YouTube Description Checker

What YouTube shows of your description

Descriptions can be up to 5,000 characters, but viewers see only the opening before they tap "…more". Treat that first line or two like a second title: say what the video delivers and why it's worth watching. Links and housekeeping can go below.

Hashtags: the rules

According to YouTube's help centre, up to three hashtags considered most engaging can appear by your video's title, and if a video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores all of them. A few relevant hashtags are plenty.

Chapters: why timestamps silently fail

Chapters only appear when the timestamps follow YouTube's format: the first one starts at 0:00, there are at least three, they're in ascending order, and each chapter is at least 10 seconds long. Miss one of these and YouTube just shows plain text — no error message. This checker flags each rule.

For the full approach — what to put in the first 150 characters, where keywords belong, and what to leave out — read how to write a YouTube description.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a YouTube description be?

Up to 5,000 characters. Only the opening shows before viewers expand it, so put the most important information first.

How many hashtags should I use on YouTube?

A few relevant ones. Up to three can appear by your title, and if you use more than 60 YouTube ignores all of them.

Why aren’t my YouTube chapters showing?

Chapters need at least three timestamps, in ascending order, starting at 0:00, with each chapter at least 10 seconds long. If any rule is broken, YouTube shows plain timestamps instead.