How to skip to the good part of any YouTube video

Quick answer

Every video has a good part. The trick is finding it without scrubbing back and forth like a DJ.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

Built-in YouTube tricks

Chapters. Hover the progress bar to see chapter names, or open the chapter list from the player or description (YouTube Help).
Most replayed. On many videos, a faint graph above the progress bar shows which parts get rewatched most. The peak is usually the good part.
Keyboard jumps. L skips forward 10 seconds, J goes back 10, and number keys 1 to 9 jump to 10% through 90% of the video (YouTube Help).
Double tap on your phone to skip ahead.
Jump ahead. YouTube rolled out a Premium feature that jumps to the part most people skip to (9to5Google, June 2024).

Outside tricks

Search the comments for a timestamp. Somebody almost always posts it.
Open the transcript and search for your keyword, then click the line.
Read a summary first so you know what the good part even is.

Our tip

Press 3 first. That jumps to 30%, and on a lot of how-to videos the intro, recap and sponsor are done by then.

Still intro? Press 5.

How 125x helps

In 125x you read the summary and the spoiler before opening anything. Often the good part is the spoiler, and you're done. When there's more to it, the verdict says skim or watch, and the Actionable tab lists the steps.

FAQ: questions people ask

How do I jump to a specific part of a YouTube video?

Use chapters, click the peak of the Most replayed graph, press number keys to jump by 10%, or click a timestamp in the comments or transcript.

What is YouTube's Jump ahead?

A YouTube Premium feature that jumps to the part of a video most viewers skip to.

Does every video have chapters?

No. Creators add them, and some videos get them automatically, so plenty have none.