Shotcut is a video editor that arranges source clips, images, audio, titles, and generated media on a multitrack timeline. It cuts and combines those sources, applies filters and transitions, then renders the result as a new media file. Shotcut keeps the original clips outside the project file. Saving a project records editing decisions and source locations; it does not copy every source into one self-contained movie.
Playlist and timeline differ
The Playlist is a clip bin that can hold media before editing. It supports folders, search, sorting, and filtered views. The Timeline is where clips receive positions, track order, transitions, and timing. Adding a file to the Playlist does not place it in the final edit, while adding it to the Timeline does.
Shotcut also opens a single source directly in its player. This creates three possible export sources: the current clip, the Playlist, or the Timeline. The Export panel chooses the Playlist by default until the Timeline contains clips, then it changes to the Timeline. The From control shows and changes that choice.
Projects reference files
Saving writes an MLT project that remembers cuts, tracks, filters, and source paths. Moving or renaming a source afterward can leave the project unable to find it. The project is therefore much smaller than the combined media, but it needs the referenced files to remain reachable.
Export Video creates the playable result. Closing Shotcut after saving the project does not create that result, and exporting does not replace the editable project. Keeping both files separates later editing from delivery.
Mixed media stays native
Shotcut can place clips with different resolutions and frame rates in one timeline. It reads many sources without a mandatory conversion step, which avoids an extra import copy. Native decoding also means that a highly compressed camera clip can seek slowly even when the project itself is simple.
Nearest Neighbor interpolation can make seeking respond faster, but it relaxes seeking accuracy. Repeated frames may appear during frame stepping after a seek. Switching to another interpolation mode restores stricter seeking at the cost of some responsiveness.
Proxies ease preview
Proxy editing creates lower-resolution stand-ins for demanding sources. Preview Scaling lowers the resolution used by the preview path. Together they reduce the work required for interactive playback, while the final export can return to the original media.
A smooth proxy preview does not prove that every original source will decode or render correctly. Proxy creation also consumes time and disk space. If an original file moves after its proxy was made, Shotcut still needs the original for a full-quality result.
Filters follow selection
A filter attaches to the currently selected clip, track, or output. Some filters cannot attach at every level, and some are unavailable under a selected processing mode. The Filters panel identifies the selected object, which is the first place to check when an expected filter seems missing.
Audio tools operate on clips and tracks, but Shotcut does not edit individual waveform samples. A click or damaged sample that needs microscopic repair belongs in a dedicated audio editor before the corrected file returns to the project.
Export still uses CPU
A hardware encoder handles the encoding stage when enabled, but Shotcut still uses the CPU for much of the default pipeline. Decoding, user filters, transitions, track compositing, and audio mixing can remain CPU work. Low graphics utilization during export does not by itself mean the encoder is unused.
Parallel processing can accelerate some projects and destabilize others. When an export hangs, the documented first test is to stop the job and retry with parallel processing disabled. If it fails at the same percentage, applying that percentage to the project duration identifies the approximate timeline area to inspect.
Presets are starting points
Export presets choose a container, codecs, dimensions, rates, and related settings for a common destination. Manual changes can create combinations that a player or service rejects. The existence of a selectable value does not guarantee that every other selected value works with it.
A short test export around a transition, subtitle, or demanding filter checks the chosen path faster than rendering the entire project. The complete export still needs playback from beginning to end because an MLT project can save correctly even when one later source fails during rendering.
