# FreeCut keeps projects as plain files in a folder you pick and renders them in the browser with WebGPU and WebCodecs

> FreeCut is a multi-track video editor that runs in a Chromium browser with no install and no upload. Its design choices decide what it can do: WebGPU effects, a File System Access API workspace, and encoders that only exist where the browser provides them.

**walterlow/freecut** — FreeCut is a professional-grade video editor that runs entirely in your browser. Professional video editing, zero installation. Create stunning videos with multi-track editing, keyframe animations, real-time preview, and high-quality exports.

- Repository: https://github.com/walterlow/freecut
- Website: http://freecut.net
- Stars: 2,312 · Forks: 366
- Language: TypeScript
- License: MIT
- Published: 2026-10-14 · Updated: 2026-10-30 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/walterlow-freecut

## Nothing is uploaded because the browser does all the work

FreeCut is a browser-based, multi-track video editor. Its README makes two promises in one line: no install and no uploads. Projects and media stay local, and editing, preview, analysis, transcription, AI generation and export all run in the browser.

The README names the browser features that make this possible: WebGPU, WebCodecs, Web Workers, OPFS and the File System Access API. The Quick Start prerequisites say Node.js 22 or later is recommended, npm 11 or later, and a modern Chromium browser. The Chromium requirement is the first limit, since the File System Access API is the basis of the workspace model and the README lists no other browser as a target.

The homepage is freecut.net, and a user guide lives at freecut.net/docs. The license is MIT, and a Discord server is linked for feedback and bug reports.

## A workspace folder holds projects, thumbnails, transcripts and caches as plain files

FreeCut writes projects, linked media metadata, thumbnails, waveforms, generated AI assets, transcripts, scene cuts and caches as plain files inside a workspace folder you choose on disk. Imports work without copying originals, so the project points at your media instead of duplicating it.

The storage list adds a multi-workspace switcher, auto-save, project thumbnails, workspace cache mirroring and orphan cleanup. Deleting is soft first, with restore, empty-trash and permanent delete flows, and a ZIP bundle export and import validated with Zod schemas moves a project between machines. Legacy browser-storage projects can be migrated into the workspace.

The consequence of linking instead of copying is that moving or renaming the source files breaks references. The README lists media relinking among the media features, so there is a repair path, but it is manual work. Back up the workspace folder as you would any project directory.

## The timeline mixes ten item types and four trim tools

The multi-track timeline accepts video, audio, text, image, shape, mask, Lottie and compound clip items. A project can hold multiple timelines as Sequences with tabs, unified with compound clips, so you can open a compound clip as its own sequence.

Editing tools include split, join, ripple, rolling, slip, slide and rate-stretch, with linked audio and video editing. Transitions are cut-centered, with live resize, alignment and source-time anchoring. Track controls cover mute, visibility, lock, push and pull, and close-gap workflows. The editor also shows filmstrip thumbnails, stereo waveforms, snap guides, markers, timecode and undo and redo.

A source monitor supports mark in and out, patch destinations, insert edits and overwrite edits, which is the classic three-point workflow. Project templates can auto-match canvas size and frame rate from the first media, and keyboard shortcuts are configurable.

## Effects are WebGPU first, with fallbacks only where practical

The README says all visual effects and compositing paths are WebGPU-first, with fallbacks where practical. The phrase where practical matters: on a machine without WebGPU, some effects will not have a fallback. Transitions are the one place the README names one, a Canvas 2D fallback for non-WebGPU paths.

The effect catalogue is large. Blur covers gaussian, box, motion, radial and zoom. Color covers brightness, contrast, curves, color wheels, a gradient map, `.cube` LUTs and more. Distortion, stylize and keying groups add pixelate, glitch, VHS, CRT, halftone and chroma key with tolerance, softness and spill suppression. There are 25 blend modes and clip masks with pen paths.

Preview adds GPU color scopes for waveform, vectorscope and histogram, plus two-up and four-up edit panels for ripple, rolling, slip and slide. Playback runs through FreeCut's custom `Clock` and composition runtime, and the README calls it frame-accurate.

## Keyframes, motion modifiers and per-character text animation

Keyframe animation has a Bezier graph editor, a dopesheet, a split view and multi-curve overlays. Easing presets include linear, ease-in and out, cubic-bezier and spring, with a live-preview editor and saved custom presets. Auto-keyframe mode, tangent mirroring, property accordions and marquee selection speed up the work.

Procedural motion modifiers (drift, sway, breath, spin and shake) are evaluated at render time, and you can bake them into keyframes with one click. That split means a modifier stays editable until you decide to freeze it.

Motion text animates per character, per word or per line. Animated properties cover transform, crop, mask, text, effect and color. Imported Lottie animations in `.json` and `.lottie` form can be edited too: you remap colors and themes, edit text and adjust value slots with a live preview. Apple ProRes decode covers import, preview and thumbnails, including variants browsers cannot decode natively.

## Transcription, captions and generated audio all run on the device

The Local AI section states that everything runs on-device in the browser and nothing is uploaded. Transcription uses the Parakeet engine with a Whisper fallback and produces caption text items. AI captioning uses local vision-language providers with a configurable sample cadence. Scene detection offers a fast histogram method or frame-accurate adaptive content analysis with optional model verification, and a Scene Browser lets you search captioned media and reuse detected moments.

Generated audio is local too. Kokoro does text-to-speech voiceovers and MusicGen makes music with presets, progress and cancellation. Settings include local model cache controls and unload controls.

The cost is on your machine. These models download into a local cache and run on your GPU or CPU, and the README gives no download sizes or hardware requirements. Check the cache controls before you start on a laptop with limited disk or memory.

## Export depends on which encoders your browser provides

Export renders in the browser through WebCodecs and worker-backed render paths, and you can export any sequence, not just the main timeline. Video containers are MP4, WebM, MOV and MKV. Video codecs are H.264, H.265, VP8, VP9 and AV1, with the qualifier where the browser provides an encoder. Audio formats are MP3, AAC and WAV or PCM.

Subtitles can be off, burned in, a sidecar file, or an embedded soft track, depending on the container. Quality presets run from low to ultra, with runtime capability checks and fallbacks.

The qualifier is the practical limit. If your browser has no H.265 or AV1 encoder, that option is not available, however good the editor is. Test your target codec early. The repository has no GitHub releases and the package version reads 0.0.0, so you run it from source or from freecut.net, and the last push was on 20 October 2026.

## Conclusion

FreeCut suits someone who wants multi-track editing, keyframes, local transcription and export from a Chromium browser without installing software or uploading footage. It does not suit someone on a browser without WebGPU, WebCodecs and the File System Access API, or someone who needs an encoder the browser does not offer. Before committing a real project to it, export one test sequence in the codec and container you need, and confirm that your workspace folder survives a browser restart.

## FAQ

### what is free cut

FreeCut is a browser-based, multi-track video editor. Projects and media stay local, and editing, preview, transcription and export run in the browser.

### how to use free cut video

Open freecut.net in a modern Chromium browser and choose a workspace folder, or start with the user guide at freecut.net/docs. The README says there is no install and no upload.

### freecut vs capcut

The README makes no comparison with CapCut. It describes FreeCut as a local, browser-based editor with multi-track editing, WebGPU effects, keyframes and in-browser export.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/walterlow/freecut/issues)
- [License: MIT](https://github.com/walterlow/freecut/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [Project website](http://freecut.net)
- [README](https://github.com/walterlow/freecut/blob/main/README.md)
- [walterlow/freecut on GitHub](https://github.com/walterlow/freecut)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/walterlow-freecut