Fix SRT File

How to fix an SRT file

1. Open your .srt file

   Drop one SubRip file into the box above, or click to browse. It’s read by your browser and never uploaded. Try the sample to see a file with one of each problem.

2. Check what was found

   The summary counts each problem, and the preview lists every line: new times are shown under the old ones, removed lines are struck through, and badges say which fix touched a line.

3. Download the fixed file

   Save the result as movie.fixed.en.srt. The language code stays at the end of the name, so players still pick it up.

Why SRT files break

SubRip looks too simple to go wrong: a number, a timing line, the text and a blank line. But .srt files pass through many hands. They are typed by translators, exported by a dozen different programs, merged, cut, edited in Notepad and re-saved on phones. Each step can bend the format a little, and players disagree on how much bending they accept.

Numbering. Players are supposed to ignore the numbers, yet some editors and TVs check them. After lines are deleted or two files are joined, the count skips, repeats or restarts at 1 halfway through.

Timestamps. The standard form is 00:01:02,500, with a comma and three digits of milliseconds. Files converted from WebVTT keep a period, hand-typed ones drop digits (0:01:02.5), and a few programs write two-digit milliseconds. A strict parser stops at the first one.

Missing blank lines. A subtitle that runs straight into the next one, with no empty line between them, can make a player read the next number and timing as text, so a whole line of timing code appears on screen.

Reversed and zero-length times. A typo such as 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:02,000 makes a line end before it starts, and players skip it. A line that ends exactly when it starts flashes for no time at all.

Overlaps and duplicates. When two subtitle files are merged, or a line is pasted twice, lines end up on screen together or doubled. On many TVs an overlap pushes the next subtitle up the screen or hides it until the first one ends.

What each fix does

Restore lines with reversed times. If swapping the start and end gives a normal length (seven seconds or less), the times are swapped back. A larger gap is a typo in one number, so the line keeps its start and gets the time it takes to read.

Put lines in time order. Lines are sorted by start time. Lines that start together keep the order they had in the file.

Remove duplicate lines. A line with the same start, end and text as an earlier one goes. The same words at another time stay, since repeats in dialogue are real.

Remove empty lines. A subtitle with nothing to read, or only tags such as <i></i> or {\an8}, is removed.

Fix overlapping lines. A line still on screen when the next starts now ends at that moment. Two lines with the same start time become one subtitle with both rows.

Fix zero-length lines. A line gets about one second per 15 characters, at least 1.5 seconds, but never runs into the next line.

Numbering, timestamp format and blank lines are always put right, because writing a valid file does that by itself. The summary counts them too.

Tips

Fix first, then sync. Repair the file here, then adjust the timing with Shift Subtitle Timing if it is early or late. Timing tools work best on a clean file.

Garbled letters are a different problem. If accented letters look like é or �, the file is read with the wrong encoding. Pick another encoding next to the file name, or use Fix Subtitle Encoding.

Want to remove ads or hearing-impaired notes as well? The Subtitle Cleaner takes out credit lines, adverts and stray spaces, and Subtitle Editor lets you correct any single line by hand.