---
title: "How do I add captions to a video?"
description: "How to add captions to a video in a course, the file formats that work, and what happens with YouTube and Vimeo video."
canonical_url: "https://support.coassemble.com/articles/how-do-i-add-captions-to-a-video-oehSz0VJQB"
md_url: "https://support.coassemble.com/articles/how-do-i-add-captions-to-a-video-oehSz0VJQB.md"
---
# How do I add captions to a video?

> How to add captions to a video in a course, the file formats that work, and what happens with YouTube and Vimeo video.

Add captions to a video you have uploaded by opening the **Video** menu on the video block, choosing **Captions**, picking the language your captions are in, and uploading an SRT or WebVTT file. Captions aren't generated for you, so you bring your own caption file.

## How do I add them?

1. Select the video on the screen so the video toolbar appears.
2. Open the **Video** menu and choose **Captions**.

   

   ![](https://support.coassemble.com/api/attachments.redirect?id=2918b2fd-b78d-4365-a420-36d97c77c038 " =2744x1831")
3. Drag your caption file onto the upload area, or select it to browse. It will automatically detect the language of your captions.

   ![](https://support.coassemble.com/api/attachments.redirect?id=0dc29eb7-d79f-45ce-a077-173e23521254 " =2744x2090")

The captions are attached to that video, so they travel with it wherever the screen goes.

## What file formats work?

SRT (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt). Both are plain text caption files with timings in them, and both are standard exports from captioning tools, video editors and transcription services.

If you have a transcript rather than a caption file, it won't work as it is. A transcript is text with no timings, so it can't be synchronised to the video. Run it through a captioning tool to produce an SRT or WebVTT file first.

## Does Coassemble generate captions for me?

No. Captions come from you, as a file you upload. Where you generate AI narration from screen content, that narration does produce its own closed captions, and those are separate from video captions.

## What about YouTube and Vimeo video?

Video you embed from YouTube or Vimeo carries whatever captions are set on those platforms, so caption it there and it plays in the course with captions already on it. You don't upload a caption file for embedded video.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I add captions while the video is still processing?

Yes. The captions option is available while an uploaded video is converting, so you don't have to wait for processing to finish before adding your caption file.

### Why should I caption video?

Captions are how learners who are deaf or hard of hearing get the content of a video, and they help anyone watching without sound, in a noisy room, or in a second language. Course Coach flags missing alt text and missing headings, but it doesn't check whether your video has captions, so that one is on you.