Build a free open-source video editor for web, desktop, and mobile
You can cut and join videos directly in the browser and use the same editing environment on desktop and mobile. OpenCut is a free open-source alternative to CapCut that supports web, desktop, and mobile. However, it is currently being rewritten with a completely new structure, so you should refer to the existing version, opencut-classic, for immediate practical use.
Building a new foundation
OpenCut is currently in the stage of being redesigned from scratch. During this process, an editor API, third-party plugin support, and an MCP server for AI agents are planned to be added. It also plans to build desktop, mobile, and browser apps from a single codebase based on a Rust core. A headless mode for automation or batch rendering and a scripting tab inside the editor will also be introduced. Until all this work is complete, you can check the progress at new.opencut.app, while actual usage is handled by the existing version.
Setting up the development environment and contributing
To start development, you must first install a tool called proto. It can be installed via a bash command on Linux, macOS, and WSL environments, or via an irm command on Windows PowerShell. Once installation is complete, run proto use in the repository root to install the necessary tools with fixed versions. External contributions are not currently accepted because architecture design is in progress. Instead, you can join the Discord community or open an issue to ask questions and share opinions.
For immediate use
Until the new version is complete, it is recommended to use the existing version, opencut-classic. The opencut.app site still operates the classic version. The new version is planned to be provided as a preview at new.opencut.app. It is released under the MIT license, allowing free use, and development is maintained with sponsorship from generative AI model providers like fal.ai. Since it has not yet been disclosed which features will be finalized or when the official release will occur, it is safest to keep watching for the latest updates before making a decision.
