How to Create an SRT File (.srt) for Captions

Did you know that over half of Americans currently consume content with subtitles on? 

Captions aren’t dead. In fact, they’re at their peak across all social media platforms and consumption channels. Learning how to create an SRT file is the first step to leveraging this incredible tool while creating your own content. 

SRT files are powerful caption tools that allow you to engage with your audience, create more inclusive content, and give your media a more professional look without adding an additional production expense. 

Below, we teach you what an SRT file is in the grand scheme of captioning your content, describe the file format type, and explore different ways you can create your SRT files. 

What Is an SRT File and What Is It For?

Learning how to make SRT files to refine your captions enhances the quality of your content. SRT files, otherwise known as SubRip subtitle files, organize information related to the timestamps of your video captions. This information is then translated with your captions, allowing the tools to properly communicate start and end points, as well as the timing and styling for each specific line. They can be helpful across social media platforms, including YouTube and Vimeo. 

The Meta Business suite also recently updated, allowing direct upload of SRT files to be used for Facebook and Instagram video ads — ushering in a new era of accessibility and convenience for both viewers and creators. 

(If you'd like to learn more about SRT files in general, visit this guide: What is an SRT File?)

SRT File Format

There’s more to an SRT file’s format than just timecodes and data. There’s also information that covers other key elements of your caption such as the caption text and styling. Learn more about what an SRT file is in our latest post, linked above. 

How to Create an SRT File on Mac

Creating an SRT file on Mac can be made simple with the help of professional software and programs such as TextEdit. We’ve compiled the steps for how to create SRT files this way  below: 

1. Open TextEdit and your time format reference of choice. (If you need a refresher, your content should always follow the hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds format.) Milliseconds will appear rounded to three decimal places in proper form, following a two-hash arrow between each timestamp. It will look like this: (“-->”) 
2. Move through your transcript, referencing the format above. Remember that usually only 1-2 lines of text follow a time stamp at any given point to avoid chunks of text. 
3. After the transcript is finished, save and export your file as an .SRT file format.
4. Alternatively, you can use .srt as your file extension and note this manually, erasing the .txt and replacing it when you’re done.
5. Mac users have a few extra steps to follow when learning how to create an SRT file. Before closing out, uncheck two boxes: “Hide extension” and “If no extension is provided, use .txt.” Forgetting to do this can cause some issues down the road with your native security and file integrity. 

How to Make SRT Files in Windows

Learning how to make SRT files in Windows is simple and very similar to the process for Mac users. One of the key areas of difference is that Windows users will be using Notepad instead of TextEdit for their SRT file creation process. We’ve listed the steps to create an SRT file using Windows below: 

1. Open Notepad and use your time format reference of choice. (If you need a refresher, your content should always follow the hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds format.) Milliseconds will appear rounded to three decimal places in proper form, following a two-hash arrow between each timestamp. It will look like this: (“-->”) 
2. Move through your transcript, referencing the format above. Remember that usually only 1-2 lines of text follow a time stamp at any given point to avoid chunks of text. 
3. After the transcript is finished, you can save and export your file as an .SRT file format. 
4. Alternatively, you can use .srt as your file extension and note this manually, erasing the .txt and replacing it when you’re done.
5. Similar to Mac, Windows users have a few extra steps to follow when learning how to create an SRT file. Before closing out, you’ll want to uncheck two boxes: “Hide extension” and “If no extension is provided, use .txt.” Forgetting to do this can cause some issues down the road with your native security and file integrity. 

How to Create SRT Files Using YouTube

YouTube allows creators to create SRT files natively, keeping production sleek and as efficient as possible. You can choose to do this one of two ways: typing your captions directly into the native video editor, or directly uploading your SRT file to the studio. We do want to note that in most cases, the subtitle font, position, color and style are finalized by YouTube and are not able to be edited, unless they’re open captions burned into the video prior to upload. 

Here are the steps to help you learn how to create SRT files using YouTube’s native editor, as well as how to upload an SRT file to YouTube. 

How to Upload an SRT File to YouTube 

Uploading an SRT file to YouTube is simple. 

1. Open your YouTube Creator Studio. Please note that you may be asked to sign in prior. 
2. Navigate to “Subtitles.” It’s located conveniently in the right-hand creator menu, just beneath “Comments.”
3. Choose the video you’re captioning, or upload it now if you haven’t already. Click on the “Add Language” button and select your language of choice. 
4. Click on “Add” beneath your subtitle area to finalize your selection. This will prompt a dialog box to appear where you can drop your SRT file. 
5. Upload your SRT file following the prompts. 

How to Create an SRT File With MixCaptions

MixCaptions is one of the best and most efficient ways to create your SRT file for video content, allowing you to generate and export your work in just a few simple steps. You can also choose to import SRT files into the native database if you have created one manually or have a preexisting file. 

Here’s a summarized list of steps showing how to create an SRT file with MixCaptions: 

We do want to note that we’ve listed the steps for manual SRT file generation above. There is another automatic option, in which you generate automatic captions and export the content as an SRT file. Both are equally accessible and valid, and both are conveniently available in the MixCaptions platform.