Markers and chapters

Organize your script into sections with markers. Markers work like bookmarks or headers — they appear in the timeline and can show up as chapters in your exported or published videos.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add, navigate, edit, and export markers.

This article covers:

Add a marker

There are several ways to add a marker to the script:

  1. Type # directly into your script.
  2. Click Add marker on a blank line in the script.
    Add marker option shown in the Descript script editor
  3. Use the Add Chapters tool from the AI Tools panel.

Markers appear in your script as section headers and as purple bookmarks in the timeline.

Markers shown in the script and timeline

Click the marker icon next to the playback controls to view all markers in your script and jump between sections.

Marker list panel showing labeled sections for navigation

Edit markers

Move a marker

Hover over a marker until the grabber appears. Click and drag the marker to a new location. As you drag, the script highlights where the marker will land.

Dragging and repositioning a marker in the Descript script editor

Rename a marker

Click into the marker’s label and type a new name.

Delete a marker

Select the marker in your script and press Delete on your keyboard.

How markers appear in exports

Do markers show up as chapters in my video? 

Markers automatically appear as chapters in Descript web links.

For local exports, turn on Include markers as chapters in the Metadata settings. This works for MP4, MP3, and AAC files. Media players and podcast apps that support chapters will display them.

Note: YouTube doesn’t support chapter metadata from exported files. You’ll need to add chapters manually in the video description.

Export settings showing Include markers as chapters enabled

Can I export individual markers?

Yes. When exporting locally, choose Markers as the export option to create a separate file for each marker.

Do markers appear in transcript exports?

Yes. When exporting to Word or HTML, markers appear as section headers with timecodes if the option is enabled.