Content
| | |
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|  | Open Clipper AI-powered video clipping and publishing by [GrepCut](https://grepcut.com/). [Product page](https://grepcut.com/en/open-clipper) |
Free, open-source Windows desktop app for turning long videos into short, platform-ready clips. Local or cloud transcription (Whisper, Parakeet), scene-aware autoreframe, styled captions, and batch export to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and more.
> [!WARNING]
> **Just want to use the app? Do not build from source.** Open Clipper ships as a Windows installer. Download the `.exe` from **[grepcut.com/en/open-clipper](https://grepcut.com/en/open-clipper)**, run it, and it works — no Node, Rust, or Visual Studio required. The **Developing from source** section below is only for people who want to run or change the code.
## Features
### From upload to transcript in one flow
Import your long-form video, then transcribe with local **Whisper v3 Turbo** or **Parakeet**, or cloud speech recognition via your **OpenRouter** or **Groq** API key. Optional **MDX vocals isolation** reduces music hallucinations on songs before ASR runs.
[processing.webm](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1c0a85bc-8891-4638-89ec-622f351b18a5)
### Autoreframe engine
Face and subject detection runs on your GPU in the same pass. At scene cuts, the engine plans a smooth camera path for each platform format so speakers stay in frame. When two people won't fit in one crop, split view kicks in. Preview **9:16**, **4:5**, **1:1**, and **16:9** from one source.
[reframe.webm](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/137f5c0e-7eeb-4649-a700-66d7340786f2)
### Styled subtitles from your transcript
Choose from **20+ caption presets**: karaoke, kinetic, podcast, gaming. Position and size them to match your brand.
[subtiles.webm](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/32372ec2-1a9e-46f8-a18a-162c72cd144c)
### Batch render, one-click publish
Queue clips across formats, track render progress, and publish directly to **TikTok**, **YouTube**, **Instagram**, **Facebook**, and **X**.
[render-queue.webm](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/068b656b-4654-463c-b67d-78f7fc628900)
### Open the full video editor from Clipper
Get complete control, frame-level precision, and the freedom to make any fix or polish you want. Jump from Open Clipper into GrepCut Studio, the full online video editor.
[open-studio-from-clipper.webm](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7098a65d-8cdd-42f2-9da0-0570117b2e55)
## Developing from source
Skip this entire section unless you want to contribute or run the app from this repo. Everyday use is the Windows installer at [grepcut.com/en/open-clipper](https://grepcut.com/en/open-clipper).
### Prerequisites
Windows is the primary development target today. These tools are required only to build and run from source.
- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/)
- [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) **≥ 1.91**
- [Visual Studio 2022](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/) or [Microsoft C++ Build Tools](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/) with the **Windows 10 SDK**
- [WebView2](https://developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-edge/webview2/) (required by Tauri 2 on Windows)
- Static **FFmpeg** via [vcpkg](https://vcpkg.io/) (`x64-windows-static`). The repo expects paths in `[src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml](src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml)` — adjust `VCPKG_ROOT`, `FFMPEG_DIR`, and the MSVC `linker` path for your machine.
### Development
```bash
npm install
npm run tauri:dev
```
`tauri:dev` starts Vite on `http://localhost:1420` via `beforeDevCommand`. Close any running `open-clipper.exe` before rebuilding to avoid file locks.
### Build
| Goal | Command | Output |
| ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Fast release EXE (no installer) | `npm run tauri:build:fast` | `src-tauri/target-fast/release/open-clipper.exe` |
| Fast build + launch | `npm run tauri:build:preview:fast` | same EXE, then starts it |
| Full build with installers | `npm run tauri:build` | `src-tauri/target/release/` + bundles |
| Launch existing EXE only | `npm run tauri:preview` | `src-tauri/target/release/open-clipper.exe` |
| Launch existing fast EXE | `npm run tauri:preview:fast` | `src-tauri/target-fast/release/open-clipper.exe` |
`tauri:build:fast` uses lighter Cargo flags (`LTO=off`, `opt-level=2`) and a separate `target-fast/` cache. Production builds run `beforeBuildCommand` (`build:tauri` + MCP staging); models from `public/models` are not copied into `dist` — the app downloads them on demand into AppData.
### Faster builds on Windows
You can optionally exclude the Open Clipper Cargo caches from Windows Defender. Run **PowerShell as administrator** from the project root:
```powershell
$target = (Resolve-Path .\src-tauri\target).Path
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath $target
(Get-MpPreference).ExclusionPath -contains $target
$targetFast = Join-Path (Resolve-Path .\src-tauri).Path "target-fast"
if (Test-Path $targetFast) {
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath $targetFast
}
```
To undo:
```powershell
$target = (Resolve-Path .\src-tauri\target).Path
Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath $target
$targetFast = Join-Path (Resolve-Path .\src-tauri).Path "target-fast"
if (Test-Path $targetFast) {
Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath $targetFast
}
```
## MCP
Open Clipper exposes local project data to AI agents over two transports (no login):
| Transport | When it works | Endpoint |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **HTTP** | Desktop app is running | `http://127.0.0.1:12742/mcp` (override with `OPEN_CLIPPER_MCP_PORT`) |
| **Stdio** | Separate `open-clipper-mcp` process, no GUI | Full path to the staged binary (preferred in Cursor) |
Both transports read the same SQLite database (`%APPDATA%\com.openclipper.app\clipper.sqlite3`, or `OPEN_CLIPPER_DB_PATH`).
**Clip picking (Preview → Generate with LLM):** `list_projects` → `get_project_transcript` → `patch_ai_clips` (word indices). The tab is MCP-only — no in-app chat — and refreshes within ~0.5s when clips are written.
**Export metadata:** `list_exports` → `get_export_details` → `patch_export_social_metadata`
**Cursor setup:** Prefer stdio over the HTTP URL — it avoids OAuth/`mcp_auth` gating. The **MCP** tab in the app copies a ready-made JSON snippet with the correct binary path.
**Build the stdio binary:**
```bash
node scripts/stage-open-clipper-mcp.mjs
```
This runs automatically during `tauri:build` and `tauri:build:fast` (via `beforeBuildCommand`), but **not** during `tauri:dev`. Output: `src-tauri/bin/open-clipper-mcp-<triple>.exe`.
## Stack
| Layer | Version |
| ---------- | ------- |
| Tauri | 2.x |
| React | 19.x |
| Vite | 7.x |
| TypeScript | 5.8.x |
Bundle identifier: `com.openclipper.app`
## Reframe engine
The reframe engine converts source footage into per-format smart crops (e.g. 9:16). It is a modernized port of Google [AutoFlip](https://github.com/google/mediapipe/tree/master/mediapipe/examples/desktop/autoflip): shot boundaries, salient keyframes, and a polynomial/kinematic camera path that keeps a cover-sized crop window on required subjects instead of silently discarding them.
Analyzer version: `autoflip-v43-snap-layout-on-cut`. Vision bundle: `clipper-vision-v5-yolox-s-scrfd10g-tiled`.
### Two-tier pipeline
**Native (Windows)** — FFmpeg decode and WinML/DirectML inference in `[src-tauri/src/video/smart_crop/](src-tauri/src/video/smart_crop/)`, started via `start_clipper_winml_analysis`:
- Shot boundaries on every decoded frame (histogram + frame-diff)
- Detectors at **5 FPS** (200 ms cadence): SCRFD faces, YOLOX objects, MoveNet pose fallback
- **ByteTrack v2** on three streams (person / face / pose); trackers reset on scene cuts
- Cheap motion-grid saliency on every detection sample (no model)
**TypeScript graph** — `[src/features/clipper/engine/autoflip/](src/features/clipper/engine/autoflip)` (`buildAutoFlipTrack`):
- Canonical identity fusion, composition memory, importance timeline
- Per-format camera path (polynomial or kinematic, scene-split)
- Visibility controller + layout arbiter → compact `layoutTracks` for preview and export
```mermaid
flowchart LR
decode[FFmpegDecode] --> cuts[SceneCuts]
cuts --> winml[WinMLDetectTrack_5fps]
winml --> identity[SalienceAndIdentity]
identity --> camera[AutoFlipCameraPath]
camera --> layout[VisibilityAndLayout]
layout --> render[CropExport]
```
### Models
Production models ship in `[src-tauri/resources/models/clipper-vision/](src-tauri/resources/models/clipper-vision/)` (see **Models** below for sync/CDN).
| Model | Role |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| YOLOX-S | Person/object boxes; tiled recovery on long edge |
| SCRFD-10G | Face boxes + 5 keypoints; tiled recovery |
| MoveNet MultiPose | Pose fallback; injects person boxes when YOLOX misses |
| ByteTrack v2 | Stable `trackId` per stream; reset on scene cuts |
Saliency also uses a cheap motion-grid on every detection sample (no model).
### Identity and composition
- `trackId` — ByteTrack trajectory on native detections
- `canonicalId` — scene-local fusion of person + face + pose (Hungarian assignment)
- `projectIdentityId` — clip-wide entity after full-clip observation (IoU association)
YOLOX person boxes enter composition memory only when corroborated by a face or pose (avoids graphics/mannequins). Composition memory biases salience across the clip without persisting biometric embeddings.
### Camera path
Scenes come from native `sceneCuts`; long scenes are chunked. Steady motion uses a polynomial path solver; tracking motion uses a kinematic solver (both ported from AutoFlip). The cover-crop window moves to keep required subjects visible rather than silently discarding them — min zoom scale `0.65`, and scenes shorter than 8 s avoid aggressive zoom (1 s when source aspect already matches the target). Tracks are stored at 5 Hz; the renderer interpolates between samples.
### Visibility and layout
Per-format layout modes: `single-crop`, `split` (2–3 panels), or `contain` (letterbox padding). Split layouts apply only to portrait/square targets — 16:9 never splits.
A visibility controller plans single vs split crops with a rescue ladder (shifted crop, wider crop, emergency primary, stable split). An arbiter chooses between that semantic plan and a legacy `aspectTracks` baseline. Preview and export read compact `layoutTracks` keyed by aspect id (`9-16`, `16-9`, `1-1`, `4-5`); the full analysis blob keeps diagnostics and arbitration scores.
### Code map
| Area | Path |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Native pipeline | `[src-tauri/src/video/smart_crop/](src-tauri/src/video/smart_crop/)` |
| Tauri command | `start_clipper_winml_analysis` in `[src-tauri/src/commands/clipper/video.rs](src-tauri/src/commands/clipper/video.rs)` |
| AutoFlip graph | `[src/features/clipper/engine/autoflip/build-track.util.ts](src/features/clipper/engine/autoflip/build-track.util.ts)` |
| Pipeline stages | `[analyze-faces.util.ts](src/features/clipper/pipeline/stages/analyze-faces.util.ts)`, `[analyze-subjects.util.ts](src/features/clipper/pipeline/stages/analyze-subjects.util.ts)` |
| Types and output | `[src/features/clipper/shared/smart-crop.util.ts](src/features/clipper/shared/smart-crop.util.ts)` |
Headless benchmarks (`--benchmark-run`) evaluate reframe quality via focus-hit metrics and optional miss-frame export.
## Models
ASR models (Parakeet, Whisper) download on first use into `%APPDATA%\com.openclipper.app\models\`. For local dev without CDN, place files under `public/models/<model-id>/` (see per-model READMEs there).
WinML vision models ship in `src-tauri/resources/models/clipper-vision/`.
CDN publishing workflow: `[models_automation/README.md](models_automation/README.md)`.
## DirectML (Windows GPU)
On Windows, most local ML runs on GPU through DirectML: WinML vision (reframe), ASR (Parakeet and Whisper via sherpa-onnx), and optional MDX vocals isolation. Vision models use the system WinML/DirectML stack; no extra build is required for those.
ASR (Parakeet / Whisper) needs a DirectML-enabled `sherpa-onnx` build. Stock prebuilt libs are CPU-only. Debug builds prefer ONNX under `public/models/<model-id>/` when present; production uses the AppData cache (or `PARAKEET_MODEL_DIR` / `SHERPA_ONNX_MODEL_DIR`).
To enable GPU ASR:
1. Install **Visual Studio 2022** with the **Windows 10 SDK**, plus **CMake** and **Git**
2. Build native libs (one-time, ~15–30 min):
```bash
npm run sherpa:directml
```
1. Rebuild the app so Cargo links the custom libs:
```bash
cd src-tauri && cargo clean && cd ..
npm run tauri:dev
```
`npm run sherpa:directml` writes `SHERPA_ONNX_LIB_DIR` to `[src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml](src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml)` pointing at `third_party/sherpa-onnx-directml/install/lib`.
## Roadmap
Planned work — not yet shipped:
- [x] **Auto-updater & Cloudflare Releases** — in-app update checks and installs from Cloudflare-hosted releases
- [x] **Model hosting on Cloudflare R2** — ASR and vision bundles published to R2 for CDN delivery
- [ ] **Social provider verification** — account verification before publishing clips
- [x] TikTok
- [x] App review — approved (Production Live)
- [x] Direct Post audit — approved (Content Posting API)
- [x] YouTube — approved (`youtube.upload` scope)
- [ ] Meta (Instagram / Facebook / Threads)
- [x] Business verification — accepted
- [ ] App verification — submitted for review (pending approval)
- [ ] X — TBD (paid API; evaluate cost vs. need)
- [x] **Studio integration** — connect Open Clipper with GrepCut Studio
- [ ] **MCP video presentation** — present videos via MCP
- [ ] **MCP clip generation / scoring** — generate and score clips via MCP
## Contributing
Questions, bug reports, and feature ideas are welcome. [Join the Discord](https://discord.gg/2uXgrUpe) or [open an issue](https://github.com/GrepCut/OpenClipper/issues). Please follow our [Code of Conduct](.github/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
## License
[MIT](LICENSE) — Copyright 2026 GrepCut
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