Clip a YouTube video in 2026: what replaced the Clip button
To clip a YouTube video in 2026, the Clip button is no longer the answer: in April 2026, YouTube announced that Share at Timestamp replaces its Clips feature, and a timestamp link has no end point. To get an actual clip, a short segment you can post as a Short, a Reel or a TikTok, you now go through YouTube Studio for your own videos, or through a tool that works from a YouTube link.
The change is easy to miss, because the top results for this question still describe the old button. Here is what YouTube's own documents say about each option, and what each one actually gives you.
TL;DR
- YouTube announced in April 2026 that Share at Timestamp replaces the Clips feature. Existing clips stay viewable, but setting an end time or a custom description goes away.
- A timestamp link opens the full video at the moment you chose. It is a link, not a clip.
- For your own videos, the Clips and Shorts tool in YouTube Studio cuts a segment out of a long video and publishes it on your channel, as a separate video or as a Short.
- For vertical clips made from a YouTube link, ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, you need a tool outside YouTube. YouTube's own announcement points to third-party clipping tools.
- If the video is not yours, the rights question comes before the tool.
Table of contents
- Clip a YouTube video: what changed in 2026
- Sharing one moment: the timestamp link
- Your own videos: the Clips and Shorts tool in YouTube Studio
- Any video, as vertical clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts
- Which option matches what you want
- Frequently asked questions
- Where to start
Clip a YouTube video: what changed in 2026
Until this year, clipping a YouTube video meant one button. The help page Learn about managing Clips still describes it: under a video, select Clip, pick a section "between 5-60 seconds long", give it a title, then share it as a link, an embed, an email or a post on a social network. The clip is "played on a loop from the original video's watch page". It never becomes a file of its own.
In April 2026, TeamYouTube published a post titled "Updating how you share video moments" on the official YouTube Community, signed by Dave from TeamYouTube. The key paragraph, word for word:
"Share at Timestamp will become the main way to share specific moments in videos, replacing the Clips feature. The two tools are very similar and existing Clips will still be viewable. However, the ability to set an end time or include a custom description when sharing will no longer be available."
9to5Google covered it on April 17, 2026, in plainer terms: existing Clips remain viewable, "but YouTube is removing the ability to create new video clips."
If you came here because the button is missing, two things can hide it:
- The retirement itself. Note that the Help Center page on Clips still described the button when we read it on September 30, 2026. The help page and the announcement do not say the same thing, and the announcement is the one that describes a change.
- A creator setting. The same help page says clipping is turned on by default and that a channel can turn it off for its videos, or hide specific users from clipping them.
Sharing one moment: the timestamp link
If what you want is to send a friend the part that made you laugh, you do not need a clip. The help page Share videos and channels describes the mobile version: go to the moment you want, tap Share, then turn on the toggle that shows the current minute and second, for example "2:30". The link opens the whole video at that point.
That is what TeamYouTube calls "the main way to share specific moments". What it does not do is just as clear: no end time, no custom description, and nothing you can upload anywhere else. For a creator who wants material to post, a timestamp link is a bookmark, not a clip.
Your own videos: the Clips and Shorts tool in YouTube Studio
This is where YouTube is moving clipping. The announcement says so in the next paragraph:
"We are focused on launching more clipping tools for creators in 2026. Video Clips is available in Studio today, allowing you to republish clips from longer videos and archived live streams (...). Later this year, we will be rolling out Video Clips to Shorts, and launching auto-suggestions to help you identify your most "clippable" moments."
The help page Video Clips & Shorts in YouTube Studio, read on September 30, 2026, already describes both halves, clips and Shorts, with suggestions. The path:
- In YouTube Studio, open Content, then Videos, and click the video you want to use.
- In the left menu, select Clips and Shorts, click Create clip or Short, then choose Short or Video clip.
- Select the segment: highlight text in the transcript, enter timestamps in the timeline editor, or pick one of the AI-powered suggestions when they are available.
- For a Short, select Preview Short, adjust or turn off the automatic captions, then click Create draft and publish through the usual upload dialog.
What the same page says about the result:
- It works on your own uploads. The tool is described for cutting segments "from your long-form videos on YouTube", and the result is published on your channel like any other upload.
- Suggestions depend on where you are. The AI-powered suggestions and outlines are listed for creators in select countries (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, United States) and select languages (English, French, German, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish).
- Captions come from the transcript. Where available, the system adds automatic captions to the Short, and you can change their color, font, style and position.
- Some scenes end up blurred, not reframed. The preview may show black bars at the top and bottom for some scenes, and "the final version will display them as a blurred crop of the video." The page describes no setting to choose what stays inside the vertical frame.
- No penalty for reusing yourself. "You won't be penalized for using your content in a video clip or Short", and the source video is automatically added as a related video to any Short made with the tool, unless the Short is private, unlisted or Made for Kids.
There is also an older route from the watch page, Remix then Edit into a Short. The help page Create YouTube Shorts from your videos limits it to "up to 60 seconds" of a long-form public video you uploaded, and excludes private and unlisted videos and videos with third-party copyright claims. Its other limits are detailed in YouTube Shorts aspect ratio.
What neither YouTube route covers: a video that is not on your channel, and any destination other than YouTube.
Any video, as vertical clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts
This is the case YouTube's post hands to others, in its own words: "a number of third-party tools with advanced clipping features and authorized creator programs are now available to do this across different video platforms."
It is also the job viralmaker does. You paste a YouTube link, yours or someone else's. The tool surfaces the best moments of the video and gives each clip a virality score. The clips come back cut vertically in 9:16, cropped on whoever is speaking, with burned-in subtitles you can read without sound, ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts. There is no watermark on any plan, the analysis and the scores are free, and you do not need a YouTube channel of your own. Publishing stays on you: you post the clips yourself.
Side by side, using only what each one documents:
| YouTube Studio, Clips and Shorts | viralmaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Source video | Your own long-form uploads | Any YouTube link, yours or someone else's |
| Choosing the moments | Transcript, timestamps, AI suggestions in select countries and languages | Best moments surfaced for you, each clip with a virality score |
| Vertical frame | Blurred crop on some scenes, per the help page | 9:16, cropped on whoever is speaking |
| Captions | Automatic where available, editable | Burned in, readable without sound |
| Where it ends up | Published on your YouTube channel | Clips ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts |
The honest reading: if the video is yours and YouTube is your only platform, the Studio tool may be all you need. viralmaker is for the other cases, a video that is not on your channel, clips meant for TikTok and Reels as much as for Shorts, a vertical frame that follows the person talking.
One rule before any tool. A link to someone else's video is not permission to repost it. Use a YouTube video without permission separates the cases that are covered from the ones that only look covered.
Which option matches what you want
| What you want | The option | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Send someone one moment of a video | Share at Timestamp | A link to the full video, starting at that moment |
| Watch a clip made before the change | Nothing to do | Existing clips stay viewable, per YouTube |
| Turn your own long video into Shorts on YouTube | YouTube Studio, Clips and Shorts | A Short or a video clip, published on your channel |
| A quick Short from your own public video, on the phone | Remix, then Edit into a Short | Up to 60 seconds of that video, as a Short |
| Vertical clips from a YouTube link, for TikTok, Reels and Shorts | A tool outside YouTube, such as viralmaker | Captioned 9:16 clips with a virality score, to post yourself |
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I find the Clip button on YouTube anymore? In April 2026, YouTube announced that Share at Timestamp replaces Clips. The creator of the video may also have turned clipping off, which the Clips help page describes as a channel setting.
Do my old YouTube clips still work? Yes. The announcement says existing Clips "will still be viewable". The Clips help page adds that a clip is removed if the original video is deleted, set to private or violates the Community Guidelines, while clips made from unlisted videos remain available.
How long could a YouTube clip be? Between 5 and 60 seconds, according to the Clips help page. The Edit into a Short route also stops at 60 seconds of your video.
Can I download a YouTube clip? On a computer, the Clips help page lists four ways to share a clip: embed, social networks, email and copy the link. It lists no download option, and the clip plays from the original video's watch page.
Is the Clips and Shorts tool in YouTube Studio free? The help page does not mention any price or plan for the tool. What it does restrict is the AI-powered suggestions, available only in the countries and languages it lists.
Where to start
One line to keep: YouTube's Clip button made links, not clips, and it is being replaced by a simpler link. A real clip is now either a Studio upload of your own video or a file made outside YouTube.
Two things to do this week. If you publish long videos, open Clips and Shorts in YouTube Studio on your latest upload and look at what it proposes. If you want clips for TikTok and Reels too, or from a video that is not on your channel, paste a YouTube link and look at which moments come out first, each with its virality score. The analysis is free. To generate your clips, sign up on viralmaker; the plans are on the pricing page.
To decide which moments deserve a clip in the first place, the full method is in turn a YouTube video into shorts.
Sources cited in this article, all read on September 30, 2026: the TeamYouTube post "Updating how you share video moments", on the YouTube Community; four YouTube help pages on support.google.com, titled Learn about managing Clips, Video Clips & Shorts in YouTube Studio, Share videos and channels and Create YouTube Shorts from your videos; and the 9to5Google article by Ben Schoon, April 17, 2026.