SRT (SubRip subtitles)
Also known as: .srt file, SubRip subtitle, subtitle file, srt subtitles
An SRT file is a plain-text subtitle file in the SubRip format. It lists numbered captions, each with a start and end timecode and the line of text to show, so a player can overlay subtitles on a video. Because it is just text, an SRT file is tiny — usually a few kilobytes.
- Plain-text subtitle format (SubRip)
- Numbered entries with timecodes and caption text
- Tiny — usually only a few kilobytes
What is inside an SRT file
SubRip (.srt) is the most widely supported subtitle format. Each entry is a sequence number, a timecode range like `00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:05,000`, and one or more lines of caption text, separated by a blank line. You can open and edit it in any text editor.
SRT carries only text and timing — no fonts, colors, or positioning. That simplicity is why almost every player and platform reads it, and why a full movie of subtitles takes only a few kilobytes rather than the megabytes a video stream needs.
SRT alongside video files
Subtitles ship either embedded inside a container like MKV or MP4, or as a separate sidecar SRT file kept next to the video with a matching name. A sidecar file is easy to swap, edit, or delete without touching the video, and it adds almost nothing to your storage.
If you are clearing space, subtitle files are not the problem — the video is. Removing stray SRT files only matters for tidiness, since each one is a tiny text document.