Guide
How to turn a YouTube video into Shorts
Paste the link of a long YouTube video (an episode, an interview, a finished livestream) and get vertical clips with captions, ready to upload as Shorts. Here's which links work and the steps.
Updated October 2026
Which links work
- Video links: youtube.com/watch?v=…, youtu.be/…, and youtube.com/live/… for a livestream.
- Finished livestreams: yes. One that's still live or hasn't started can't be processed; wait until it ends and YouTube shows it as a regular video.
- Up to 4 hours per link. For a longer video, upload the file instead.
- Private, members-only and age-restricted videos can't be downloaded: upload the file instead.
- Only use videos you have the right to cut and publish: your own, or ones whose owner has given you permission.
Step by step
Copy the video's link
In the YouTube app, tap Share and then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address from the browser's address bar.
Paste it on iaclips
Paste the link in the box on this page and press Make clips. You sign in with a Google account; the free plan needs no credit card.
Choose what to process
The whole video, or just one part: type where it starts and ends, for example 10:00 to 40:00. On the free plan each video can be up to 30 minutes, so for a longer one choose a part.
Pick the length and the styles
Complete stories up to 3 minutes, or shorter clips up to 90 seconds; both fit YouTube's Shorts limit of 3 minutes. Then the caption and title styles. Everything has a default.
Let it run
We download the video, transcribe it, find the moments that make sense on their own and cut them vertical (9:16) with captions. You can close the page: we email you when the clips are ready.
Check, download and upload as Shorts
Open a clip to fix a word or move where it starts or ends, sentence by sentence. Download one clip or all of them, and upload them to YouTube: a vertical video up to 3 minutes is posted as a Short. Each clip comes with a title and post text with hashtags.
On a computer with Chrome, the iaclips extension saves you copying the link: a button under the YouTube video opens it in iaclips with the link filled in. Add to Chrome
What you get for each clip
- A vertical 9:16 video with animated captions: the word being said lights up.
- A frame that follows whoever is speaking, or one person, or the whole picture with bars.
- A title, a description and hashtags in the video's language, ready to copy.
- No watermark, on any plan.
Free plan: 30 minutes of video every 30 days, with no watermark and no credit card. Creator is $12 a month for 5 hours, and Pro $29 a month for 12 hours.
Questions
Can I use a livestream?
Yes, once it's over. A stream that's still live, or scheduled and not started, can't be processed: wait until it ends and YouTube has the recording, then paste the same link. It can be up to 4 hours long.
How long can the YouTube video be?
Up to 4 hours per link. On the free plan each video can be up to 30 minutes, so with a longer one you choose the part to process (for example, minutes 10 to 40). On Creator (5 hours a month) and Pro (12 hours a month) you can process the whole video if you have the hours left.
How long are the clips, and do they count as Shorts?
Complete stories run up to 3 minutes; shorter clips up to 90 seconds. YouTube posts square or vertical videos of up to 3 minutes as Shorts, and our clips are vertical (9:16).
Is it really free?
Yes. The free plan gives you 30 minutes of video every 30 days, with no watermark and no credit card. The paid plans: Creator, $12 a month for 5 hours, and Pro, $29 a month for 12 hours.
What if a link doesn't work?
Private, members-only and age-restricted videos can't be downloaded, and neither can a stream that's still live. If you have the file, upload it instead: uploads work the same way.
Can I make Shorts from someone else's video?
Only from videos you have the right to cut and publish: your own channel's, or ones whose owner has given you permission.
Is it a podcast episode? How to turn a podcast into clips
Comparing tools? Compare iaclips and OpusClip
Paste your link
Free, no watermark, no credit card.