# Embed a playable video into your GitBook docs

The best way to [embed videos](/url/gitbook.com/docs/creating-content/blocks/embed-a-url.md) in GitBook is by adding a URL from publicly-accessible sources like YouTube and Google Drive. Not only is it the easiest way to add videos to GitBook — it’s also the most efficient. That means your end-users get a great experience, and your SEO ranking is boosted by the fastest possible performance.

However, it is technically possible to upload a video to GitBook and then embed that video on a page via its URL. This is very inefficient for end-users who view the videos — and that slower page load can also impact your SEO ranking.

However, if you only want to upload very short videos with small file sizes, you can upload a clip without needing to host it in another tool. This guide shows you how.

{% hint style="warning" %}

### Embedding large videos using this method way can impact SEO and user experience

**Uploading and embedding large video files will impact the loading speed of your page**, which can affect performance and SEO. We suggest only using this process for **small video files under 2MB**, such as short tutorials or demos.

For large videos, we strongly recommend uploading to a publicly accessible platform like YouTube or Google Drive and embedding those URLs instead.
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Drag and drop your video

First, simply drag and drop your video onto your page in GitBook. This will upload your video to your space’s [Files area](/url/gitbook.com/docs/creating-content/blocks/insert-files.md).

When the upload is done, the video will appear as a file block on the page. 
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Click to open the video file

Click the file block in the editor. Your video will open in a new browser tab and start playing automatically. 
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Copy the URL

You now have the hosted video’s URL — select and copy it from your browser’s address bar.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Paste the URL into GitBook

Head back to your GitBook page, create a new line, and paste your video’s URL into the editor. Hit Enter and the URL will automatically embed into the page, adding the video in a dedicated player. 

You can add a caption to the video, or just leave it as it is. Your users will see the embedded video and can click to play it right on your docs page.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Delete the file block

To clean up your page, you can now delete the file block that was created when you uploaded the video — you don’t need it on the page any more.

Don’t worry — it’ll still be accessible in your space’s **Files** tab in the table of contents, and deleting the block won’t delete the hosted file.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% embed url="<https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLBGJKQic7BQYBXmVSjy0%2Fuploads%2FvtrSGbLGw97w6RDsWuXE%2Fupload-embed-video.mp4?alt=media&token=8890e68a-cfcb-4ccf-872e-77aa526d87fb>" %}
How to upload a video and show it to users as a playable video.
{% endembed %}


---

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