Captions & on-screen text
SRT file: definition and examples
What is SRT file?
An SRT file (SubRip Subtitle file) is a plain text file that pairs subtitle text with start and end timecodes, telling a video player when to display each line of text on screen. It contains no video or audio data and must be used alongside a video file, either uploaded separately to a platform or imported into an editing application.
When you'd use it
- 1When uploading a video to a platform that accepts a separate caption file.
- 2When you want to swap in a translated caption file without re-exporting the video.
- 3When importing an existing transcript into an editing application to sync captions to the timeline.
- 4When sharing a caption file with a client or localization team for review before the video is finalized.
- 5When the platform or hosting service lets viewers choose from multiple caption language tracks.
Example
After transcribing a 60-second product demo, a creator exports the transcript as an SRT file and uploads it to YouTube. YouTube uses the timecodes to sync the captions automatically, and the creator can later download a translated version from a localization service and upload it as a second language track without touching the video file.
Use cases
- 1Uploading a corrected SRT alongside a YouTube video so the platform renders accurate closed captions.
- 2Handing a caption file to a translation vendor to produce Spanish and French versions of a brand video.
- 3Importing an SRT into an editor to use the timecoded text as the basis for styled caption overlays.
FAQ
What is the difference between an SRT file and a VTT file?
Both are plain text subtitle formats with similar timecode-plus-text structure. VTT (WebVTT) is designed for web video players and supports basic styling and positioning metadata. SRT has broader compatibility across desktop editors, broadcast tools, and older platforms. For most social video workflows, SRT is the safer choice unless a specific platform requires VTT.
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