ClipMargin
Timestamped notes for any video. Your margin for every clip.
In April I posted here about launching ClipMargin, my Chrome extension for taking timestamped notes on videos. Back then it worked on YouTube only. Update on what happened since, and a question at the end.
What shipped in 3 months: five more platforms (Udemy, Vimeo, Skillshare, Dometrain, Instagram), plus a right click option that works on any site with a video. A web app library with full text search, tags, and collections. Markdown export. A welcome page after install, because I learned the hard way that installs are not users: people installed and never found the first step.
What I learned: one engaged beta user beats any analytics. A single user gave me a platform wishlist and a stream of real issues. Vimeo, Skillshare, and Instagram all came from that one person's requests.
Where it honestly stands: solo, small user base, still beta with bugs here and there that I fix the same day I find them, free with no limits.
Now the question. I am picking what it grows into, and I would love input from people who have faced this fork. On my table:
More platforms, going where people actually watch and learn.
A no account mode, so you can take notes before signing in. Lower barrier to try it.
A Notion integration, sending notes straight into Notion instead of exporting Markdown.
Which would you pick first, and why? And honestly: would you use something like this yourself? If yes, what for. If no, what is missing. Both answers help me.
I kept watching videos to learn and then not being able to find that one part I needed later. I knew I saw it somewhere but couldn't remember which video or where.
I tried Notion, Google Docs, plain text files. The notes were always disconnected from the video.
Books have margins. You can write right next to what you're reading. Videos don't have that. So I built one.
ClipMargin is a Chrome extension that opens a panel next to the video. You type a note and the timestamp saves automatically. No pausing, no switching tabs. Later you search your notes and click to jump back to the exact moment.
What it does:
- Notes pinned to the exact timestamp automatically
- Pin to a single moment or capture a time range
- Search across all your notes from every video
- Click any note to jump back to the exact moment
- Markdown formatting
- Screenshot capture from the video
- Tags to organize your notes
Currently works on YouTube. More platforms coming.
Free on the Chrome Web Store: ClipMargin: Timestamp Note Taking for Videos - Chrome Web Store
Would love feedback from anyone who learns from videos.
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