.srt

What is a .srt file?

SRT is the most widely used text subtitle format — plain timestamps and text, nothing else.

Safe format
Type Video
By Open standard
MIME application/x-subrip

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What is it

SRT is the lingua franca of subtitles. Every media player supports it, every streaming platform can import it, and every subtitle editor can work with it. The format is almost offensively simple: a sequence number, a timestamp range, the subtitle text, and a blank line. You can create one in Notepad.

That simplicity is both its strength and limitation. SRT handles basic subtitles perfectly — dialogue, translations, closed captions. It does not handle styling, positioning, fonts, colours, or animation. If you need italic text or subtitles that appear at the top of the screen, SRT technically supports some HTML-like tags (`<i>`, `<b>`) but support varies by player.

For watching videos with subtitles, name the .srt file the same as the video file and place them in the same folder. Most media players (VLC, MPV, Plex) will auto-detect and load the subtitles. For streaming platforms, SRT is usually the required import format for user-uploaded captions.

Technical details
Full Name
SubRip Subtitle
MIME Type
application/x-subrip
Developer
Open standard
Magic Bytes
N/A
Safety
.srt is a known, safe format. Plain text file. Cannot contain executable code.
What opens it
VLC
FREE Windows / Mac / Linux
Subtitle Edit
FREE Windows
Any text editor
FREE Windows / Mac / Linux
FAQ
How do I add SRT subtitles to a video?
Name the .srt file identically to the video file (e.g., movie.mp4 and movie.srt) and place them in the same folder. Most players auto-detect and load them. In VLC, you can also drag an SRT file onto a playing video.
Can I edit an SRT file?
Yes — SRT is plain text. Open it in any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, TextEdit). Each subtitle block has a sequence number, timestamp, and text. For timing adjustments, use Subtitle Edit or Aegisub.
What's the difference between SRT and VTT?
SRT is simpler and more widely supported by media players. VTT (WebVTT) adds styling, positioning, and metadata — it's the standard for web video and HTML5 players. Most tools can convert between them.
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