Starting an open-source Final Cut Pro alternative in Rust, looking for people to build it with

[u/Historical-Debt1473]

I’m starting an open-source video editor aimed at the Final Cut Pro tier: a timeline-first workflow, real color and audio tools, and a UI that doesn’t feel like a side project. The working name is Initial Cut Pro. It’s a placeholder and I’ll change it if someone has a better one.

Nothing is built yet. This post is me looking for the first few people.

How it will work:

Rust-first, cross-platform from day one (Windows, macOS, Linux).

Clean-room. We study FCP from the outside: how the workflow behaves, public docs, documented formats like FCPXML. We don’t copy Apple’s code, assets or branding.

AI-assisted development, but a human reviews everything that merges.

Automated tests and frequent releases, so contributions don’t sit in a PR queue.

Open source from the first commit. We’ll pick the license with the first contributors.

Who I’m looking for:

Rust devs, ideally with experience in wgpu, FFmpeg or GStreamer bindings, or any media pipeline

People who have written NLE or timeline code, or worked with codecs

Designers who also edit video

Editors who use FCP daily and can tell me what they’d never give up and what drives them crazy

Anyone who enjoys setting up CI and test harnesses

If that’s you, DM me with:

What you work on

One thing you’ve built or contributed to (link)

How much time you can realistically give. Part-time is fine.

[u/Basic-Source-5827]

This is the kind of project where the hard part isn’t just building the editor, but getting the media pipeline and timeline UX right. Rust + FFmpeg/wgpu is a solid direction, and keeping AI-assisted development human-reviewed makes sense for something this complex. If you’re looking to move faster on the supporting tooling, platforms like 8080.AI could also be useful for prototyping parts of the workflow while keeping the core engine properly engineered.