Remember every insight without leaving YouTube.

Video Notes injects a lightweight workspace above the video title, pauses playback when you jot something down, and pins every thought to an interactive timeline so you can jump back instantly.

Perfect for capturing ideas, notes, and action items while watching videos.

Install extension
Works on youtube.com/watch Alt/Option + N shortcut Notes stored offline Zen mode Shareable note links Markdown export

How it fits in

Fast capture without leaving flow.

  1. Open any video on youtube.com/watch. Video Notes injects itself above the title and binds to the active player even as YouTube navigates between videos.
  2. Tap + Add note or press Alt + N. Playback pauses automatically so you can type, or delete without missing a beat.
  3. Hover and click markers along the timeline or use the popup search to reopen everything you’ve captured, sorted by timestamp.

Storage model

Completely offline - with export and import feature

Video Notes runs 100% offline. Everything is written to chrome.storage.local, split across videoNotes:notes and videoNotes:metadata, so your highlights never leave the device yet stay instantly available to both the content script and popup.

  • Offline-first: no sync servers or network permissions
  • Video titles & counts for lightning-fast summaries
  • Automatic refresh whenever local data changes

Focus mode

Strip away distractions, keep the video.

Zen Mode hides recommendations, comments, and merchandise while expanding the player to near-full width with theater mode. Toggle it from the notes header — your preference persists across reloads.

  • Hides sidebar, comments & merch shelf
  • Auto-enables theater mode for immersive viewing
  • Remembers your preference across page reloads

Collaboration

Share your notes with a single click.

Hit the Share button and Video Notes generates a unique link bundling your video title and every timestamped note into a clean read-only page. The URL is copied to your clipboard automatically.

Dedicated workspace

A full page for all your notes.

Need more room than the popup? Open the dedicated notes page for a full-screen experience — search across every video, export and import backups, manage settings, and review notes at your own pace.

Details that matter

Small touches, big difference.

Markdown Export

Copy notes as formatted markdown with a customizable template. Use placeholders like *video-title*, *time-url*, and *note* to shape the output for Obsidian, Notion, or any markdown tool.

Hold-to-Confirm Delete

Delete buttons require a two-second press-and-hold with an animated progress ring. Enabled by default, optional in settings.

Timeline Hover Previews

Hover over any note marker on the timeline to preview the note text without clicking. Scan your notes at a glance and jump to the one you need.

Open source

Built in the open so you can shape it.

Video Notes is fully open source on GitHub. If you spot a bug, want to polish the UI, or have a feature idea, you can dive into the repository, open an issue, or send a pull request.

Explore the code

Answers in seconds

Video Notes at a glance.

Does Video Notes work offline?

Yes. Every note and bit of metadata lives in chrome.storage.local, so your research stays private and accessible.

Can I export or import my notes?

The popup dashboard includes export and import controls under settings allowing you to backup and import notes between browsers or devices.

Will it slow down YouTube?

Video Notes injects lightweight HTML and listens for navigation events, so it adds virtually no load time and never touches the video stream itself.

What does Zen Mode do?

Zen Mode hides YouTube's recommendations sidebar, comments section, and merchandise shelf. It also expands the video to nearly full width and enables theater mode for a distraction-free experience.

How does sharing work?

Click the Share button to generate a unique read-only link. Your video title and timestamped notes are bundled into a shareable page and the URL is copied to your clipboard automatically.

Can I customize the markdown export?

Yes. Open settings in the popup and edit the markdown template. Available placeholders include *video-title*, *youtube-url*, *time-url*, and *note*.

Ready when you are

Install once, capture notes on every video.

Add the Chrome extension (or build locally) in under a minute. No accounts, no servers, just a focused workspace above your favorite videos.

Install from GitHub