YouTube Shorts templates: what makes a Short eligible

A Shorts template is a framework taken from an existing Short: the length and number of clips, plus elements such as text, music and effects. Another creator opens the Short, taps Remix, then Use this template, and drops in their own clips. YouTube's help page says eligible Shorts can be used as templates by other creators by default.

The page lists three things a Short may need to be eligible, "among other conditions": remixable audio, multiple video clips, and text segments. It does not publish a full test, so treat the list as a guide, not a guarantee.

How does someone use a template?

On mobile, the steps are short. Sign in to the YouTube app, go to the Short you want to use, tap Remix, then Use this template. The page also says you can tap Use template directly on the Short. Then add your clips to the template and create your Short.

That means a template Short is a structure to copy, not a download. The person using it records or imports their own footage into each slot.

How do I keep my Shorts from being templates?

If you don't want your Shorts to be eligible, the page says to opt out of Shorts remixing. In YouTube's page for turning a long video into a Short, Shorts remixing in Studio shows an "Allow people to sample this content" box, found under Content, then the video, then Show more.

Decide before you publish a batch. Our guide to turning off Shorts remixing walks through the Studio steps.

How do I build a Short with the traits YouTube lists?

Sume can build the parts; whether YouTube treats the upload as a template is YouTube's decision after it processes the file. Here is how each listed trait maps to a Sume surface, from the docs:

What does a multi-clip render look like?

Timeline 1.0 takes one audio spine and ordered video[] slots and returns one MP4; the default output is 1080 by 1920. Public rate is $0.10 per ceil output minute, so a 30-second Short is $0.10. Every URL must already be a media.sume.com file in your workspace.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: template-short-001" \
  -d '{
    "audio": {"url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/bed.mp3", "duration_seconds": 12},
    "video": [
      {"source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/a.mp4", "start": 0, "duration": 4},
      {"source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/b.mp4", "start": 4, "duration": 4,
       "transition": {"type": "fade", "duration": 0.25}},
      {"source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/c.mp4", "start": 8, "duration": 4,
       "transition": {"type": "fade", "duration": 0.25}}
    ]
  }'

What should I check before I publish?

Burned-in text is part of the picture, so a person using your template sees your arrangement of clips and music, not editable text. If you want text YouTube can treat as a text segment, add it in the YouTube editor after import. The page doesn't say how it classifies burned-in text, so don't count on it.

Finally, note that Shorts you make from your own long videos are linked back to the original and cannot use Audio Library music, per YouTube's page on editing into a Short; templates and that feature are different paths.

A practical way to plan: write down the clip count and length first, since the page says a template carries the length and number of clips. A 12-second Short with three 4-second clips gives the next creator three slots to fill. Fewer, longer clips make a looser template, and many short clips make a tight one. Sume's Timeline lets you change a slot's duration and re-render for $0.10 per output minute, so you can try both shapes before you upload.