YouTube Description Counter

The 157-character rule

YouTube shows the first ~157 characters above the "Show more" fold on desktop. That's the only part most viewers ever see. The rest is for SEO, channel links, sponsor mentions and chapter timestamps.

Description structure that works

• Hook (above fold, ~150 chars) — what the viewer will get, in one sentence
• Chapters / timestamps — first 00:00 required, then any time format. Auto-generates chapter markers on the seekbar
• Links — site, newsletter, social. YouTube auto-shortens long URLs in display
• Hashtags — 3-5 ideal. First three appear above the video title. More than ~15 risks the anti-spam filter
• Disclaimers / affiliate notices — bottom of description, after main content

Privacy

All counting and extraction runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.