How to Clip YouTube Videos: A Step-by-Step Guide

Key takeaways:

• Limitations in duration: You can share video clips up to 1 minute in length directly from YouTube.
• Set sharing options: Videos must be eligible for sharing clips; if they’re not you won’t have the option to clip them.
• Create clips for YouTube with Riverside: Use Riverside to create and share video clips that last longer than 1 minute with more editing options and capabilities.

Want to share clips from your favorite YouTube videos? We’ll show you how. 

This is your in-depth, step-by-step guide to clip YouTube videos effortlessly and easily. We’ll walk you through the different options and show you how to clip videos natively on YouTube and with more robust third-party video editing tools.

Can you trim or cut videos on YouTube?

While both trimming and cutting videos directly on YouTube is possible, it’s essential to understand how these two processes differ.

Trimming videos involves removing unwanted content from your video, whereas YouTube’s clipping tool is the platform’s answer to creating short-form videos. The clipping tool allows users to select specific portions of a video and then share that smaller clip.

Trimming affects the video published on your YouTube channel, making it shorter, whereas clipping doesn’t.

Whether you're trimming or clipping YouTube videos, you don’t delete existing performance stats available on YouTube, such as video views.

How to clip videos directly on YouTube

Note: You can clip YouTube videos published by you or someone else (clips always link back to the original video).

Clipping videos is simple on YouTube; just follow these steps:

Step 1: First, sign in to YouTube and find a video that you want to clip.

Step 2: Click the more options “...” button underneath the video, usually locatd next to “Download.”

Step 3: If the video is eligible for clipping, you’ll see “Clip” next to a scissors icon.

‍Step 4: Drag the slider to highlight the specific part of the video you want to clip.

Step 5: Drag the ends of the slider to either increase or decrease the time. You can select up to 60 seconds.

Step 6: Title your clip using a maximum of 140 characters.

 Step 7: Click “Share clip” and choose whether to copy the link, embed the clip, share via email, or share across social media.

How to clip YouTube videos that are longer than 1 minute

YouTube’s clipping tool is limited to sharing 1-minute video clips. If you want to create and share longer clips, your best bet is a third-party video recording and editing tool like Riverside. With Riverside’s “Magic Clips,” you can create clips that last up to 3 minutes.

“Magic Clips” is easy to use; just follow these steps:

Note: If you want to share clips longer than 3 minutes, use either YouTube’s trimming tool or Riverside’s text-based editor.

Step 1: First, sign in to your Riverside account.

Step 2: Choose a studio.

Step 3: Select the past video recording you would like the clip or upload a clip you didn't record in Riverside.

Step 4: Just underneath the main recording, you’ll see the “Magic Clips” option in a purple box.

Step 5: Hit “Generate Clips.” Using AI, Riverside will automatically find the most compelling content and create multiple shorter clips from your video.

Step 6: After a few minutes, you will see the clips that have been generated.

Step 7: Select a Magic Clip, to bring up the editing screen.

Step 8: Once open, you’ll see that Riverside has already generated captions. The video will also automatically be created in the correct format for social media sharing (9:16).

Step 9: Either export and share the clip straightaway or do some final tweaks and adjustments using the Riversiide editor.

Editing your magic clip

Use Riverside’s video editing tools to perfect your magic clip before sharing it with others:

• “Story” allows you to change the dimensions of your clip from 9:16 to either 1:1 or 16:9, depending on where you’re sharing the clip.
• “Tracks” allows you to position the speakers and decide who you want at the top, middle, and bottom.
• “Layout” allows you to change how the content is displayed on the screen; for example, you can choose rounded corners, or keep the aspect ratio.
• “Background” allows you to add a visual component to the background of your video clip.
• “Captions” allows you to keep or remove captions on the screen. You can also choose between different styles and where you want them to appear.
• “Logo” lets you add your logo and branding to the screen.

Even though the tool uses AI to select the content for your clip automatically, you can use the text-based editor to override what has been selected manually or to make further edits.

You can also use the “Intro” and “Outro” feature to upload audio and visual files to start and end your clip.

There’s also a handy search bar to find keywords or phrases mentioned in the video’s transcript. This makes it easy to find the best possible section for your clip.

Exporting your magic clip

When you’re ready to export, you have further customizable options. You can choose the video quality (up to 4K), normalize audio levels, or remove background noise with Riverside's "Magic Audio" Ai audio enhancer.

Hit “Export,” and Riverside will send you an email when your clip is ready so you can download it and share it with others.

How to clip YouTube videos on your phone

You can clip videos on your phone using YouTube’s or Riverside’s  mobile app.

If you’re using YouTube’s mobile app, the process is just like the one for making clips on your computer, with one difference: when you’re on a mobile device, if a video is eligible for clipping, you’ll see the “Clip” icon underneath the video, right next to the “Download” icon. It’s not hidden under more options “...”.

It’s just as easy with Riverside’s mobile app, following these steps:

Step 1: Log in to the Riverside app on your mobile device.

Step 2: Select the correct video recording and tap “Create new edit.”

Step 3: This will open the editing screen, where you can see a preview of the video at the top and the full transcript at the bottom.

Step 4: Hit “Trim,” and you can drag the slider on the video timeline to select the correct point of the video and drag the ends to extend or reduce the time. You will see what is being trimmed in the transcript above.

Step 5: You can manually select the time period or use Riverside’s time presets.

Step 6: Next to “Trim,” you can change the dimensions of your video.

Step 7: Hit “Share” in the top right-hand corner to save the clip to your phone. Select the correct video quality and whether you want to remove the watermark or background noise, or normalize audio levels.

Use Riverside for enhanced editing capabilities 

While creating clips is easy on YouTube and using a tool like Riverside, you have many more editing options for improving the quality and content of your videos with Riverside.

With Riverside, you can seamlessly record top-quality 4K videos for YouTube, only to clip them as easily as reading through a text doc. The text-based editor works with Ai transcriptions so that you can trim content effortlessly. It’s as easy as deleting text from this transcript and the matching video and audio cut out from your recording. 

You can also use Magic Clips which turns your long-form recording highlights into short, shareable videos for social media. This is great for promoting your long-form content with YouTube Shorts.

Since Riverside offers multi-track sync, it doesn’t matter how many edits you make. Everything stays aligned, and you can trim away without worrying about messing up your audio or video. You can instead experience a smooth, user-friendly editing experience no matter your skill level.

FAQs on how to clip a YouTube video

Are there any restrictions on sharing clips from YouTube?

You can only share eligible clips from videos on YouTube; if a video isn’t eligible, you won’t see the clipping option. When sharing clips from YouTube, it will always link back to the original video.

What devices are compatible with clipping YouTube videos?

As long as you have access to the YouTube platform, all devices are compatible with clipping YouTube videos, including Windows and Mac desktops, laptops, and Android and iOS mobile devices.

Can you trim someone else's YouTube video?

Generally speaking, it’s easiest to trim a YouTube video that is associated with your own account, especially if the video has already been uploaded and published. 

In some cases, it may be possible to trim a video that is not your own by downloading it and uploading to an external editing platform. Alternatively, if you just want to share a snippet of someone’s video you can use Youtube’s Clipping tool. This allows you to create a clip from an existing video to share as you wish.

If you are planning to trim a YouTube video that is not your own, make sure you have permission from the video owner/publisher before you begin. 

Why can't I trim a YouTube video?

There are several reasons why you might not be able to trim a YouTube video. You may have followed the wrong steps to access suitable editing tools, or you might be attempting to trim a video that is not your own. If you encounter challenges while trying to trim content, revisit this guide. If that doesn’t work, you might consider using a different recording and editing tool, like Riverside.