How to clip a YouTube video: the Clip button or a vertical Short

Two things people mean by "clip"

When someone asks how to clip a YouTube video they usually want one of two different things. The first is a short, shareable piece of a video, a link that plays a few seconds of the original. The second is a new vertical video, with captions, that you post on Shorts, Reels or TikTok. YouTube's Clip button does the first: its help page describes a public link to a section that plays on a loop from the original video's watch page.

Mixing them up wastes time. People press the Clip button, get a link, and then wonder why they cannot download a vertical file. This page splits the two so you can pick the right one in a minute.

Route 1: YouTube's Clip button

YouTube says clips are between 5 and 60 seconds long and play on a loop from the original video's watch page. A clip is public: anyone with the link can watch it, provided they can also watch the original video. You can add a title of up to 140 characters.

1. Sign in to YouTube and open the video.
2. On a computer, select More, then Clip. On the phone app, slide the options under the Subscribe button to the right and tap Clip.
3. Add a title (up to 140 characters on the computer flow).
4. Drag the slider to choose the section. The shortest clip is 5 seconds and the longest is 60.
5. Select Share clip, then pick a social network, copy the link, email it, or on a computer embed it.

Clips you make appear in your Clips library (Your Clips, under You), and you can delete one there. YouTube also notes that creators who own the source video can convert a whole clip into a Short.

Route 2: cut a vertical Short

If you want a Short, check who owns the video, because the right tool depends on it.

• Your own long video. YouTube has Edit into a Short: open the public video, select Remix, then Edit into a Short, and choose up to 60 seconds. Only public long-form videos you uploaded qualify; private and unlisted ones do not, nor do videos with third-party copyright claims. You cannot use Audio Library music on Shorts made this way. If the option is missing, turn on Allow people to sample this content in YouTube Studio under the video's Shorts remixing setting.
• Someone else's video, with permission. A tool that takes a YouTube link and cuts vertical clips works here. KeyMo accepts a pasted YouTube link on paid plans or an upload of an MP4 or MOV, from 5 minutes to 3 hours, and asks you to confirm you own the video or have permission. Link import fetches up to 1080p.

1. Paste the link or upload the file in KeyMo and confirm you have the right to use it.
2. Pick a clip length: Auto 15 to 90 seconds, or Short, Medium or Long.
3. Wait for the scored clips. Each gets a score out of 10 and a one-line reason; only clips scoring 7 or higher are kept.
4. Choose a caption style, check the face-tracking reframe, and export 1080x1920 clips with no watermark.
5. Upload to YouTube. A vertical video of up to 3 minutes uploaded to a standard channel is categorised as a Short.

Whether you may clip a video you do not own is a separate question. YouTube pages describe copyright claims and strikes, but permission from the owner is the safe starting point. See is it legal to clip YouTube videos for what the official pages say.

Which route to pick

KeyMo plans start at $12 a month for 300 source minutes. There is no free plan. If you only need a shareable link, the Clip button is built in and is the better choice.