How to Caption an X Video (2026)

Captioning an X video means a muted post can still be read. X autoplays a lot of native video with the sound off. If the words exist only in the audio, the timeline scrolls past them.

You need a video you are allowed to post. You cannot attach an SRT to someone else's upload. Ads, Spaces, and a live stream are different surfaces. This guide is a video file on a post.

The LinkedIn version of the same job is how to add captions to a LinkedIn video.

Direct answer

1. Caption the exact file you will upload.
2. Make an SRT and read the names once.
3. Post it, or open the video you already manage.
4. Use X's caption upload when that control is on the post.
5. If the control is missing, burn the words into a copy for the feed and still keep the SRT.
6. Play the post with the sound off before you call it done.

Start from the file X will play

A trim, a new first second, or a compressed copy with a different length moves every cue. Build the SRT from the export you are about to attach. If the video is already live, use the master you uploaded, as long as you did not cut it afterward.

X's own automatic captions, when the product shows them, are a draft. Names and numbers are the usual misses.

Make the SRT first

1. Upload the video on File Transcribe.
2. Fix the name, the handle, and any figure a quote-tweet will screenshot.
3. Keep lines short. A post on a phone is closer to 32 characters than to a television line. The count is in how many characters per line in subtitles.
4. Export SRT on Pro or Plus.

Free is about 50 minutes a month, TXT or PDF. Pro is about $19/month. Plus is about $49/month. Confirm on /pricing. File Transcribe does not post to X.

If the recording is still an OBS or HandBrake MKV, start at add subtitles to MKV. Remux to MP4 after the SRT only if you do not trim. A trim after the caption file makes the words late.

Upload the file when X shows the control

X has moved media tools more than once. Look on the post you manage for a caption or subtitle upload that accepts a file, usually SRT, and a language. Attach the file. Set the language to the language spoken. Save. Watch one replay with the sound off.

Do not follow a 2023 click path if the button is gone. The job is the file upload, not a specific menu name.

When there is no caption upload

Some placements only accept the video. Then the feed will not see an SRT even if you have a perfect one.

1. Keep the SRT.
2. Burn a readable version into a copy for that post. CapCut is the usual place. The difference between those outputs is CapCut captions vs an SRT.
3. Post the burned-in copy.
4. If you later upload the same video to YouTube or LinkedIn, use the SRT there. Do not retype it from the pixels.

Burned-in words cannot be corrected by a viewer. They also survive a player that strips tracks. For a single post that will not be reused, that trade is fine. For a clip you will post in three places, the SRT is the master and the burn-in is a copy.

What this does not cover

A quote image is not a video. Alt text on a photo is not captions. A Space is audio without this file upload. Live video is not a file you caption after the fact unless you download a recording later and post that.

If the "video" is a YouTube link in the post, caption it on YouTube. X is only playing their embed.

FAQ

How do I caption a video on X?

Make an SRT from the file you will upload, then attach it if X shows a caption upload on that post. If it does not, burn the words into the copy you post and keep the SRT.

Can I paste a transcript into the post instead?

The post text is not captions. People watching with the sound off do not read your paragraph. They read the picture, or a track, or nothing.

Does X accept SRT?

When the control exists, a caption file is what you are looking for, and SRT is the usual type. If your account has no upload, the product is not accepting one on that surface this week. Do not block the post on it.

What if the video is a screen recording?

Upload the recording you will post. An MKV from OBS can be captioned at add subtitles to MKV before you remux. Caption the cut you upload, not a longer timeline.

Do I need burned-in words and an SRT?

For X alone, one of them is enough if people can read the post muted. Keep the SRT anyway if the clip will also go to YouTube. Studio can take the file. It cannot read letters you painted on the video.

Upload the file on File Transcribe, export the SRT, and check the post with the sound off.

More guides

• Transcription guides
• Try File Transcribe free
• Transcript format guide
• Best transcription software
• Transcribe YouTube videos

Further reading

• W3C captions overview
• Google Speech-to-Text docs