What is the Timestamp Link Generator?
The ThumbRip YouTube Timestamp Link Generator creates a link that opens a video at a precise moment instead of the beginning. You paste a YouTube URL, enter the hours, minutes, and seconds where you want playback to start, and the tool instantly gives you a shareable link, a short link, and ready-to-paste embed code that all begin at that exact time. A live preview lets you confirm the start point before you share. It runs entirely in your browser, requires no sign-up, and stores nothing you enter.
This solves a small but constant frustration: when you want to send someone the one part of a video that matters — a specific answer, a highlight, a key explanation — without making them scrub through twenty minutes to find it. A timestamp link drops them straight into the right moment.
How to make a YouTube link start at a specific time
First, copy the URL of the YouTube video you want to share and paste it into the box above. Second, enter the start time in the hours, minutes, and seconds fields — you can fill in just minutes and seconds for shorter videos, or all three for long ones. Third, press Generate link. The tool produces three outputs: a full shareable link, a compact youtu.be short link, and an iframe embed code, each set to begin at your chosen time. Click any Copy button to grab the one you need, and use the preview player to double-check the start point.
When timestamp links are useful
Teachers and students share the exact minute of a lecture that covers a particular topic, so classmates don't have to rewatch the whole thing. Support teams and tutorial creators point users to the precise step in a how-to video. Podcasters and interviewers highlight a memorable quote by linking straight to it. Reviewers send friends to the moment a product is shown. Anyone discussing a video in a group chat can settle a point instantly by linking to the second where it happens. Because the link is just a normal YouTube URL with a time added, it works everywhere YouTube links work — messages, emails, social posts, and documents.
How timestamp links actually work
A YouTube timestamp link is simply a normal video URL with a small piece added to the end that tells YouTube where to begin. For standard links this is a &t= value measured in seconds; for short youtu.be links it is ?t=. So a link ending in t=90 starts the video at ninety seconds, or one minute thirty. This tool does the conversion for you — you enter a readable time in hours, minutes, and seconds, and it calculates the correct number of seconds and builds the link in every format. You never have to do the math or remember the syntax.
Embedding a video that starts at a set time
The embed code output is useful if you run a website or blog and want a video to begin partway through when readers press play. Paste the generated iframe into your page's HTML wherever you want the player to appear, and it will start at your chosen timestamp automatically. This is handy for tutorials where the relevant section is several minutes in, or for highlighting a specific clip without uploading a separate copy. For more embed options like size and autoplay, try ThumbRip's full Embed Code Generator.
More free YouTube tools
Explore the rest of ThumbRip: the Embed Code Generator for full embed control, the Video Info tool to check a video's details, and the Thumbnail Downloader to grab any video's thumbnail. All free, no account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is the timestamp link generator free?
Yes, completely free with no sign-up and no limit on how many links you can create.
Does it work with youtu.be and Shorts links?
Yes. You can paste standard watch URLs, youtu.be short links, or Shorts URLs, and the tool will build a correct timestamp link for each.
Will the link work on mobile and in apps?
Yes. The generated link is a standard YouTube URL with a start time, so it opens correctly in the YouTube app and mobile browsers.
Can I make a video start at a time when embedded?
Yes. The embed code output includes your start time, so the player begins at that moment when a viewer presses play on your site.