You have a video ready for a Short, but YouTube gives you different options depending on where that video lives. Start with the route below for a published upload or a file saved on your device. Square or vertical file uploads support up to three minutes, while the mobile tool for extracting from a published video limits your selection to 60 seconds.
Turn your published video into a Short on your phone
On Android or iPhone, open your own video's watch page in the YouTube app. Tap Remix, then Edit into a Short. This route works with your public long-form videos that have sampling enabled and no third-party copyright claims.
Select up to 60 seconds of the video, choosing a portion that makes sense on its own. Tap Next to continue.
For presentation adjustments, choose Layout. Finish editing and publish the new Short. It links back to your original video, giving viewers a route to the full version.
Use desktop Studio for a published video
If your desktop YouTube Studio shows Clips and Shorts, use it to create a separate Short upload from an existing video.
Open Content → Videos and select your video.
Open Clips and Shorts → Create clip or Short → Short.
Select the transcript text covering the passage you want.
Click Confirm selection. Alternatively, enter timeline timestamps to define the excerpt.
Choose Preview Short to review your selection.
Adjust Captions if you want to change them.
Click Create Draft.
Complete the publishing dialog to publish the separate Short.
If this method fails or Clips and Shorts is missing, try Remix → Edit into a Short in the YouTube mobile app. For an edit longer than that tool's 60-second limit, download your own upload and prepare a separate Shorts file using the editing method below.
Upload a video already saved on your phone
Use the local-file upload route when your footage is on your device, including for a Short longer than 60 seconds. The YouTube app on Android and iPhone supports square or vertical Shorts lasting up to three minutes.
Open Create → Upload a video. YouTube's general Android upload instructions call this entry Video.
Select your square or vertical file.
For footage exceeding three minutes, choose Edit into a Short.
Adjust the trim handles to keep your chosen portion within three minutes.
Tap NEXT to open the editing screen.
Make your edits to the Short.
Tap NEXT to continue.
Enter the video's details.
Open Select audience.
Choose the applicable audience.
Tap UPLOAD to publish using your selected settings. This upload route supports three minutes because it uses a local file; the published-video extraction tool has its own 60-second limit.
Restore a missing Edit into a Short option
Disabled sampling prevents an otherwise eligible video from offering Edit into a Short.
Open YouTube Studio's Content page.
Select the video's title or thumbnail.
Choose Show more to reveal the additional settings.
Under Shorts remixing, enable Allow people to sample this content.
Click Save. This enables a requirement for conversion; it does not create a Short by itself.
Return to the video's watch page in the YouTube mobile app.
Try Remix → Edit into a Short again. The source must also be your own public long-form video without third-party copyright claims.
Trim and reframe a video before uploading
For landscape footage or an edit requiring more control, use Clipchamp to prepare a file that meets the Shorts requirements.
- 1.Get your source file. To download your own YouTube upload, open desktop Studio's Content page, open the video's Menu, and select Download.
- 2.Import the footage into Clipchamp and place it on the timeline. Select it and drag its end handles to retain no more than three minutes.
- 3.Use the size button above the preview to choose 9:16 for vertical video or 1:1 for square video. Reposition or crop the picture to keep the subject in view.
- 4.Choose Export → 1080p and save the MP4 file.
- 5.Sign in to YouTube Studio and select CREATE → Upload videos. Select the exported file.
- 6.Complete the video's details and publishing settings. A new square or vertical upload lasting no more than three minutes qualifies as a Short.
Correct an upload that does not qualify as a Short
A landscape video or a file longer than three minutes falls outside the current Shorts upload requirements.
Reframe landscape footage to square or vertical in your editor.
Trim footage longer than three minutes to fit within the limit.
Export the finished edit.
Upload that file as a new video. Earlier long-form uploads do not automatically change under the newer Shorts classification rules, so create a separate Shorts version for those videos.
If a Short longer than one minute is blocked, check its copyright status. YouTube globally blocks Shorts over one minute that have an active copyright claim, even when the video meets the duration and shape requirements.
Make a Short using someone else's video
Mobile remix tools turn an eligible video excerpt into a Short.
Open the source video in the YouTube app. Remix availability depends on the source creator's permissions and rights restrictions.
Tap Share.
Choose Remix.
Select Cut. For an existing Short, use Remix → Cut this video instead.
Choose the excerpt you want to include.
Edit the resulting Short.
Upload the finished Short.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I upload several Shorts at once from a computer?
Yes. Desktop YouTube Studio lets you select up to 15 files together through CREATE → Upload videos. Use EDIT DRAFT to complete each video's details. Each file must meet the Shorts upload requirements.
Can I upload a finished Short through the YouTube Studio mobile app?
Yes, on Android and iPhone. Open Create → Upload a video, select a square or vertical file no longer than three minutes, enter its details, privacy and audience, then tap UPLOAD SHORT.
When did the three-minute Shorts classification rules take effect?
The rules apply to square or vertical uploads up to three minutes uploaded from October 15, 2024, for standard channels, and December 8, 2025, for Official Artist Channels.
Can I upload and edit a Short through my phone's browser?
YouTube's mobile website does not support uploading or editing videos. Use the YouTube or YouTube Studio mobile app, or desktop YouTube Studio.
