You're trying to nail that one guitar riff, or maybe you've found the perfect lo-fi beat for a three-hour study session. Either way, hitting the replay button every few minutes is a massive vibe killer. It’s annoying. Most people think they need a third-party downloader or some sketchy "YouTube Repeater" website to get the job done. Honestly? You don't. Google baked these features directly into the platform years ago, but they tucked them away in menus that aren't always obvious depending on whether you’re on a cracked iPhone screen or a triple-monitor desktop setup.
Knowing how do you make a youtube video loop isn't just about repetition; it's about workflow. If you're a developer listening to white noise or a chef following a specific folding technique in a sourdough tutorial, you need your hands free.
The Desktop Right-Click Magic
On a computer, it’s stupidly simple. You’d think there’d be a big, glowing "Loop" button right next to the play icon, but YouTube prefers a cleaner UI. To trigger a loop, you just hover your mouse over the video player and right-click. A dark context menu pops up. Look for the "Loop" option—it’s usually right at the top. Click it. A small checkmark appears next to the word, and you're golden. The video will now play until the heat death of the universe or until your browser crashes.
There’s a weird quirk here, though. If you right-click on certain parts of the player, or if you have a specific browser extension active, you might see a different menu—the "About HTML5 Player" one. If that happens, just right-click again, maybe a centimeter to the left. The second menu is usually the "real" YouTube menu that contains the loop toggle.
Mobile Users Have It Harder (But Not Much)
Mobile is where things get slightly more annoying because the "right-click" doesn't exist. For a long time, mobile users had to create a single-video playlist just to get a loop going. It was a mess. Now, YouTube has integrated the feature into the settings gear.
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Tap the video once to bring up the overlay. See that gear icon (or the three vertical dots on older versions) in the top right corner? Tap that. A menu slides up from the bottom of your screen. You’re looking for "Additional settings" or sometimes just "Loop video." Toggle that to "On."
It’s worth noting that this setting doesn't always stay on if you jump to a new video. It’s a per-video setting. If you’re casting to a Chromecast or a Smart TV, the loop function can be hit or miss. Often, the TV app doesn't support the native loop command from your phone, which is a massive oversight that keeps tech forums busy with complaints. In those cases, the old "Single Video Playlist" trick is actually your only reliable workaround. You make a playlist, add one video, and hit the "Loop Playlist" button on the player. It’s clunky, but it works when the native toggle fails.
Why the Loop Feature Sometimes Disappears
Ever tried to loop a video and the option just... wasn't there? It happens. Usually, this is tied to the type of content you're watching.
- YouTube Kids: If you're in the YouTube Kids app or watching content explicitly marked "Made for Kids," the looping functionality is often restricted or behaves differently to comply with COPPA regulations and safety standards.
- Live Streams: You can't loop a live broadcast for obvious reasons—it hasn't finished happening yet. However, once the stream ends and is archived as a VOD (Video on Demand), the loop option returns.
- Ad-Blockers: Occasionally, aggressive ad-blocking scripts mess with the player's context menu. If your right-click menu looks weirdly empty, try disabling your extensions for a second to see if they're the culprit.
Making the Loop Better with Timestamps
Sometimes you don't want the whole video. Maybe it’s a ten-minute tutorial but you only need to see the 30-second explanation of a "pivot table" over and over. This is where the standard YouTube loop fails you because it only repeats the entire file from 0:00 to the end.
To loop a specific segment, you have to move away from the official YouTube tools and use something like YouTube Loop (the website) or browser extensions like "Enhancer for YouTube." These allow you to set an "A" point and a "B" point.
- Select your start time.
- Select your end time.
- The player snips the rest and just cycles that specific window.
For musicians, this is the gold standard. Sites like LooperTube or ListenOnRepeat have built entire businesses around this single missing feature in the official YouTube player. They use the YouTube API to pull the video and then add their own custom controls over the top.
The Psychological Side of the Loop
There’s actually a reason we do this. Repetitive sound—especially stuff like "Brown Noise" or "Rain on a Tin Roof"—helps the brain enter a "flow state." By looping a video, you eliminate the "silent gap" and the potential for a jarringly different video to start playing via Autoplay.
Autoplay is the enemy of focus. If you’re wondering how do you make a youtube video loop, you're likely trying to prevent the algorithm from shoving a random MrBeast video down your throat right after your meditation music ends. Looping overrides Autoplay. It gives you control over the environment.
Advanced Tricks: The URL Hack
If you’re on a desktop and want to be a bit of a power user, you can edit the URL itself. It’s an old-school trick. If the URL is youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ, you can change it to youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ.
This redirects you to a third-party site that automatically loops the video. It’s fast. It bypasses the need to right-click. Just be careful with these sites; some are laden with heavy ads or tracking cookies. Stick to the native right-click method if you’re on a work computer or a sensitive network.
The "End Screen" Problem
One thing that ruins a good loop is the "End Screen" elements. You know, those big rectangular boxes that pop up in the last 20 seconds of a video, suggesting you watch another channel or subscribe? When a video loops, those boxes usually disappear when the video restarts, but if the creator placed them over a crucial part of the visual, they can be distracting every time the loop resets.
There isn't a native "Loop Toggle" that hides these. You’d need an extension like uBlock Origin with a custom filter or Enhancer for YouTube to strip those elements out. It’s a niche problem, but if you’re looping a workout video, having a "SUBSCRIBE" button blocking the instructor’s feet every 3 minutes is infuriating.
Practical Steps to Master the Loop
Stop clicking the "Replay" button manually. It’s a waste of energy.
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If you are on a desktop right now, find a video, right-click the player twice, and select Loop. If you are on a phone, tap the Settings Gear, go to Additional Settings, and toggle Loop Video to on.
For those who need to loop specific sections (like a 15-second dance move or a line of code), install the Enhancer for YouTube extension on Chrome or Firefox. It adds a dedicated "A-B Loop" button directly under the player that works more reliably than any external website. This setup ensures that your focus remains on whatever you’re learning or enjoying, rather than fighting with a UI that’s designed to keep you clicking on new content instead of sticking with what you’ve already found.