Short answer: A YouTube Short is a square or vertical video of up to three minutes. Record it with the Shorts camera in the YouTube app, or upload a video you already have from your phone or from YouTube Studio. Use music from YouTube’s audio libraries to avoid copyright claims.
What a YouTube Short is
In this guide, a Short is a quick vertical video that people swipe through on YouTube. YouTube says a video uploaded now with a square or vertical aspect ratio, up to three minutes long, is categorized as a Short. Older uploads stay long-form videos.
If you don’t want a video to count as a Short, YouTube suggests a wider aspect ratio, such as 16:9, for long-form videos. All you need for a Short is a smartphone and the Shorts camera built into the YouTube app.
The same vertical clip often fits other platforms too. Each one has its own rules, in the Instagram Reels guide and the guide to Facebook reels.
Length, shape and size of a Short
| Item | YouTube’s rule | Our tip |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Up to three minutes, in one clip or several | Show the point in the first seconds |
| Shape | Square or vertical; a wider ratio such as 16:9 makes a long-form video | Vertical, to fill a phone screen |
| Resolution | A maximum of 1080p | 1,080 by 1,920 pixels for a vertical Short |
| Title | Up to 100 characters | What the Short shows, in a customer’s words |
| Music | Most Shorts Audio Library songs for up to 90 seconds, some for 60 or 30 | Choose the track before you cut |
The middle column sums up YouTube Help; the tips are ours.
YouTube Help gives the shape and the maximum resolution, not a pixel size. A vertical 1080p frame is 1,080 by 1,920 pixels, the shape of a phone held upright, and that is what we film.
How to make a YouTube Short with the Shorts camera
- Open the YouTube app on your phone, tap Create and select Short.
- Hold Capture, or tap it, to record; tap it again to stop. Several clips can add up to three minutes.
- Use Timer for a countdown before recording, so you can step back from a phone on a tripod.
- Tap Add Sound to pick a track from YouTube’s audio library at no charge.
- Trim a clip by dragging the sides of the bar; anything outside the box won’t show in the Short.
- Tap Next, add a title of up to 100 characters, choose the audience and tap Upload Short.
- If your customers often watch without sound, add captions in each language they speak.
Steps 1 to 6 come from YouTube Help, and step 7 is ours. Our YouTube captions guide shows how to add them.
The Shorts camera isn’t available on tablets for now, YouTube says, so record on a phone. Speed changes a clip from 0.3x to 3x, and Align shows the last frame as a silhouette so a new clip lines up with it.
How to upload a Short you already filmed
From a phone, tap Create and then Upload a video, and choose a square or vertical video. For videos up to three minutes, a trim editor lets you drag where it starts and ends.
If the video runs longer, tap Edit into a Short to cut it to three minutes or less. Then add text, filters or music, and fill in the details before you upload.
On a computer, open YouTube Studio and click Create, then Upload videos. You can choose up to 15 short videos at a time, but click Edit draft to finish the details of each one before publishing.
Shorts you upload can be at most 1080p. If you plan a cover image as well, its sizes are in our guide to YouTube thumbnail sizes.
Music without copyright claims
You can use most songs in the Shorts Audio Library for up to 90 seconds in a three-minute Short, and some only for 60 or 30 seconds. YouTube adds that royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library won’t receive a Content ID claim.
That library sits in YouTube Studio, where you can browse, preview and download songs for your Shorts at no charge. If you upload a video made elsewhere, YouTube warns that copyright-protected material can lead to a Content ID claim.
YouTube Help gives two answers for a claimed Short over one minute: one page says it is blocked globally, another that it is no longer blocked automatically. Music from YouTube’s libraries avoids the question.
Your drafts are saved on your phone, not on your channel, so deleting the YouTube app or changing phones loses them.
Check these before a Short goes live
- The video is square or vertical, and three minutes or less.
- The first seconds show what the Short is about.
- The music comes from YouTube’s audio libraries, or you own it.
- Your title tells people what they will see, in 100 characters or fewer.
- The captions follow the words spoken, in each language your customers use.
- You chose the audience before uploading.
RememberA Short is a square or vertical video of up to three minutes. Record it with the Shorts camera or upload one from your phone or YouTube Studio, use music from YouTube’s libraries, and check the title and captions before you publish.
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Common questions about YouTube Shorts
What is the maximum length of a YouTube Short?
Up to three minutes. YouTube treats a square or vertical video of three minutes or less as a Short. With the Shorts camera you can record one or more clips that add up to three minutes, and a longer upload can be cut down with Edit into a Short.
What size should a YouTube Short be?
Square or vertical, at a maximum resolution of 1080p, YouTube says. We film vertically at 1,080 by 1,920 pixels, the shape of a phone held upright. A wider ratio, such as 16:9, makes the upload a regular long-form video instead of a Short.
Can I upload Shorts from a computer?
Yes. In YouTube Studio, click Create and then Upload videos, and choose square or vertical files of three minutes or less. You can pick up to 15 at a time, but click Edit draft on each one to finish its details before it is published.
What music can I use in a Short?
Songs from the Shorts Audio Library, most of them for up to 90 seconds in a three-minute Short, and some only for 60 or 30 seconds. Royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library won’t get a Content ID claim. Music you don’t own can bring one.
Where are my Short drafts saved?
On your phone, not on your channel. YouTube keeps as many drafts as you like, but if you delete the YouTube app or change phones, you lose them. To find them, start a Short, tap Next and then Drafts in the lower-right corner.
Sources
Sources read on November 6, 2026, all from YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, Upload YouTube Shorts (computer and Android), Create YouTube Shorts and Tips to create YouTube Shorts.