Our take
Activeregular commits and releases- Activity
- 78
- Community
- 53
- Issues
- 92
- Pull requests
- 51
+251 stars in the last 30 days
- Closes issues faster than 81% of the projects we track
Shotcut is an actively maintained, cross-platform editor with a substantial contributor base, but its contributions are highly concentrated in one person and source builds require a prepared multimedia development environment.
Good fit if
- You want a GPLv3 video editor for Linux, macOS, or Windows, with regular releases and prebuilt downloads.
- Your editing workflow can use a Qt application backed by MLT, FFmpeg, Frei0r, and SDL.
- You are a contributor or beta tester comfortable setting up Qt and multimedia dependencies to build from source.
Look elsewhere if
- Your project cannot meet GPLv3 obligations when using or distributing the editor.
- Your team needs a project whose development is not heavily dependent on one contributor.
- You need to build from source but cannot prepare the required Qt, MLT, Frei0r, and related library paths.
All health signals
| Last commit | 2026-10-25 (today) |
|---|---|
| Commits, last 90 days | 100+ |
| Releases, last 12 months | 16 (latest v26.9.27, 2026-09-28) |
| Contributors | 75 (top contributor: 85% of commits) |
| Issues closed, last 90 days | 35 (typically closed in 0 days) |
| Pull requests merged, last 90 days | 27 (typically merged in 1 day) |
| Project age | 14 years |
Checked on 2026-10-26 with the GitHub API.
Project history
Daily GitHub snapshots since Oct 7, 2026. History covers stars and forks; health signals are not tracked historically.
Stars
15,676Forks
1,566Change since Nov 13, 2026: +13 stars·0 forks
Overview
Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor built with Qt and the MLT multimedia framework. It gives desktop creators a place to edit video using a broad multimedia stack that also includes FFmpeg, Frei0r, and SDL.
The project targets Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its regular commits and releases point to an actively maintained editor, while the GPLv3 license is relevant for anyone distributing modified versions or bundling Shotcut in another product.
Key Features
- Cross-platform desktop video editing for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Qt-based application and interface, with Qt 6.4 or newer required.
- MLT multimedia framework integration.
- FFmpeg libraries for multimedia formats and codecs.
- Frei0r video plugins.
- SDL-based cross-platform audio playback.
- Regular prebuilt binaries are available from the project website.
Use Cases
- Independent creators who want a free desktop editor for assembling and editing video.
- Editors working across Linux, macOS, and Windows who need a cross-platform application.
- Contributors or beta testers who want to build and try Shotcut from source using Qt Creator or CMake.
- Translators who want to contribute language support through the project's Transifex page.
What you need
Detected in the repository
- C++ (main language on GitHub)
- A test suite and automated checks on GitHub Actions
License in plain words
GPL-3.0strong copyleft
- Commercial use: yes
- Modify and redistribute: yes
- You must keep: the license notice
- Share your changes: yes, the full source of anything you distribute that includes it, under the GPL
- Includes an explicit patent grant from the contributors:
A summary, not legal advice: the LICENSE file is what applies.
Getting Started
Download a prebuilt version from Shotcut's download page. For source builds, see the README for prerequisites and build instructions.
Alternatives
- Recordly: Recordly focuses on screen-recorded demos and walkthroughs, with cursor effects and webcam overlays, rather than general-purpose video editing.
- palmier-pro: Palmier Pro is a macOS-only editor with generative AI and agent workflows, while Shotcut is a cross-platform Qt and MLT editor.
| Project | Language | License | Stars | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| shotcut | C++ | GPL-3.0 | 15.5k | Active |
| Recordly | TypeScript | – | 34.6k | Active |
| palmier-pro | Swift | GPL-3.0 | 14.7k | Active |
Considerations
The README cautions that building Shotcut from source is intended for beta testers or contributors who know what they are doing. A build needs Qt 6.4 or newer and dependencies including MLT, FFmpeg, Frei0r, FFTW, and SDL, with paths configured so the libraries and headers can be found. The project is active and handles issues and pull requests quickly, but its measured contributor concentration means a large share of project activity rests with one person. GPLv3 terms should also be reviewed before redistributing modified or bundled versions.
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