shotcut

Start Shotcut

$ shotcut

$ shotcut [path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...]

$ shotcut --SDL_AUDIODRIVER "[pulseaudio]"

$ shotcut --fullscreen

$ shotcut --gpu

shotcut [options] [file|URL]

file|URL
    Opens the specified video, audio, or image file, or a Shotcut project (.mlt) file. Can also accept a URL for streaming media.

--help
    Displays a brief help message with available command-line options, primarily generic Qt options and very few Shotcut-specific ones.

--version
    Displays the Shotcut application version information.

Shotcut is a free, open-source, and cross-platform video editing software, supporting a vast array of audio, video, and image formats via FFmpeg. It enables users to perform various editing tasks, including trimming, cutting, merging, adding effects, filters, and transitions. Shotcut offers multi-track editing, a customizable user interface, and hardware acceleration support. While primarily a graphical user interface (GUI) application, it can be launched from the command line to open specific media files or projects, making it convenient for quick access and integration into workflows.

Shotcut is primarily a GUI application; its command-line functionality is limited to launching and opening files, not for complex batch processing or scripting of edits. Performance can vary significantly depending on hardware specifications, especially with high-resolution video or complex project timelines.

Shotcut heavily relies on the MLT (Media Lovin' Toolkit) multimedia framework. This underlying framework provides the core video processing capabilities, allowing Shotcut to handle a wide range of formats and complex editing tasks efficiently, acting as its powerful backend.

Shotcut is available in portable versions for various operating systems, including Linux. These versions do not require installation and can be run directly from a USB drive or unzipped folder, offering flexibility and convenience for users on different machines or for sandboxed environments.

Shotcut was first released in 2011 by Dan Dennedy, a co-founder of the MLT multimedia framework. It was initially conceived as a simpler video editor but has since evolved into a full-featured, cross-platform tool, gaining considerable popularity due to its comprehensive format support and ongoing development.

kdenlive(1), flowblade(1), openshot(1), ffmpeg(1)