How to export SRT from DaVinci Resolve
By Greg Thompson, Founder, CutConvertPublished Updated
To export SRT from DaVinci Resolve, open the Deliver page, scroll to Subtitle Settings, tick Export subtitle, set it to As a separate file with the format SRT, and render; the .srt lands next to your output file. No render needed? Right-click the subtitle track on the Edit page and choose Export Subtitle. Both work in the free version of DaVinci Resolve. The one catch is that your subtitles have to be on a subtitle track. If they are Text+ titles on a video track, Resolve has no export button for them, and this guide covers the honest workaround for that case too.
Export from a subtitle track (the supported path)
- On the Deliver page, scroll the render settings to Subtitle Settings.
- Tick Export subtitle and set the format to As a separate file, file type SRT, and check the subtitle tracks to include.
- Render. The
.srtlands next to your output file.
No render needed? Right-click the subtitle track on the Edit page timeline and choose Export Subtitle to write the SRT directly.
Timing note: the exported SRT carries the timeline's timecode. An hour-start timeline (01:00:00:00) produces an SRT whose first cue starts at one hour. Most platforms want zero-based subtitles, so export from a zero-start copy of the timeline or retime the file afterward. It's the same offset trap as Avid caption exports.
When your subtitles are Text+ titles, not a subtitle track
Titles on a video track have no subtitle-export path in Resolve. Two honest options:
- Rebuild onto a subtitle track when the cue count is small: create a subtitle track and retype or paste the text at each title's position. Tedious but direct.
- Go through FCPXML when it isn't: export the timeline (File > Export > Timeline, FCPXML format) and run it through the FCPXML to SRT converter. It walks the timeline, extracts every title with its exact offset and duration, resolves the container-offset math that puts naive extractions an hour off, and writes clean SRT.
Where the SRT goes next
Once you have the SRT: upload it straight to YouTube or Vimeo; convert to WebVTT for HTML5 players; hand it to translators as a Word document or a CSV; bring it into Avid as SubCap caption TXT; or turn it into a Premiere Pro transcript for Text-Based Editing.
FAQ
Where is the SRT export in DaVinci Resolve? Deliver page > Subtitle Settings > Export subtitle > As a separate file > SRT, or right-click the subtitle track on the Edit page and choose Export Subtitle. Both work in the free version.
Can I export SRT without rendering the video? Yes. The right-click Export Subtitle route on the Edit page timeline writes the file immediately, no render required.
Why does my exported SRT start at 01:00:00? Your timeline starts at hour one, and the export carries absolute timeline timecode. Export from a zero-start copy of the timeline, or retime the SRT, if the destination expects subtitles from zero.
Can Resolve export SRT from Text+ titles? Not directly. Resolve's subtitle export only reads subtitle tracks. Export the timeline as FCPXML and convert it with the FCPXML to SRT converter, which extracts titles with exact timing.
Does Resolve export other subtitle formats? The separate-file export also offers WebVTT alongside SRT, and the same Subtitle Settings can burn subtitles into the picture or embed them as captions instead.
Will styled subtitles keep their styling in the SRT? No. SRT is plain text with timing; styling lives in the player or the destination editor. Text content and line breaks survive; fonts, colors, and positions don't, because the format can't hold them.
Why is Export Subtitle greyed out in Resolve? Because the timeline has no subtitle track with cues on it. Resolve only enables subtitle export for real subtitle tracks, so Text+ titles on a video track, a subtitle track that is empty, or a track that is disabled all leave the option greyed out. Add a subtitle track, put cues on it, make sure it is enabled, and the export options on the Deliver page and the right-click menu light up. Titles that have to stay titles go out through the FCPXML to SRT converter instead.
Greg Thompson · Founder, CutConvert
Greg builds CutConvert, the post-production file converter — including the first working decoder for Premiere Pro’s binary .prtranscript format. He writes these guides from the format specs and real editor workflows.