01
Find the part they’ll replay.
AI picks complete moments, scores their potential and checks the ending. You choose what makes the cut.
Your next great video clip
is already in there.
Cutawan is a free, open-source AI video clipper for turning long videos into Shorts and Reels.
Your editing apprentice. AI finds the moments. You make them yours.
Windows, macOS & Linux · No subscription · Bring your own AI key
A little less editing. A lot more creating.LONG FORM → SHORT FORM
YOUR ORIGINAL01:02:48
THE CREATIVE PROCESS EP. 02400:00YOUR BEST MOMENTS, FOUND.1:02:48
YOUR NEXT POSTS Ready to make yours
01 / THE HOOKThat idea?
Hit record.
02 / THE STORYMake something
only you can.
03 / THE TAKEAWAYStart before
you’re ready.
Illustrated workflow · AI-generated imagery
AI finds self-contained moments with a hook, a story and a payoff.
ONE GOOD VIDEO. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES.
YouTube ShortsInstagram ReelsTikTokOr wherever you post ↗
01 / LESS BUSYWORK. MORE GOOD STUFF.
You bring the story.
We’ll find the cuts.
You already did the hard part: making something worth watching. Get more out of it without starting from scratch.
02
Captions with personality.
Word-by-word highlighting, 12 built-in styles and your own fonts. Burned into every export, exactly how you like them.
03
The speaker stays the star.
Speaker-aware reframing follows the conversation. Add automatic zooms and tighten pauses to keep things moving.
↗ No forced watermark▧ 9:16, 1:1 & 16:9⌁ Normalised audio✳ Your logo. Your fonts.↓ Local MP4 exports
02 / AI ASSISTS. YOU DIRECT.
A shortcut to the edit.
Not out of the process.
Trim the moment. Dial in the captions. Reframe the shot. A real desktop editor for the details that make it yours.
Actual app screenshots. The demo project uses generated test footage.
03 / FROM LONG VIDEO TO NEXT POST
Three steps.
One very good habit.
Your editing apprentice.
Meet your new workflow ↗- 01
Drop in something good.
Import a local video or paste a supported video URL. Podcasts, interviews, webinars, that stream you nearly forgot about.
MP4 · MOV · MKV · WEBM + MORE - 02
Let AI do the first pass.
Get a transcript and suggested highlights. Or skip clip discovery and caption your entire video instead.
YOUR AI KEY · YOUR CHOICE - 03
Make it yours. Send it out.
Adjust the trim, captions and framing. Export a finished MP4, ready for you to upload wherever your people are.
NO FORCED WATERMARK. EVER.
MORE FROM EVERY RECORDING
A better route from
recording to post.
Practical workflows and honest comparisons to help you choose the right way to make short videos.
WORKFLOW
Turn a podcast into short clips
Find self-contained moments, frame each speaker and export clips for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
Read the podcast guide ↗ CAPTIONSAdd animated captions to videos
Caption a whole recording or a selected clip with word-level highlighting, custom fonts and local MP4 export.
Read the caption guide ↗ COMPARECompare AI video clippers
Check Cutawan against OpusClip, Vizard and Klap on editing, exports, workflow and cost model.
Compare the tools ↗04 / OPEN SOURCE. OPEN POSSIBILITIES.
Your footage.
Your workflow.
Your call.
Creative tools should give you more freedom. Cutawan is free, MIT-licensed and built in the open. Use it. Inspect it. Make it better.
Explore the source ↗Help shape what’s next ↗The heavy lifting stays here.
Video editing, face tracking, rendering and export run on your machine. Your original video is not uploaded to a hosted editor.
Clear about what leaves.
With the default OpenAI setup, extracted audio, transcripts and sampled frames are sent for AI processing. Your API usage is billed separately.
No Cutawan subscription.
No app-imposed processing-minute quota. No paid watermark removal. No subscription just to keep using your tools.
Is Cutawan really free?
Yes. The app is free and open source under the MIT licence, including editing and export. With the default setup, you bring an OpenAI API key and pay the provider for transcription and AI analysis. These usage charges are separate from Cutawan; a ChatGPT subscription does not include API credits.
Is this an alternative to Opus Clip?
Yes, if you want AI-assisted clip discovery, captions and reframing in a desktop app you control. Cutawan is designed around local editing and export, with a bring-your-own-key AI setup. See whether Cutawan fits your workflow.
Does my video leave my computer?
Your full source video stays on your machine. With the default cloud AI setup, extracted audio goes to transcription, while transcripts and sampled frames are sent for analysis. Editing, speaker tracking, rendering and export happen locally. It is not a fully offline workflow by default.
Can I caption the whole video instead?
Absolutely. Choose “Caption the whole video” when setting up a project. You can add captions, choose the output shape, enable speaker tracking and auto zoom, then trim and export the result without running highlight discovery. See the caption workflow.
Which computers does it run on?
Cutawan has desktop builds for Windows, macOS and Linux. Choose the matching installer on GitHub Releases. macOS builds are currently unsigned; see the installation notes before your first launch. Performance depends on your hardware and source footage.
Can I use it for commercial projects?
Yes. The MIT licence allows commercial use of the software. You are responsible for the rights to your source footage, music, fonts and any added images. Cutawan does not add a mandatory watermark.
Will it publish clips to my social accounts?
Cutawan exports ready-to-upload video files and can help write post captions. You upload the files yourself. Automatic social publishing is not currently included.
YOUR NEXT POST STARTS HERE.
Make more of
what you make.
Your footage has more to give. Let’s find it.
Get Cutawan for WindowsChoose the .exe installer on GitHub Releases.
Free & open source · No Cutawan account needed · AI usage billed separately
Prefer to build from source? ↗