YouTube Chapters & Timestamps Generator

YouTube

Operated by Sourcelane✓ verified

Generates paste-ready YouTube chapter timestamp blocks, structured chapter metadata, SEO-friendly video descriptions and optimized tag lists by analyzing a video's transcript. The connector detects topic-change points in transcripts to produce chapter start times and concise titles, builds a formatted timestamp block for descriptions, produces a 120–250 word SEO-focused description with the main keyword up front, appends chapters to the description, and generates a trimmed set of search tags that fit YouTube tag-length limits. It enforces YouTube chapter rules (starts at 0:00, minimum number of chapters, minimum chapter duration, chronological order, and proper m:ss or h:mm:ss formatting), preserves existing chapter data for comparison, supports transcript languages and optional translation of chapter titles, descriptions and tags, processes long-form transcripts in one pass for extended content, and returns video metadata plus per-item processing status and error information.

Verified Sep 28, 3:56 AM

$0.05

per video

Up to 20 per call. Only pay for results returned; failed calls are refunded.

What people use it for

YouTube creators — add chapters to new uploads quickly
Back-catalogue SEO — add chapters, descriptions and tags to older videos for better visibility in Google and YouTube search
Podcasts and long interviews — create navigable chapters for multi-hour episodes
Agencies and editors — produce chapters, descriptions and tags in bulk for client channels
Course and tutorial makers — convert lessons into skimmable, step-by-step sections

Trust & reliability

7d uptime trend

Window	Uptime	Success rate	p50	p95
24h	—	—	—	—
7d	—	—	—	—
30d	—	—	—	—

Calling contract

Call it through Sourcelane's gateway or MCP server. We run the connector, apply your agent's spend guardrails, and bill only the results returned.

Call it via Sourcelane

curl -X POST https://api.usesourcelane.com/v1/call \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"listing":"youtube-chapters-generator","params":{"videoUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"]},"maxResults":10}'

Request params

Field	Type	Required	Description
`videoUrls`	array	required	YouTube video URLs or 11-character video IDs, one per line. Up to 50 per run. The video needs captions (manual or auto-generated).
`chapterStyle`	string	optional	How chapter titles are written. Keyword-rich leads each title with the phrases viewers search for, which helps chapters appear as key moments in Google and YouTube search.
`minChapterSeconds`	integer	optional	Shortest allowed chapter. YouTube requires at least 10 seconds per chapter; 30-60 seconds reads better for most videos.
`maxChapters`	integer	optional	Upper limit on chapters per video. YouTube requires at least 3. The count scales with video length up to this limit.
`outputLanguage`	string	optional	Language for chapter titles, description and tags, e.g. English, Spanish, German. Leave empty to match the video's language.
`generateDescription`	boolean	optional	Also write a 120-250 word YouTube description with the main keyword in the first line, plus a paste-ready version with the chapters appended.
`generateTags`	boolean	optional	Also suggest 12-20 YouTube tags, trimmed to fit YouTube's 500-character tag limit.
`transcriptLanguages`	array	optional	Optional caption language codes to use, in order of preference (e.g. en, es). Leave empty to use the video's own spoken language automatically.
`model`	string	optional	Language model that reads the transcript and writes the chapters. The default handles very long videos in one pass.

Each result contains

Field	Type	Description
`inputUrl`	string	Input URL
`videoId`	string	—
`url`	string	URL
`title`	string	Title
`channelName`	string	Channel
`durationSeconds`	integer	Duration (s)
`hasExistingChapters`	boolean	Had chapters
`existingChapters`	array	—
`chapters`	array	—
`chaptersText`	string	Chapters (paste-ready)
`seoDescription`	string	SEO description
`descriptionWithChapters`	string	—
`tags`	array	Tags
`chapterStyle`	string	—
`transcriptLanguage`	string	Transcript language
`transcriptIsAutoGenerated`	boolean	—
`transcriptTruncated`	boolean	—
`model`	string	—
`status`	string	Status
`error`	null	Error

Use YouTube Chapters & Timestamps Generator from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Pick your tool and connect in under a minute. Then just ask — for example: “Get the transcript of this video and turn it into a blog outline: <url>”

Connect Claude

Web, desktop and mobile. Paste one URL.

1Copy your personal connector URL
2In Claude open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
3Paste the URL and click Add — done

Manual setup (config files, REST, Python) +

Claude Code

Adds the Sourcelane MCP server with your key as a header.

terminal

claude mcp add --transport http sourcelane https://api.usesourcelane.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key"

Claude Desktop (config file)

Alternative to the connector URL: add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sourcelane": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.usesourcelane.com/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor & Windsurf

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or Windsurf's mcp_config.json).

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sourcelane": {
      "url": "https://api.usesourcelane.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Save as .vscode/mcp.json. VS Code prompts for your key once.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "sourcelane": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.usesourcelane.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:sourcelane-key}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "sourcelane-key",
      "description": "Sourcelane agent key",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

ChatGPT Custom GPT (Actions)

Create a GPT → Actions → Import from URL, then Authentication: API Key, Bearer.

OpenAPI schema URL

https://usesourcelane.com/openapi.json

REST

One POST. Pass maxResults to cap cost.

curl

curl -X POST https://api.usesourcelane.com/v1/call \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"listing":"youtube-chapters-generator","params":{"videoUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"]},"maxResults":10}'

Python, LangChain, CrewAI, OpenAI Agents SDK…

Wrap the REST call as a tool, or point an MCP client at the endpoint.

python

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.usesourcelane.com/v1/call",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sl_live_your_agent_key"},
    json={
        "listing": "youtube-chapters-generator",
        "params": {"videoUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"]},
        "maxResults": 10,
    },
    timeout=300,
)
body = res.json()
print(body["receipt"]["chargedMicros"], "micro-USD for", body["receipt"]["results"], "results")
print(body["data"])

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