SRT ⇄ Text Converter
Turn an .srt file into a readable text transcript with timestamps, or rebuild an SRT from that same text format. Free to use for files up to 200MB.
Or convert a file directly — supports files up to 200MB
Drag & drop a file here, or click to browse
Processed in the background, so the page stays responsive even for huge files
How to use this tool
SRT → Text turns each cue into a block that starts with its times in brackets, [00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000], followed by the words, with a blank line between blocks. Edit the words in any text editor, then paste the result back with Text → SRT selected to get a numbered subtitle file again. Above 5 MB the conversion moves to a background worker; 200 MB is the ceiling.
Worked example: an edited transcript
An editor has added a sound description with no timestamp and, by accident, deleted the blank line between the first two blocks:
[00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000] Where were you? [00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,500] At home. (door slams) [00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,000] Who was that?
Text → SRT still makes four cues. The second timestamp line starts a new cue even without the blank line. The untimed "(door slams)" is placed half a second after the cue before it ends and shown for 2.5 seconds, 00:00:16,000 to 00:00:18,500, so it stays where it was written. Check its timing against the video, but nothing is out of order.
What the reader accepts
- The brackets around the timestamps are optional, so a line copied straight from an SRT works too.
- A comma or a full stop before the milliseconds, and times without milliseconds, such as
00:00:12. - Tags such as
<i>and position codes such as{\an8}are ordinary text here, so they survive the round trip untouched. - If no block has a timestamp at all, the first cue starts at zero and each one follows 3 seconds after the start of the previous one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the bracketed-timestamp text format a standard file type?
No — it's a plain-text convention this tool uses (and reads back) to keep timing information attached to a human-readable transcript, not an established subtitle standard like SRT or VTT. It's meant for reading, sharing, or lightly editing a transcript with timing context, then converting back to SRT when you need an actual subtitle file again.
Can I paste plain text with no timestamps at all and still get a valid SRT?
Yes. Each paragraph, meaning text separated by a blank line, becomes one cue lasting 2.5 seconds, and the cues are spaced 3 seconds apart from the start. A paragraph of two lines stays a two-line subtitle. The timing won't match any real video, but the file is valid and ready to be timed in a subtitle editor.
What happens to formatting like speaker labels or [music] notes?
They're preserved as part of the cue text on both sides of the conversion, since this tool doesn't try to interpret subtitle content — only the timestamp and cue structure. Anything you type as part of a cue, including bracketed sound descriptions, carries straight through.
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