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How to make an SRT file for CapCut, Premiere Pro and YouTube

Updated on October 16, 2026

An SRT file is a plain text file with captions and the time each one appears. Editors and YouTube read it, so you write the captions once and reuse them. Below are two ways to make one and the steps to bring it into CapCut, Premiere Pro and YouTube Studio.

What’s inside an SRT file

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,800
Three things I wish I knew
before I started editing.

2
00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,100
First, cut the pauses.

Each caption, called a cue, has four parts:

  1. A number, counting up from 1.
  2. A time line: start, -->, end. Times are written as hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds, with a comma before the milliseconds.
  3. One or two lines of text.
  4. A blank line before the next cue.

Use this when the video is already posted publicly.

  1. In the app, tap Share > Copy link on the video.
  2. Paste the link into PegaClip. On the transcript page, tap Transcribe; on the home page, tap Transcribe this video in the file list.
  3. When the transcript appears, tap SRT subtitles.

The times match the video as posted. The file name starts with the platform name and the post’s ID, so it’s easy to spot in your downloads. Free transcription covers videos up to 3 minutes.

Cues follow the phrases in the speech, so some run longer than the line length below. Split those in your editor if they cover too much of the frame. Also read the text before importing it: fixing a misspelled name once in the SRT beats fixing it in every project.

Option 2: Write it by hand

Good for short clips or when you already have a script.

  • Windows: open Notepad, type the cues and choose File > Save as. Set Save as type to All files, set the encoding to UTF-8 and name the file captions.srt.
  • Mac: open TextEdit and choose Format > Make Plain Text before you type. Save the file as captions.srt. If macOS asks which extension to keep, choose Use .srt.

Don’t use Word or Google Docs. They add formatting that breaks the file.

Rules that keep captions readable:

  • Two lines per cue at most, around 42 characters per line.
  • Each cue on screen for 1 to 7 seconds.
  • Breaks at a pause or the end of a phrase, not in the middle of one.

Import into CapCut

Do this in CapCut on a computer.

  1. Open your project and put the video on the timeline.
  2. Open the Captions panel and find the import option. Depending on your version, it’s called Import captions or sits under Local captions.
  3. Select the .srt file. The captions land on their own track, lined up with the timeline.
  4. Select a caption to set the font, size and position, then apply the style to all captions.

If you edit on your phone and can’t find a way to import the file, do this step in the desktop app.

Import into Premiere Pro

  1. Choose File > Import and select the .srt. It appears in the Project panel.
  2. Drag it onto the timeline. Premiere adds a captions track above the video.
  3. Style the captions in the Essential Graphics panel, or Properties in newer versions. Save the look as a track style so every caption matches.
  4. When you export, open the Captions section of the export settings. Choose Burn Captions Into Video to make them part of the picture, or a sidecar file to keep them separate.

Upload to YouTube Studio

  1. In YouTube Studio, click Subtitles in the left menu and pick your video.
  2. If YouTube asks, confirm the video’s language.
  3. In the language row, click Add under Subtitles. If the language isn’t listed, click Add language first.
  4. Choose Upload file, then With timing, and select the .srt.
  5. Check the preview and click Publish.

Common errors

The app doesn’t see the file, or it opens as a text document. It was probably saved as captions.srt.txt. Turn on file extensions in File Explorer (View > Show > File name extensions on Windows 11, View > File name extensions on Windows 10) and delete the .txt.

“Invalid file”, or nothing imports. Check the time lines. Each one needs:

  • a comma before the milliseconds: 00:00:02,800, not 00:00:02.800;
  • two digits each for hours, minutes and seconds, and three for milliseconds;
  • a space on each side of -->.

Captions are missing or merged. A blank line between two cues is missing, or a blank line inside a cue’s text ends it early.

Accents and symbols show up as é or question marks. The file isn’t UTF-8. Save it again as UTF-8 and re-import.

Every caption is early or late by the same amount. You trimmed the start of the video after making the SRT. Select all captions in Premiere or CapCut and drag them together. Free subtitle editors such as Subtitle Edit (Windows) and Aegisub can also shift every time at once.

FAQ

Is an SRT the same as burned-in captions?

No. An SRT is a separate file, and viewers can usually turn it on and off. Burned-in captions are part of the picture and always show, which helps on feeds where videos autoplay muted. To burn them in, import the SRT into your editor and export with captions burned in.

Can I make an SRT for a video longer than 3 minutes?

Not with the free tool. For longer videos, write the file by hand or use your editor’s own auto-captions.

Do the cue numbers have to be in order?

Keep them in order, starting at 1. Some apps ignore the numbers, but others reject a file with gaps or repeats.

Will the captions still line up after I edit the video?

Only the parts you didn’t move. A cut in the middle shifts every caption after it, so adjust the timing in your editor after the cut.

Should I use SRT or VTT?

For CapCut, Premiere Pro and YouTube, SRT is the safe choice. SRT vs VTT explains where each one works.

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