BashCut

<p align="center"> <img src=".github/assets/logo.png" width="128" height="128" alt="BashCut"> </p> <h1 align="center">BashCut</h1> <p align="center"> A native macOS video editor that coding agents can drive.<br> Everything the UI does, Claude Code and Codex can do through the <code>bashcut</code> CLI or MCP. </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/BashCut/releases/latest">Download</a> · <a href="https://testflight.apple.com/join/XwsNZxre">TestFlight beta</a> · <a href="docs/README.md">Docs</a> · <a href="docs/guides/automation.md">Automation</a> · <a href="docs/guides/plugins.md">Plugins</a> · <a href="https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-agent-kit">Agent kit</a> · <a href="https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/BashCut/issues">Issues</a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="README.vi.md">Tiếng Việt</a> </p> --- <p align="center"> <img alt="BashCut demo: Codex terminal, layered timeline, captions, transitions, color and plugins" src=".github/assets/app.gif" width="800"> </p> ## About BashCut is a native macOS video editor built on AVFoundation, with a Claude Code / Codex terminal docked beside the timeline. Preview and export share one composition engine, so what you see is what you export. Projects are plain JSON next to your footage: agents and scripts read and edit them through the same atomic, undoable edit operations the UI uses. BashCut is under active development: the M0 foundation is accepted on real footage and most of the editor and agent features (M1–M3, M5) are in place. See [implementation status](docs/status/implementation.md) for what is verified and what is left. ## Use the AI you already pay for No extra AI bill: BashCut works with the subscriptions and apps you already have. | You have | How BashCut uses it | |---|---| | **Claude subscription** (Pro / Max) | The **Claude** tab in the agent dock runs the real Claude Code CLI with your login. BashCut never passes `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, so your plan is used, not API credits | | **ChatGPT subscription** (Plus / Pro) | The **Codex** tab runs the real Codex CLI with your ChatGPT login | | **Claude Desktop / Codex app** | Point them at BashCut: `bashcut agent setup claude` or `bashcut agent setup codex` installs the editing skills and the `bashcut` MCP server, so they edit the open project from outside the app | | **Any other model** (Gemini, GPT, Grok, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, a local or OpenAI-compatible server) | Install the **[Director](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-plugins/tree/main/plugins/director)** plugin: a chat agent inside BashCut with your own API key, with thinking levels (`off` / `low` / `medium` / `high`) for reasoning models | Whichever you pick, the agent edits through the same undoable commands as the UI: every change lands in History, shows in Show Changes and can be undone. See [Automation](docs/guides/automation.md). ## What's inside - Layered timeline: linked audio, sections, snapping, beat grid, split/trim/move, gaps, freeze frames, constant speed and ramps, keyframes, transitions - Viewer and source viewer with In/Out, Insert/Overwrite, safe area and compare - Captions and text with presets, SRT import, Vietnamese and English - Color: LUTs, exposure, contrast, saturation and adjustment layers - Audio: volume, fades, ducking under speech, loudness, voiceover recording, source-aligned waveforms - Review checks, history, autosave with recovery, external-change reload and conflict handling - H.264 export queue with burned-in captions; OTIO export - Agent dock with real Claude, Codex and Shell terminals, plus the [agent kit](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-agent-kit) of editing skills - `bashcut` CLI and MCP server: every UI action and dialog, with dry runs and revision checks - Out-of-process plugins for transcription, voice, beats and loudness, from the [plugin registry](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-plugins) ## Install Requires macOS 14 or later. ### Homebrew ```sh brew install --cask dongnguyenvie/tap/bashcut ``` This installs `BashCut.app` into `/Applications` and links the `bashcut` CLI and `bashcut-mcp` server into Homebrew's `bin`, so agents in any terminal can drive the app. Update with `brew upgrade --cask bashcut`; remove with `brew uninstall --cask bashcut` (add `--zap` to also delete settings and caches). ### Download a release Download `BashCut-<version>.dmg` (or `.zip`) from the [latest release](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/BashCut/releases/latest), open it and drag BashCut to Applications. Builds are signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple; check a download against the release's `SHA256SUMS` with `shasum -a 256 -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS`. To use the CLI from a terminal, link it yourself: ```sh sudo ln -s /Applications/BashCut.app/Contents/MacOS/bashcut /usr/local/bin/bashcut sudo ln -s /Applications/BashCut.app/Contents/MacOS/bashcut-mcp /usr/local/bin/bashcut-mcp ``` ### TestFlight Join the public beta on [TestFlight](https://testflight.apple.com/join/XwsNZxre) (needs the TestFlight app). The TestFlight build is the sandboxed Mac App Store build: it runs only the plugins bundled with the app, and its bundled CLI cannot run from a regular terminal. Or build BashCut from source, below. ## How to Build Requires macOS 14+, Xcode with Swift 6, and network access for the first package resolution. ```sh scripts/run.sh ``` This builds with SwiftPM, packages `build/BashCut.app`, signs it with the first Apple Development identity in your keychain (or `BASHCUT_SIGN_IDENTITY`) so macOS keeps folder-access grants across rebuilds, and opens it. The app executable is `BashCutApp` and the bundled CLI is `bashcut`, avoiding a name collision on case-insensitive disks. To try a change against every timeline case, generate the [sample project](docs/guides/sample-project.md) shown above (needs `ffmpeg`): ```sh scripts/sample-project.py ``` For Xcode, install XcodeGen >= 2.46, then run `scripts/generate-project.sh` and open `BashCut.xcodeproj` (generated from `project.yml`). Xcode builds the string catalog; the SwiftPM launcher copies equivalent `.strings` resources. The UI follows the system language. ## Verify ```sh scripts/verify.sh build scripts/verify.sh test scripts/verify.sh perf # 20 synthetic clips, ~30 seconds, 1080×1920 scripts/verify.sh lint # requires SwiftLint scripts/verify.sh xcode test # regenerates and tests the Xcode project (requires XcodeGen) ``` Pure model tests also run on their own with `cd Packages/BashCutCore && swift test`. Tests never use the real video workspace or agent CLIs, and package downloads happen at dependency resolution, not in tests. ## Related repositories Two other repositories are part of BashCut. Contributions are welcome in each: | Repository | What it holds | Contribute there | |---|---|---| | [bashcut-plugins](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-plugins) | The plugin registry (`registry.json`) and its plugins, such as Silence Markers and VieNeu TTS | New plugins and fixes to existing ones. See [Writing plugins](docs/guides/plugins.md) | | [bashcut-agent-kit](https://github.com/dongnguyenvie/bashcut-agent-kit) | Editing skills for Claude Code and Codex (footage survey, beat cuts, audio mix, captions, colour, effects, voiceover…). BashCut ships them and loads them in its agent tabs | Editing know-how that agents should follow. See its README › Writing skills | Changes to the editor itself, its commands and the plugin API belong in this repository. ## Documentation - [Documentation index](docs/README.md): guides, reference and design specs - [Automation: CLI and MCP](docs/guides/automation.md) and the generated [command reference](docs/reference/commands.md) - [Project format](docs/reference/project-format.md) - [Implementation status](docs/status/implementation.md) - [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md): build layout and one-file templates (agent providers, model adapters, commands, capabilities, timeline formats) - [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) ## License MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).