How to Make an SRT File: Notepad, TextEdit, Free Text Tool and YouTube Steps

Here is how to make an SRT file: write each subtitle as a numbered block with a start and end time, save it as plain text, and give it the .srt extension. If you already have the words, the quickest route is our free TXT to SRT converter, which adds the numbers and time codes for you and downloads a finished file in seconds. You can also type one by hand in Notepad or TextEdit, or export one from YouTube, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut.

The format is simple. The hard part is the timing, so the best method depends on whether you already have the words.

What does an SRT file look like inside?

SRT stands for SubRip Subtitle, named after the old SubRip program that pulled subtitles off DVDs. It is still the format almost every player and platform accepts, from VLC to YouTube.

Each subtitle block has four parts, always in this order:

1. A sequence number, starting at 1.
2. A time line: start time, space, -->, space, end time.
3. One or two lines of subtitle text.
4. A blank line before the next block.

1
00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:03,200
Hi, I'm going to show you
how our CSV splitter works.

2
00:00:03,300 --> 00:00:06,000
First, drop your file here.

Times are written as hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds. The comma before the milliseconds is required, because a period is the WebVTT style and many SRT readers reject it.

Which way to make an SRT file suits you?

Pick the method based on what you already have: a script, a finished edit, or only the video.

Method 1: How to make an SRT file from text with our free converter

This is the method we use ourselves. Most videos start life as a script or a transcript, so the words already exist. What you need is the numbering and the timing, and our online SRT maker writes both.

1. Open the tool: go to leadcanal.com/txt-to-srt on a computer or phone.
2. Add your words: paste the text, or drop one or more .txt files. Put each subtitle on its own line.
3. Choose the split: “Line” makes one subtitle per line, “Paragraph” uses blank lines as breaks, and “Sentence” splits long prose at full stops.
4. Set the timing: leave it on reading speed (15 characters per second by default) or pick a fixed number of seconds per subtitle. Lines that start with a timestamp such as [00:01:05] are detected and used as start times.
5. Check the layout: the defaults wrap lines at 42 characters and allow two lines per subtitle. You can also set a start time and the gap between subtitles.
6. Convert and download: click Convert to SRT, then copy the result or download the .srt. Several files download as one ZIP.

Timings based on reading speed are a solid first pass, not a perfect sync to someone’s voice. For a voice-over you control, they are usually close. For an interview, use timestamps from your transcript or finish the sync in YouTube or your editor. Our guide on turning a TXT transcript into SRT covers how to prepare messy text before converting.

Method 2: How to make an SRT file in Notepad on Windows

Notepad is fine for a short clip of a dozen subtitles. If you are wondering how to make an SRT file with no extra software, this is it: play the video, note when each line starts and ends, and type the blocks.

1. Open Notepad and type the first block: number, time line, text, blank line.
2. Repeat for every subtitle, increasing the number each time.
3. Choose File, then Save as. Set “Save as type” to All files.
4. Name the file with .srt at the end, for example demo.srt.
5. Set Encoding to UTF-8 and save.

If you skip “All files”, Windows can save it as demo.srt.txt. Turn on file name extensions in File Explorer so you can see the real ending.

Method 3: Create an SRT file in TextEdit on a Mac

TextEdit opens new documents as rich text by default, and rich text will break an SRT. Switch to plain text first.

1. Open TextEdit and create a new document.
2. Choose Format, then Make Plain Text (Shift + Command + T).
3. Type your subtitle blocks.
4. Save, name the file demo.srt, and keep the encoding as Unicode (UTF-8).
5. If macOS asks, choose to use .srt rather than .txt.

Smart quotes can also creep in. They usually display fine, but if a platform shows odd symbols, turn off smart quotes in TextEdit’s preferences and save again.

Can you make an SRT file in Word or Google Docs?

Yes, with one extra step. Type the blocks, then in Word use Save As with “Plain Text (.txt)” and UTF-8 encoding, or in Google Docs use File, Download, Plain text (.txt). Rename the result from .txt to .srt.

Method 4: Make subtitles for YouTube with Auto-sync

YouTube can time a transcript to the audio for you, which is ideal when you have exact words but no timings. The steps below follow YouTube’s help on adding subtitles.

1. Open YouTube Studio and choose Subtitles from the left menu.
2. Pick the video and add or select the language.
3. Under Subtitles, click Add, then choose Auto-sync and paste your transcript, or Upload file to use an SRT you already made.
4. Review the timing and publish.

Once the track is ready, YouTube Studio lets you download it, which gives you a synced subtitle file you can reuse on other platforms. If YouTube hands you a .vtt file, our VTT to SRT converter turns it into SubRip.

Method 5: Export an SRT from Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut

If you caption inside your editor, export the caption track rather than retyping it.

• Premiere Pro: create or import captions in the Text panel (Transcribe can generate them from speech), then export the caption track as an SRT file or as a sidecar file during export. Adobe documents this in its captions help pages.
• DaVinci Resolve: add a subtitle track on the timeline, then export the subtitles as an SRT file, either from the File menu or alongside the render on the Deliver page.
• CapCut: recent desktop versions can generate captions and include an option to export them as SRT when you export the project. Menus change often, so check your version.

All three can also import an SRT you made from a finished script.

How do you get an SRT file from a video with no transcript?

You need speech-to-text first. Three free or low-cost options work well:

• YouTube automatic captions: upload the video (it can be unlisted), wait for automatic captions, correct them in Studio, then download.
• Subtitle Edit: the free Subtitle Edit app has an audio-to-text feature that runs speech recognition on your own computer.
• Premiere Pro Transcribe: generates a transcript and captions from the sequence audio.

Always read automatic captions before you publish. Names, numbers and product terms are where speech recognition slips most, and a wrong brand name on screen looks careless.

SRT rules that keep subtitles readable

The SRT format does not limit line length, but viewers do. The figures below follow the Netflix English timed text style guide and match the defaults in our converter where noted.

Break lines at natural pauses, after a comma or between clauses, never in the middle of a name. Add sound cues such as [music] in square brackets when they matter to the story.

A worked example: subtitles for a two-minute tool demo

Here is how we caption a short screen recording of one of our own tools, such as the CSV splitter.

1. We write the voice-over script first, one short sentence per line, about 30 lines in total.
2. We record the voice-over by reading the script at a steady pace.
3. We paste the script into the TXT to SRT tool with “Line” split and the default reading speed.
4. We play the video with the SRT loaded in VLC. If every line runs slightly early, we change the start time and convert again.
5. We fix the last few lines by hand in a text editor, then upload the SRT to YouTube and LinkedIn.

Because the script came first, the whole job is a few minutes of checking rather than an afternoon of typing time codes.

Why we make subtitle files in the browser

Scripts and transcripts are often private: an unreleased product demo, an internal training session, or an interview with a client. Our converter runs entirely in your browser, so the text is never uploaded to LeadCanal or anyone else and nothing is stored on a server. Close the tab and it is gone.

Why won’t my SRT file work?

Need plain text back from a subtitle file, for a blog post or show notes? Our SRT to TXT converter strips the numbers and times, and the guide on removing SRT time codes explains the options.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make an SRT file for free?

Type it in Notepad or TextEdit and save it as .srt, or paste your text into our free TXT to SRT tool. Neither needs an account or payment.

Can I create an SRT file on my phone?

Yes. Open the TXT to SRT tool in Safari or Chrome on your iPhone or Android phone, paste the text and download the file. It runs in the mobile browser too.

Can I just rename a .txt file to .srt?

Only if the text is already in SRT layout with numbers and time codes. A plain script renamed to .srt has no timings, so players ignore it.

What is the difference between SRT and VTT?

Both are plain text subtitle formats. WebVTT starts with a WEBVTT header and uses a period before milliseconds, while SRT uses numbered blocks and a comma.

How long does it take to make an SRT file by hand?

Typing time codes manually is slow, often many times the length of the video. Generating timings from a script with a tool and then checking the sync is much faster.

How do I add an SRT file to a video?

Upload it as a subtitle track on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn or Vimeo, load it in your player, or import it into your editor to burn the captions into the picture.

Conclusion: key takeaways

Knowing how to make an SRT file comes down to the right layout and good timing. Start from a script whenever you can and let a tool do the numbering.

• An SRT file is plain text: number, time line, one or two lines of text, then a blank line.
• Use a comma before the milliseconds and save the file as UTF-8 with the .srt extension.
• With a script, the free LeadCanal TXT to SRT tool writes the numbers and timings for you.
• Use YouTube Auto-sync or your editor when subtitles must match speech exactly.
• Keep lines under about 42 characters and no more than two lines per subtitle.
• Test the file in VLC before you upload it anywhere.

Ready to try it? Open the free TXT to SRT converter and turn your script into subtitles now, or browse all our free file tools.

Editorial policy

We write guides about tasks we do ourselves. Every method here was checked against the official documentation for each product, and we describe menus in general terms where they change between versions. We update guides when platforms change how subtitles are added or exported.

Content transparency

This guide was researched with keyword data to learn what people ask about SRT files, then checked against YouTube, Adobe and Netflix documentation. LeadCanal built and offers the free TXT to SRT, VTT to SRT and SRT to TXT tools mentioned here. No company paid to be included.

About the author

The LeadCanal team builds verified B2B lead lists, enriches CRM data and runs cold email infrastructure every day. We built our free browser converters because we handle client files constantly, from CSV lead lists to VCF contacts, PDF reports and the demo videos we caption for our own tools.