How to Make a YouTube Short: Specs, Steps and Tips

At a glance

A YouTube Short is a vertical or square video of three minutes or less (uploads on or after October 15, 2024).
On a phone, tap Create, then Short. On a computer, use YouTube Studio: CREATE, then Upload videos.
Titles take up to 100 characters, uploads go up to 1080p, and the Shorts camera is not available on tablets.
Realistic AI-made or AI-altered footage needs the “AI use” disclosure in YouTube Studio.

YouTube Shorts specs at a glance

Spec	What YouTube says
Length	Up to 3 minutes, recorded in one or more segments (length rules)
Aspect ratio	Square or vertical (size and safe zones)
Resolution	1080p maximum for uploads
Title	100 characters maximum
Upload from a computer	Up to 15 files at a time in YouTube Studio
Drafts	Kept on your device, not on your channel, with no limit on how many
Views	Since March 31, 2025, a view counts when a Short starts or replays
Best time to post	No recommended time (studies compared)

How to make a YouTube Short on your phone

These are the steps in YouTube’s Help Center. The Shorts camera is not available on tablets, so use a smartphone with the latest YouTube app.

Open the camera. Sign in to the YouTube app, tap Create, then choose Short.
Record. Hold Capture to record, or tap it once to begin and once more to end. The duration setting in the upper-right corner changes the clip length, and a progress bar shows your segments, which add up to three minutes.
Fix mistakes. Tap Undo to remove the last clip or Redo to bring it back. Close lets you delete the Short or Save and exit, which keeps a draft.
Add sound and effects. Tap Done to preview, then add music, text-to-speech, filters or effects. Back returns you to the camera.
Add details. Tap Next, type a title of up to 100 characters, choose privacy, and tap Show more for extra settings. Get feedback gives an analysis of your hook and pacing.
Choose an audience. Tap Select audience and say whether the video is made for kids.
Publish. Tap Upload Short, or Save draft to finish later.

Creators aged 13 to 17 get private as the default setting, and creators 18 and older get public. Anyone can switch a Short between public, private and unlisted.

What other guides get wrong. As of October 27, 2026, NearStream’s and VEED’s how-to guides still describe Shorts as up to 60 seconds, and VEED calls 15 seconds the default length. YouTube’s Help Center says up to three minutes for uploads on or after October 15, 2024, and its current camera page gives no default length. NearStream, VEED and Hollyland also tell you to add #Shorts to the title or description; YouTube’s current Create and Upload pages do not mention it.

How to upload YouTube Shorts you already made

From a phone

Pick the file. In the YouTube app, tap Create, then Upload a video, and choose a square or vertical video.
Trim. Drag the sides of the bar to set the start and end. For a video over 3 minutes, tap Edit into a Short and cut it to 3 minutes or less.
Edit and publish. Tap NEXT to add text, filters or music, tap NEXT again for the title and privacy, choose an audience, then tap UPLOAD.

From a computer

Open YouTube Studio. Sign in, then click CREATE in the top-right corner and choose Upload videos.
Select the file. It should be up to 3 minutes and square or vertical. You can choose up to 15 short videos at a time.
Finish the details. Click EDIT DRAFT on each video to complete its details before you publish.

Can you make a YouTube Short from a long video?

Yes, in two ways. For a video you uploaded, open its watch page, tap Remix, then Edit into a Short, and select up to 60 seconds. The video must be public, free of third-party copyright claims, and opted in to sampling. YouTube’s page for this tool says you cannot add Audio Library music to the result.

The second route is Edit with AI. In the Shorts camera, tap Add, pick videos or photos, then tap Edit with AI and choose a style. It accepts up to 3 minutes of source material in total, with a 5-second minimum, and is not available in all regions.

How to make YouTube Shorts with AI

YouTube builds generative tools into the Shorts camera. Its Help page lists green screen backgrounds made from a text prompt, standalone clips up to 10 seconds, and Photo to video. Availability depends on your country and device language, and several tools are not offered in the European Economic Area.

You can also make clips in another app and upload the file. Either way, YouTube requires you to disclose realistic AI-generated or meaningfully AI-altered content. In YouTube Studio, open Attributes and set “AI use” to Yes. Clearly unrealistic scenes and minor edits need no disclosure, and content made with YouTube’s own AI tools is labeled automatically. Creators who consistently skip the disclosure risk a label, removal, or suspension from the YouTube Partner Program.

For a full workflow from idea to export, read how to make an AI video.

Want an AI tool to draft the clips for you? See which AI shorts generators we rank first.

See the best AI shorts generators

What should you check before you upload?

Audio rights. Songs from the Shorts Audio Library are meant to avoid copyright claims, and royalty-free tracks from the YouTube Audio Library do not get Content ID claims.
The first second. In a January 2025 YouTube Blog conversation, creator Jenny Hoyos said “you have one second to hook someone”.
Length and ratio. Stay at or under 3:00 and keep the frame square or vertical, or the file uploads as a regular video.
Earnings. Shorts ad revenue has its own rules; see YouTube Shorts monetization.

YouTube Shorts guides

FAQ

How do you make a YouTube Short?

In the YouTube app, tap Create, choose Short, record up to three minutes, tap Done, then Next to add a title, and tap Upload Short. To upload an existing square or vertical video, tap Create, then Upload a video.

Can you make a YouTube Short on a computer?

You can upload one. In YouTube Studio, click CREATE, then Upload videos, and select a file up to 3 minutes that is square or vertical. The Shorts camera itself is in the mobile app.

How can I turn my YouTube videos into Shorts?

On the watch page of a public video you uploaded, tap Remix, then Edit into a Short, and select up to 60 seconds. The video needs to be opted in to sampling and cannot have a third-party copyright claim.

What do YouTubers use to make Shorts?

YouTube’s creator page points to the Shorts camera in the YouTube app, editing in YouTube Studio, and the YouTube Create app. Creators can also edit elsewhere and upload any square or vertical file up to 3 minutes.

Is making YouTube Shorts free?

YouTube’s creator page says the editing tools in the YouTube Create app are free of charge, and notes the app is available in select markets. The Shorts camera is part of the YouTube app. Third-party editors may charge; see CapCut pricing for one example.

Does YouTube pay $3 per 1,000 views on Shorts?

YouTube publishes no fixed per-view rate. Shorts Feed ad revenue goes into a monthly Creator Pool, and creators keep 45% of their allocated share, according to YouTube’s Shorts monetization policies.

Do I need to label AI-generated Shorts?

Yes, if the content is realistic and AI-generated or meaningfully AI-altered. Set “AI use” to Yes under Attributes in YouTube Studio. Unrealistic scenes and minor edits do not need a label.

Sources

YouTube Help: Get started creating YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Create YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Upload YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Create YouTube Shorts from your videos, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Create content for Shorts using AI-generated features, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: Disclosing use of GenAI content, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Help: YouTube Shorts monetization policies, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube for Creators: Create Shorts on YouTube, checked October 27, 2026
YouTube Blog: YouTube Shorts deep dive (January 28, 2025), checked October 27, 2026
NearStream: How to make YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026
VEED: How to make a YouTube Short, checked October 27, 2026
Hollyland: How to make YouTube Shorts, checked October 27, 2026

Method: how we research.