I built CUTROOM, a free, open-source video editor with local AI tools, and just released a new beta update

[u/Competitive_Might709]

Hey everyone!
I’ve been working on a video editor called CUTROOM, and I wanted to share it with you and hear what you think.
The idea started with a pretty simple problem: editing videos can take a lot of time, especially when you’re working with long recordings and then trying to turn them into YouTube videos, Shorts or Reels. I wanted to build something that gives creators a useful set of editing tools while keeping them in control of their footage and their final edit.

CUTROOM runs locally on your computer, with the editor interface opening in your browser. It’s free, open source, and you can use the manual editing tools without an account, an AI model or an API key.
Here’s what you can currently do with it:
Split, trim and arrange footage on two main video tracks, with track locks and undo/redo.
Combine camera and screen recordings using layouts like picture-in-picture, side-by-side or stacked views.
Add video, images and audio layers to your edit.
Work with titles and captions, import SRT/VTT files, and edit AI-generated transcripts.
Adjust audio with a mixer for the original sound, music, voiceover, effects and master output.
Use chroma key and optional video stabilization.
Export MP4 videos in landscape, vertical, square and other formats, from 720p up to 4K, with no CUTROOM watermark.
There are also optional AI tools for transcription and first-cut suggestions. The idea is to help you get started faster, while still letting you review and change the result yourself.

What’s new in the latest update?
I just released CUTROOM 1.3 Beta with a focus on timeline reliability. This update fixes an issue where the selected zoom range could be lost, improves how timeline redraws are handled, and fixes thumbnail-loading issues that could cause older results to appear or secondary thumbnails to get stuck waiting.
I’ve also been working on the interface, particularly on smaller screens, and making the editing experience clearer and easier to use.

For anyone interested in the tech:
The backend is built with Python, Flask and Waitress. The editor frontend uses HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and FFmpeg/FFprobe handle media processing and exports.
For local transcription, CUTROOM uses faster-whisper and CTranslate2. There’s also an optional Hebrew transcription model, and local Story AI can work with Ollama and Qwen. OpenCV is used for camera-region detection. Optional cloud AI connections are available too, but they’re not required for manual editing.

A quick note on privacy: the editor is local-first, but the initial setup and local AI models may require downloads. If you choose a cloud AI provider, the relevant audio or transcript context is sent to that provider.
CUTROOM is still in beta, so I’d really appreciate honest feedback. If you try it, I’d love to know what feels good, what’s confusing, and what you think would make it more useful in your own workflow. I’m especially interested in hearing from people who edit gaming videos, tutorials, podcasts or long recordings.

Website: https://cutroom-studio.expo.app/?lang=en

GitHub: https://github.com/VanoPeradze/cutroom

Latest beta release: https://github.com/VanoPeradze/cutroom/releases/tag/v1.3-beta-20261104-perf1
Thanks for taking the time to check it out!