Editor flows and concepts

Each source video opens in an independent editor window. The main video view is paired with a range timeline, an audio-track panel, and a clip list. The editor concentrates on three things: choosing ranges, deciding which audio to keep, and exporting the result.

Ranges

A range describes a start and end time in the source. Add ranges to capture more than one moment from the same video. The timeline keeps the range boundaries visible against the source duration while the player provides the visual reference for adjusting them.

Every range chooses a trim mode. Quick trimming favours speed; accurate trimming favours precise start and end boundaries. A range can be duplicated, removed, or exported independently. The clip list retains each range and its selected mode, audio-track selection, and export state.

Audio tracks

The editor reads the audio streams in the source and shows each track with a waveform. Tracks can be active or muted per range. At export time, FFmpeg mixes the active tracks together into one audio stream. This makes it possible to retain, for example, several recorded channels in a single clip instead of choosing only one.

When no tracks are active, the clip is exported without audio. The option to hide the source's default audio track applies when several tracks are available and the remaining tracks are the ones that matter.

Export

An export writes each configured range to the selected output directory. Cutrail passes the range, trim mode, and active-audio selection to FFmpeg, then stores metadata with the output so it can be recognised later in the Library. The output is a clip file, not an editable Cutrail project.

Cutrail associates .mp4, .mkv, .webm, .mov, and .avi files with the desktop application. Opening one of those supported files from the operating system creates an editor window directly.