LosslessCut

LosslessCut is an open-source web app and server that focuses on fast, non-destructive editing. It serves as a graphical user interface for FFmpeg, allowing users to trim and cut video and audio files without re-encoding the media. This process preserves the original quality and significantly reduces export times by performing a direct data copy.

The software is deployed as a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is primarily used for rough-cutting large files from cameras or drones, removing commercials from recordings, and extracting specific segments from media. Because it avoids the rendering process, it is suitable for users who need to discard gigabytes of unnecessary data from high-resolution recordings without losing any visual or audio fidelity.

Key features

• Lossless cutting and trimming of most video and audio formats
• Lossless merging and concatenation of files with identical codec parameters
• Multi-track editing to combine, remove, or replace audio and subtitle streams
• Remuxing of video and audio into different container formats
• Extraction of full-resolution snapshots or frame ranges to image files
• Detection of black scenes, silent audio, and scene changes
• Import and export of cut segments via CSV, XML, and YouTube chapters
• Modification of rotation, orientation, and file metadata

LosslessCut utilizes the Chromium browser's HTML5 video player for playback, supporting common formats such as MP4, MOV, WebM, and Matroska. For files not natively supported by the player, the software can create a low-quality proxy for editing while performing the final export on the original high-resolution file. It includes a timeline with zoom and keyframe jumping, as well as an advanced JS-based expression language for segment mutation. For developers or advanced users, it provides a basic CLI and HTTP API for automation.

This tool is a utility for users who need to perform quick edits and file management tasks without the overhead of a full non-linear editor.