How to add captions to a YouTube Short
Unlike TikTok, YouTube accepts an actual uploaded caption track on a Short: real, toggleable, accessible captions instead of text burned into the frame. Here's how to generate one and attach it.
Start transcribing, freeWhy an uploaded track beats burned-in text here
A real caption track can be turned on or off by the viewer, is read by screen readers, and gets indexed as text by YouTube's search, none of which is true of captions baked into the video pixels. Shorts supports this the same way a regular YouTube video does; it's just less commonly used there.
If you also want captions visible without the toggle
Some creators want captions on by default regardless of viewer settings, which YouTube's own toggle doesn't guarantee for every viewer. In that case, export FCPXML or Premiere marker XML instead, style the captions in your editor, and burn them into the video before upload. Then optionally still attach the SBV/SRT track for accessibility and search on top of that.
The two approaches aren't exclusive. A burned-in style for viewers who never touch the caption toggle, plus an uploaded track for the ones who do and for search indexing, covers both.
Frequently asked questions
Does YouTube Shorts really accept uploaded captions?
Yes. The same Subtitles panel in YouTube Studio that works for regular videos works for Shorts. It's simply less used there since most Shorts creators default to burned-in text from their editing app.
SRT or SBV: which should I upload?
Either works. SBV is what YouTube Studio's own caption tool is built around, but its uploader accepts SRT too.
Can I have both a caption track and burned-in text?
Yes. They serve different viewers: burned-in text is always visible, an uploaded track is opt-in and accessible. Many Shorts creators use both.
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