OpenCut: Self-Hosted Video Editor

OpenCut is an open-source video editor designed for web, desktop, and mobile platforms. With over 45,000 GitHub stars, OpenCut brings professional video editing capabilities to a self-hosted environment — timeline editing, transitions, effects, and export — all accessible through a browser or native app without relying on cloud-based editing subscriptions.

Self-hosting OpenCut means your video projects, raw footage, and exports stay on your own server. No uploads to third-party cloud services, no subscription fees, and no watermarks.

Key Features

• Multi-track timeline editor with drag-and-drop clips, audio, and overlays
• Cross-platform support for web browsers, desktop applications, and mobile devices
• Video transitions, filters, and effects for professional-quality output
• Audio editing with waveform visualization, volume controls, and audio tracks
• Export to multiple formats and resolutions including 1080p and 4K
• Real-time preview during editing without waiting for render cycles
• Project file management for saving, reopening, and iterating on edits
• No watermarks, no feature restrictions, no premium tier

Why Self-Host OpenCut?

No subscription costs. Professional video editing tools like Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve Cloud charge monthly subscriptions. Self-hosted OpenCut is completely free — install it once on your VPS and use it without ongoing fees.

Privacy for sensitive content. When editing corporate videos, training materials, or confidential footage, uploading to cloud editors creates security risks. Self-hosted OpenCut keeps all footage and projects on your server, accessible only to your team.

Access from anywhere. With a web-based interface on your VPS, you can edit video from any device with a browser — no software installation required on the client side. Start editing on your desktop, continue on a tablet.

Full control over processing. Self-hosting lets you allocate server resources for rendering and export. Offload heavy encoding tasks to your VPS rather than tying up your local machine, and benefit from server-grade CPU and storage performance.

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 vCPUs	4+ vCPUs
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
Storage	20 GB SSD	100 GB SSD
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+	Ubuntu 24.04

Video editing is resource-intensive. CPU requirements scale with video resolution, timeline complexity, and effects processing. Storage needs depend on your video files — plan for significant disk space beyond the base installation for raw footage and exports.

Getting Started

The fastest way to deploy OpenCut on your VPS is with Docker Compose through Dokploy. Our step-by-step deployment guide walks you through the full setup, including persistent storage, environment configuration, and SSL.

Deploy OpenCut with Dokploy →

Alternatives

• Kdenlive — Full-featured desktop video editor with multi-track editing and a wide effects library
• Shotcut — Cross-platform video editor with a broad format support and intuitive interface
• Olive — Non-linear video editor aiming for professional-grade features with open-source simplicity
• Pitivi — Intuitive video editor for Linux with a clean, beginner-friendly interface

FAQ

Can OpenCut handle 4K video editing? OpenCut supports 4K editing and export. Performance depends on your server's CPU and RAM — 4K timelines with multiple tracks and effects require more processing power. A VPS with 4+ vCPUs and 8 GB RAM provides a smooth 4K editing experience.

How does browser-based video editing perform? Modern browsers handle video editing well with WebAssembly and hardware acceleration. OpenCut leverages these technologies for responsive timeline editing and preview playback. Heavy rendering tasks run on the server side, so your browser stays responsive.

Can multiple users edit projects on the same instance? OpenCut supports multiple users accessing the same server instance. Each user can work on their own projects with separate file storage. Collaborative editing on the same timeline depends on the specific deployment configuration.

What video formats does OpenCut support? OpenCut supports common video formats including MP4, WebM, MOV, and AVI through FFmpeg integration. Export options include H.264, H.265, VP9, and other codecs at configurable bitrates and resolutions.

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App data sourced from selfh.st open-source directory.