OpenChatCut

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Open-source ChatCut alternative · agent-native · local-first AI video editor

Let Codex, Claude Code, and the built-in agent read, edit, and export real video projects that remain fully editable. Website: openchatcut.com

Introduction · Product Tour · Quick Start · Agent / MCP · Changelog · Star Growth · Contributing

_{From a single instruction to a real timeline: agents, media, previews, motion graphics, transitions, effects, and multitrack audio all work together in one project.}

What is OpenChatCut?

OpenChatCut is an open-source ChatCut alternative: a video editor that brings conversational agents and professional timeline editing into the same workspace. It is independent open source (AGPL), not affiliated with the commercial ChatCut product.

OpenChatCut = local video projects + multitrack timeline + AI agents + MCP + production-ready exports.

It does not merely generate a video that can no longer be changed. Every edit is written to real tracks, clips, transitions, captions, effects, and media inside the project. You can continue editing manually, undo or redo changes, save versions, or hand the project to another agent.

OpenChatCut is built for creators and developers who want AI to participate in the actual editing workflow without giving up professional control, rather than starting over from an empty chat box or an immutable generated result.

• Website: https://openchatcut.com

• Open-source ChatCut alternative guide: https://openchatcut.com/blog/open-source-chatcut-alternative

• ChatCut vs OpenChatCut: https://openchatcut.com/blog/chatcut-vs-openchatcut

• 🤖 Agent-native: the built-in agent and external MCP agents share the same editing tools.

• 🎞️ Real timeline: multiple video and audio tracks, transitions, effects, LUTs, zooms, and keyframes.

• 📝 Transcript-driven editing: word-level transcription, text-based cuts, pause handling, speakers, and linked captions.

• ✨ Generation and media: images, video, speech, music, sound effects, and online media search.

• 🧩 Motion Graphics and WebGL: editable motion templates, custom shaders, visual effects, and transitions.

• 📦 Production-ready exports: MP4, audio, captions, FCPXML, and complete project data.

• 🖥️ Local-first: projects and media stay on your machine by default, while API keys remain server-side.

Product Tour

The following screenshots show real OpenChatCut projects and editor states, not static mockups.

Local project management — Create, import, duplicate, export, and continue editing multiple real projects.	Complete agent-driven editing — Generate music, invoke tools, and write transitions, captions, and multitrack media directly to the timeline.
Motion Graphics and agents — Browse motion templates or let an agent generate and assemble editable MG clips.	WebGL visual effects — Apply pixelation, duotone, fisheye, kaleidoscope, softening, light leaks, and more directly to clips.
Camera movement and zoom — Push, pull, slow zoom, fast zoom, and eased camera effects work directly with the timeline.	LUTs and color styles — Compare camera transforms and film looks in real time against a consistent reference frame.

Why OpenChatCut?

Traditional editors excel at precise control. One-shot AI video generators excel at producing results quickly. OpenChatCut connects both approaches through one continuously editable project:

The core editing loop:

Describe the goal → Agent reads the project → Produces verifiable edits → Writes to the timeline
                  → Preview / adjust / undo → Captions and mixing → Export

Core Capabilities

Use Cases

• Talking-head and interview editing: transcribe audio or video, remove mistakes, pauses, and repetition through text, then generate captions automatically.
• Fast multiformat assembly: import video, images, and audio, then let an agent create the rough cut, transitions, soundtrack, and pacing.
• Short-form and social content: reframe the canvas and generate titles, captions, voice-over, music, and visual packaging.
• Motion Graphics: use built-in templates or ask an agent to create editable motion-graphics clips.
• Developer automation: use MCP to let Codex, Claude Code, or another compatible client inspect and modify a real project.

Workflow

1. Create a project and import local media.
2. Edit manually on the timeline or describe the result you want.
3. The agent reads project context and invokes editing tools.
4. Review the proposal and preview the result, then apply, adjust, or undo it.
5. Finish captions, audio, effects, and color.
6. Export video, audio, captions, FCPXML, or the complete project.

Quick Start

Desktop installers

Download the latest macOS and Windows builds from GitHub Releases. The release currently includes DMG installers for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, plus an x64 Windows installer.

These are early builds. The macOS packages are not yet signed or notarized, so the operating system may require manual approval on first launch.

Run from source

Requires Node.js 24.x and npm. The supported Node.js range is enforced by package.json, and .nvmrc selects the matching major version for Node version managers.

git clone https://github.com/0xsline/OpenChatCut.git
cd OpenChatCut
npm install
cp .env.example .env.local
npm run dev

Open:

http://localhost:5199

Only add the model or media-service credentials you actually use to .env.local. Features without configured third-party credentials report the missing key explicitly; local timeline editing, built-in media, and other configured capabilities continue to work.

Local H.264 exports automatically prefer VideoToolbox on macOS and NVENC on compatible Windows systems, then fall back to software encoding. Tune render concurrency and the heavy-export limit with OPENCHATCUT_RENDER_CONCURRENCY and OPENCHATCUT_MAX_ACTIVE_EXPORTS, disable hardware encoding with OPENCHATCUT_DISABLE_HARDWARE_ENCODING, or override FFmpeg-side encoder selection with OPENCHATCUT_H264_ENCODER; see .env.example.

Desktop development

npm run desktop:dev

The desktop app uses an Electron shell with the same embedded services. The web development build and desktop build share project, agent, generation, and export logic.

Project Status

OpenChatCut is under active development. The editor, project format, and agent tools will continue to evolve. Prebuilt macOS and Windows installers are published on GitHub Releases; running from source remains the most transparent option for development and troubleshooting.

The core timeline, local projects, built-in media, and manual editing do not depend on cloud services. Connected features such as AI models, online media, generation, and transcription are enabled only after you configure the corresponding services.

Using OpenChatCut with Codex / Claude Code

OpenChatCut exposes a Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint:

http://localhost:5199/api/external-mcp/mcp

The repository's root .mcp.json already contains the local connection. Before using timeline tools, run OpenChatCut and open the target project. Project listing, creation, and navigation tools do not require the editor to remain open.

Codex app/CLI and Claude Code use the same session workflow:

1. Call begin_edit_session and keep the returned editSessionId. Set approvalMode to manual (the default) or auto.
2. Pass that id to every project read/edit tool. Changes are applied only to an isolated draft.
3. Call review_edit_session when the draft is ready.
4. In manual mode, review, preview, select, and approve or reject the proposal inside the open OpenChatCut project. In auto mode, review_edit_session applies the complete draft immediately. The client can poll get_edit_session for applied, rejected, or discarded status.

Approval in Codex or Claude controls whether the client may call a tool. OpenChatCut project approval is required only for manual sessions; auto sessions explicitly bypass that review. Either mode commits the applied operations atomically as one undo step. If an auto session becomes stale, it returns an error instead of falling back to manual approval; discard it and start a new session. Only draft-safe project read/edit tools are exposed in these sessions. Generation, export, project deletion, and other immediate side-effect tools stay unavailable because a rejected proposal could not roll them back.

Codex

Add the following to your Codex configuration:

[mcp_servers.openchatcut]
url = "http://localhost:5199/api/external-mcp/mcp"

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http openchatcut \
  http://localhost:5199/api/external-mcp/mcp

You can then describe an editing task directly to the agent:

Start an OpenChatCut edit session. Read the draft, add a scratch sound effect
at 8 seconds on the second audio track, and add a glitch transition between
the adjacent video clips. Submit the draft for review and wait for the user to
approve it in OpenChatCut before reporting that the edit was applied.

External agents invoke the same internal editing tools and EditorCore commands as the editor itself. There are no separate project formats that can drift apart, and the live timeline is not changed while an external draft is being prepared.

Protecting MCP access

When exposing the MCP endpoint yourself, configure:

OPENCHATCUT_MCP_TOKEN=your-token
OPENCHATCUT_EDITOR_URL=https://your-editor.example.com

Clients must send Authorization: Bearer <token>. The current bridge is designed for a single user on one machine, not as a multi-tenant service.

Architecture

_{One shared set of agent tools and EditorCore commands connects the built-in agent, external MCP clients, the real timeline, local data, and production exports.}

Directory Overview

Data and Privacy

• Projects, chat history, and version data are stored in the shared local store under ~/.openchatcut; IndexedDB provides a browser-side cache and legacy-data migration.
• User media is stored in a local media directory that you can back up or migrate.
• Whether AI requests leave your machine depends on the model, generation, or media services you configure.
• Unconfigured cloud features do not affect the local timeline or editing of existing media.
• When exposing MCP externally, configure a Bearer Token and restrict network access to the editor endpoint.

Security Model

• API keys are only available to server-side configuration; vendor credentials must never be exposed to the browser through VITE_.
• LLM output, plugin packages, template code, and user input are validated at trust boundaries.
• Motion Graphics and shader code run in a restricted sandbox, with dedicated checks blocking malicious templates.
• Agents modify projects only through EditorCore commands, making edits traceable and undoable.
• MCP binds locally by default; public endpoints support Bearer Token authentication.
• Local media directories and R2 credentials are managed by the server and never written into project JSON.

Development and Verification

npm run build

# Core regression checks
npm test

# Static analysis
npm run lint

After changing the agent, timeline, preview, or export paths, run at least:

npx tsc --noEmit
npm test
npm run build

Technical Foundations

OpenChatCut is built with the following core projects and specifications:

This list covers the project's major technical foundations. It does not replace the licenses bundled with individual dependencies, fonts, or binaries. See package-lock.json for JavaScript dependency versions and assets/fonts/LICENSES.md for font licenses.

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