How to add a video to a playlist on YouTube
Open the video and click Save (the bookmark icon) under the player, or click the three dots next to any video and choose Save to playlist. Pick a playlist from the list, or click New playlist to make one. On the Android and iPhone app, tapping Save drops the video into the last playlist you used, so tap Change on the pop-up to choose a different one.
How to add a video to a playlist on a computer
From the video page Desktop
- Sign in to youtube.com and open the video.
- Under the player, click Save. It sits in the row with Like, Share and the three-dot button. If your window is narrow, YouTube folds Save into the three-dot More menu, so look there.
- A panel titled Save to... opens. Click the playlist you want. Watch later is always first.
- A message pops up at the bottom of the screen confirming which playlist got the video. That's it.
From the home feed, search results or a channel page Desktop
You don't have to open the video. Click the three dots next to its title. In search results the menu reads Add to queue, Save to Watch later, Save to playlist, Download, Share, Report. Choose Save to playlist and you get the same panel as above. The same menu works in the sidebar next to a video, on channel pages, and in your subscriptions and history.
How to add a video to a playlist on Android and iPhone
The YouTube app behaves differently from the website, and it catches people out. Tapping Save doesn't ask you anything.
- Open the video in the YouTube app.
- Below the video, tap Save. If it isn't in the row of buttons, it's under the three-dot More button.
- YouTube immediately saves the video to the last playlist you saved to, or to Watch later if you've never saved anything. A pop-up at the bottom tells you which.
- Wrong playlist? Tap Change on that pop-up and pick the right one, or tap New playlist.
From a feed in the app, the three dots next to a video give you Save to Watch later. For any other playlist, open the video and use Save, then Change. On the mobile website (m.youtube.com), Save works like the desktop version and shows the full list straight away.
How to add YouTube Shorts to a playlist
Shorts are the odd one out. The button rail next to a Short (Like, Comment, Share, Remix) has no Save button, which is why so many people think you can't save them. You can, it's just in a menu.
On a computer Desktop
- Open the Short itself. Shorts thumbnails in search results only offer Add to queue, Report and Send feedback, with no save option.
- Click the three dots at the top right of the player, next to the full screen button.
- Choose Save to playlist and pick a playlist.
On Android and iPhone App
- While the Short is playing, tap the three-dot More button.
- Tap Save to playlist, then pick a playlist or tap New playlist.
If you use the YouTube Playlist Search extension on desktop Chrome, press Alt+S on a Short, or right-click any Short's thumbnail and choose Save to playlist (search all playlists). That works straight from the Shorts shelf, no need to open it.
How to create a new playlist while saving
- Open the Save panel (desktop) or tap Save, then Change (app).
- Click New playlist.
- Type a name. YouTube allows up to 150 characters.
- Choose Public, Unlisted or Private. Private means only you can see it.
- Click Create. The video is already in it.
YouTube caps how many public playlists a channel can create per day, so go private if you're making lots.
How to add one video to several playlists at once
On a computer, the Save panel has no Done button. Each click on a playlist saves the video there on the spot, so click every playlist you want while the panel is open. On the app, tap Save, then Change, and pick from the full list.
The panel also marks playlists that already contain the video, with one catch: it only knows about 200 of your playlists.
How to add multiple videos to a playlist
YouTube has no "select ten videos and save them all" button for other people's videos. Here's what does exist.
Copy every video from one of your playlists into another
- On a computer, open a playlist you own (Watch later counts).
- Click the three-dot button under the playlist title.
- Choose Add all to... and pick the destination in the usual Save panel.
On a playlist made by someone else, that menu only has Shuffle and Report. The bookmark icon next to Play all saves the whole playlist to your library, which keeps it handy but doesn't copy its videos into one of yours.
Add your own uploads in bulk
In YouTube Studio, go to Content, tick the boxes next to your videos, and click Add to playlist in the bar that appears. This only works for videos on your channel.
Start a playlist from your watch history App
In the app, tap your profile picture, then New playlist in the Playlists section. YouTube lets you tick several videos from your watch history before you name it.
Add a video by URL
On a playlist you own, the three-dot menu also has Add videos. It opens a box where you can search all of YouTube, paste a video URL, or pick from your own uploads. Remember this one, it's the escape hatch for the 200-playlist problem below.
Every video from a channel
No button for this. A channel's "Uploads from" list can be played, but not copied. One at a time it is.
Is there a YouTube add to playlist shortcut?
No. YouTube's official keyboard shortcut list (press Shift+? on youtube.com to see it) covers playback, captions, search and the miniplayer. Nothing opens Save.
That's one of the reasons I built YouTube Playlist Search. On desktop Chrome it adds Alt+S to open a save picker for the video you're watching, and Alt+P to find and open any playlist. Type a few letters, arrow down, press Enter. You can rebind both at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.
YouTube Music
In YouTube Music, open the three-dot menu on a song and choose Save to playlist (the website calls it Add to playlist), then pick a playlist or New playlist. Playlists you make there also show up in regular YouTube. My extension doesn't work on music.youtube.com, only youtube.com.
YouTube save to playlist not working? Check these
- You're signed out. Playlists belong to an account. No account, no Save.
- The Save button is missing. On a narrow window it moves into the three-dot menu under the video. On a Short, it was never on the rail: use the menu at the top right of the player.
- It's a "made for kids" video. YouTube says you can't add made-for-kids videos to a playlist from the home page, but you can from search results. Search for it and save from there.
- You're on the wrong channel. If your playlists live on a brand channel, Save only shows them while you're using that channel. Switch from your profile picture.
- The playlist is full. A playlist holds 5,000 videos. After that, saves fail with an error.
- The playlist isn't in the list at all. This one gets its own section.
Why your playlist is missing from the Save menu
I spent a while reverse-engineering the request behind YouTube's Save panel, because I didn't believe this at first: it loads at most 200 of your playlists. Not 200 at a time. 200, full stop. There's no "load more", and every setting I could find to ask for more is ignored. The same cap shows up on the website and the mobile website.
Which 200? They appear to be the most recently updated ones, with Watch later pinned to the top. So if you have 260 playlists, the 60 you haven't touched in a while are simply absent. Scrolling won't find them. YouTube doesn't document this anywhere.
There's a sneakier side effect. The "already saved" marks only cover those same 200. If a video sits in an older playlist, the panel shows nothing, and you might save it again somewhere else thinking it's new.
Workarounds that don't need anything installed:
- Go in through the playlist. Open the missing playlist, click the three dots, choose Add videos, and paste the video URL. This skips the Save panel entirely.
- Find the playlist fast. Open youtube.com/feed/playlists, scroll to the bottom so everything loads, and press Ctrl+F (⌘+F on a Mac). More on that in how to find your playlists on YouTube.
- Prune and prefix. Merge dead playlists, and start related names with the same tag ("cook: ") so they group together.
The full set of numbers is in YouTube playlist limits.
YouTube Playlist Search opens from YouTube's Save buttons and lists every playlist you own, not just 200. Type to filter, see which ones already have the video, undo a mis-click. Free, desktop Chrome only.
Add to Chrome, freeQuestions people ask
Why can't I save videos to playlists on YouTube?
The usual causes: you're signed out, the Save button is tucked under the three-dot menu because the window is narrow, the video is made for kids and you opened it from the home feed (open it from search results instead), you're signed in as a different channel than the one that owns the playlist, or the playlist already has 5,000 videos. If the playlist simply isn't in the list, YouTube's Save menu only loads 200 of your playlists.
How do I add videos from one playlist to another YouTube?
If you own the source playlist, open it on a computer, click the three-dot menu under the playlist title, choose Add all to..., and pick the destination playlist. For someone else's playlist there is no Add all to option, so you either save the whole playlist to your library with its bookmark icon, or add the videos one by one.
How do I add all videos from a YouTube channel to a playlist?
YouTube has no button for that. If it's your own channel, use YouTube Studio: Content, tick the videos, then Add to playlist. For someone else's channel you have to add the videos one at a time, though you can play all of a channel's uploads as one list.
How do I put videos in order on a YouTube playlist?
Open the playlist and drag a video up or down. YouTube says this doesn't work for playlists that contain only Shorts. On a computer, the sort menu at the top of the playlist also lets you order it by date added.
How do I add YouTube Shorts to a playlist?
Open the Short itself, tap or click the three-dot menu, and choose Save to playlist. On a computer the three dots are at the top right of the player, not in the button rail beside it. Shorts thumbnails in search results don't offer a save option.
Is there a keyboard shortcut to add a video to a playlist on YouTube?
No. YouTube's keyboard shortcut list has nothing for Save. The free YouTube Playlist Search extension for desktop Chrome adds Alt+S to open a searchable save picker for the video you're on, and Alt+P to find a playlist.
Why is my playlist not showing when I click Save on YouTube?
YouTube's Save menu loads at most 200 of your playlists, which appear to be the most recently updated ones. Anything older is not in the list at all, so scrolling won't find it. Open that playlist, click the three-dot menu, choose Add videos, and paste the video's URL instead.