OpenCut/README.md

<table width="100%">
  <tr>
    <td align="left" width="120">
      <img src="apps/web/public/logos/opencut/icon.svg" alt="OpenCut Logo" width="100" />
    </td>
    <td align="right">
      <h1>OpenCut</h1>
      <h3 style="margin-top: -10px;">A free, open-source video editor for web, desktop, and mobile.</h3>
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

## Sponsors

Thanks to [Vercel](https://vercel.com?utm_source=github-opencut&utm_campaign=oss) and [fal.ai](https://fal.ai?utm_source=github-opencut&utm_campaign=oss) for their support of open-source software.

<a href="https://vercel.com/oss">
  <img alt="Vercel OSS Program" src="https://vercel.com/oss/program-badge.svg" />
</a>

<a href="https://fal.ai">
  <img alt="Powered by fal.ai" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Powered%20by-fal.ai-000000?style=flat&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMjQiIGhlaWdodD0iMjQiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgZmlsbD0ibm9uZSIgeG1sbnM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzIwMDAvc3ZnIj4KPHBhdGggZD0iTTEyIDJMMTMuMDkgOC4yNkwyMCAxMEwxMy4wOSAxNS43NEwxMiAyMkwxMC45MSAxNS43NEw0IDEwTDEwLjkxIDguMjZMMTIgMloiIGZpbGw9IndoaXRlIi8+Cjwvc3ZnPgo=" />
</a>

## Why?

- **Privacy**: Your videos stay on your device
- **Free features**: Most basic CapCut features are now paywalled 
- **Simple**: People want editors that are easy to use - CapCut proved that

## Project Structure

- `apps/web/`: Next.js web application
- `apps/desktop/`: Native desktop app built with GPUI (in progress)
- `rust/`: Platform-agnostic core: GPU compositor, effects, masks, and WASM bindings. We're actively migrating business logic here from TypeScript.
- `docs/`: Architecture and subsystem documentation

## Getting Started

### Prerequisites

- [Bun](https://bun.sh/docs/installation)
- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) and [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/)

> **Note:** Docker is optional but recommended for running the local database and Redis. If you only want to work on frontend features, you can skip it.

### Setup

1. Fork and clone the repository

2. Copy the environment file:

   ```bash
   # Unix/Linux/Mac
   cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env.local

   # Windows PowerShell
   Copy-Item apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env.local
   ```

3. Start the database and Redis:

   ```bash
   docker compose up -d db redis serverless-redis-http
   ```

4. Install dependencies and start the dev server:

   ```bash
   bun install
   bun dev:web
   ```

The application will be available at [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000).

The `.env.example` has sensible defaults that match the Docker Compose config — it should work out of the box.

### Desktop setup

Desktop is opt-in. If you're only working on the web app, skip this entirely.

If you want to get ready for `apps/desktop`, see [`apps/desktop/README.md`](apps/desktop/README.md). It's a two-step setup: Rust toolchain first, then desktop native dependencies.

### Local WASM development

Only needed if you're editing `rust/wasm` and want the web app to use your local build instead of the published package.

**Prerequisites** — install these once before anything else:

```bash
# Rust toolchain
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# build the WASM package
cargo install wasm-pack

# reruns the build on file changes, used by bun dev:wasm
cargo install cargo-watch
```

1. Build the package once from the repo root:

   ```bash
   bun run build:wasm
   ```

2. Register the generated package for linking:

   ```bash
   cd rust/wasm/pkg
   bun link
   ```

3. Link `apps/web` to the local package:

   ```bash
   cd apps/web
   bun link opencut-wasm
   ```

4. Rebuild on changes while you work:

   ```bash
   bun dev:wasm
   ```

To switch `apps/web` back to the published package, run:

```bash
cd apps/web
bun add opencut-wasm
```

### Self-Hosting with Docker

To run everything (including a production build of the app) in Docker:

```bash
docker compose up -d
```

The app will be available at [http://localhost:3100](http://localhost:3100).

## Contributing

We welcome contributions! While we're actively developing and refactoring certain areas, there are plenty of opportunities to contribute effectively.

**🎯 Focus areas:** Timeline functionality, project management, performance, bug fixes, and UI improvements outside the preview panel.

**⚠️ Avoid for now:** Preview panel enhancements (fonts, stickers, effects) and export functionality - we're refactoring these with a new binary rendering approach.

See our [Contributing Guide](.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) for detailed setup instructions, development guidelines, and complete focus area guidance.

**Quick start for contributors:**

- Fork the repo and clone locally
- Follow the setup instructions in CONTRIBUTING.md
- Working on `apps/desktop`? See [`apps/desktop/README.md`](apps/desktop/README.md) for setup
- Create a feature branch and submit a PR

## License

[MIT LICENSE](LICENSE)

---

![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=opencut-app/opencut&type=Date)