless you turn on **Keep chapters**. See [remove metadata from video](https://metadata.video/remove-metadata-from-video).

## Related metadata guides

* [ Video metadata viewer See, explain, edit and remove everything a video or photo says about itself. ](https://metadata.video/)
* [ MP4 metadata editor Edit MP4 and MOV tags such as ©nam, ©day and ©xyz, plus cover art, with no re-encode. ](https://metadata.video/mp4-metadata-editor)
* [ MKV metadata editor Rename tracks, set languages and Default/Forced flags, and change the MKV title losslessly. ](https://metadata.video/mkv-metadata-editor)
* [ Edit video metadata Change title, date, location, camera and track fields without re-encoding the video. ](https://metadata.video/video-metadata-editor)
* [ Add a thumbnail to an MP4 Embed cover art from a frame or an image in an MP4 or MOV, with no re-encode. ](https://metadata.video/add-thumbnail-to-mp4)
* [ How to use ffprobe Real ffprobe commands for streams, tags, HDR and frame counts, and ffmpeg for stripping. ](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe)