How to share a YouTube video with a start and end time
Updated
YouTube’s Share menu only sets a start time: tick Start at on a
computer, or turn on the time toggle in the app, and the link gets a t= that opens
the whole video from that moment and keeps playing. No YouTube watch link can stop at an
end time. For a start and an end you have two options: an embed link such as
youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID?start=30&end=45, which plays the section once and
stops, or a clip link from a tool such as ClipBack, which plays just that section on a loop.
Key facts
- Start time: built into YouTube’s Share menu on computer and phone. It
adds
t=to the link, in seconds. - End time: not offered by the Share menu.
endis a parameter of the embedded player, so it only works onyoutube.com/embed/links. - Units: all of these are seconds.
endcounts from the beginning of the video, not from the start point. - Looping a section: not possible with YouTube links alone. The
loopparameter repeats the whole video. - Videos with embedding turned off only play on youtube.com, so an embed link cannot play them.
Share a video from a start time
This is YouTube’s own feature, and since YouTube removed Clips in April 2026 it is its main way to share a moment in a video.
On a computer:
- Play or scrub the video to the moment you want, then click Share under it.
- Tick Start at. The box fills in the current time; type a different one such as
2:30if you need to. - Copy the link. It ends in
t=150: 150 seconds, which is 2:30.
A shortcut: pause at the moment, right-click the video and choose Copy video URL at current time.
In the YouTube app: go to the moment, tap Share and turn on the toggle that shows the current time (for example 2:30), then copy or send the link.
Whoever opens the link gets the full video, starting at that point. It carries on playing past the part you meant, and it has no title of its own.
Add an end time: the embed link
YouTube’s embedded player, the one websites use, accepts both a start and an end. You can open an embed link directly in a browser, so it works as a shareable link too:
- Find the video ID: the 11 characters after
v=in a watch link (youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) or afteryoutu.be/. - Convert your start and end times to seconds (see the table below).
- Build the link:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID?start=30&end=45.
end is measured from the beginning of the video, not from start. For
0:30 to 0:45 the link is start=30&end=45, not end=15.
What to expect:
- The section plays once and stops.
- The link opens a page with only the player: no description, comments or recommendations, and no way to give the moment a title of your own.
- If the owner has turned off embedding, or the video is age-restricted, the player says the video is unavailable.
Converting times to seconds
| Time in the video | Seconds | In a link |
|---|---|---|
| 0:45 | 45 | t=45 |
| 1:30 | 90 | t=90 |
| 2:30 | 150 | t=150 |
| 10:00 | 600 | t=600 |
| 1:02:03 | 3723 | t=3723 |
Minutes × 60, plus the seconds. For hours, add hours × 3600.
Share a section that loops
Neither of YouTube’s options stops at an end point and repeats, and neither lets you give the moment a title. That is what YouTube’s Clips did. To make that kind of link now:
- Paste the video link into ClipBack.
- Set the start and end. Drag the two handles and fine-tune them, down to the millisecond if you need to.
- Give it a title and create it. You get one link that plays only that section, on repeat, for anyone who opens it.
There is a shortcut for links that already have a start time. Change youtube.com to
clipback.tv in the address bar of a watch or Shorts link, and the video opens ready
to clip, with its t= as the start point. Adding &end=45 before you
press Enter sets the end point too. This works with youtube.com links, not with
youtu.be short links: paste those into the box instead.
Clips are free, can be any length and need no account. The video plays through YouTube’s own player, so nothing is downloaded and views count for the creator. For the same reason, a video with embedding turned off cannot be clipped here either.
All the options compared
| Option | Start | End | Repeats | Own title | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share → Start at | Yes | No | No | No | Nothing |
| Right-click → Copy video URL at current time | Yes | No | No | No | A computer |
Embed link with start and end |
Yes | Yes | No — once, then stops | No | Editing the link by hand |
| ClipBack clip link | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Nothing; free |
If you are here because the Clip button disappeared, see what changed when YouTube removed Clips, including what happens to clips you already made.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my YouTube link ignore the end time?
Because watch links and youtu.be links only take a start time. The t= in a shared link is the start; YouTube documents no end point for them, and its Share menu does not offer one. end is a parameter of the embedded player, so it only works on a youtube.com/embed/ link.
How do I write the time in a YouTube link?
In seconds from the start of the video: t=150 starts at 2:30. The embed parameters start and end are seconds too, and end is counted from the beginning of the video, not from the start point. So start=150&end=165 plays 15 seconds.
Can a YouTube link play a section on repeat?
Not with a start and end point. An embed link with start and end plays the section once and stops, and YouTube's loop parameter repeats the whole video. A clip link from a tool such as ClipBack plays just the section on a loop.
Why does the embed link say the video is unavailable?
The video's owner has turned off embedding, or the video is age-restricted, private or removed. Those videos only play on youtube.com, so an embed link cannot play them, and neither can any tool that uses YouTube's player, ClipBack included.
Sources
- YouTube Help: Share videos and channels (the Start at option on computer and in the app)
- YouTube IFrame Player parameters:
start,endandloop - TeamYouTube: Updating how you share video moments (April 2026)