All the ones that keep getting recommended have a UI like a cockpit of a Boeing 747 (kdenlive, shotcut, openshot, DaVinci resolve) which is so overwhelming, all I want is just make some cuts, blur a face, or something on the screen, and maybe add some subtitles.
I just want something simple, I am not gonna make the next Avatar movie.
I have a feeling there is nothing like this on linux but hey maybe one of you actually knows of one.
Kdenlive is a bit intimidating at first but if you take the time to watch a tutorial or 2 and figure out what you can remove from the standard layout it can be quite easy to use and works very well. I don’t use 90% of the features but I like that they are available if I ever need them.
Ok, so, here it is: If you just want to cut stuff, without much fanfare, then these four are your best bet:
- LosslessCut: https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut possibly what you’re looking for for most things, download the .appimage for x86
- Shutter Encoder It just cuts and exports. https://www.shutterencoder.com/
- Video Trimmer, get it on flathub. This one is newer.
- https://avidemux.sourceforge.net/ (the old guard)
If you want to do a tiny bit more stuff, like subtitles and blurring, you MUST use a full video editor, like Shotcut and Kdenlive. These features aren’t simple to implement so they’re part of a full editing experience.
ffmpeg? no ui at all there.
How do you edit video without a UI?
# CUT (fast, keyframe-aligned, no re-encode) ffmpeg -ss 00:01:30 -to 00:02:10 -i input.mp4 -c copy cut.mp4 # CUT (accurate, re-encode) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:30 -to 00:02:10 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac cut.mp4 # MERGE / CONCATENATE (same codecs, no re-encode) printf "file 'a.mp4'\nfile 'b.mp4'\n" > list.txt ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c copy merged.mp4 # MERGE (different formats, re-encode) ffmpeg -i a.mp4 -i b.mp4 -filter_complex \ "[0:v][0:a][1:v][1:a]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1[v][a]" \ -map "[v]" -map "[a]" merged.mp4 # TRANSITION (video crossfade, keep audio from first clip) ffmpeg -i a.mp4 -i b.mp4 -filter_complex \ "[0:v][1:v]xfade=transition=fade:duration=1:offset=4[v]" \ -map "[v]" -map 0:a transition.mp4 # ADD TEXT (overlay) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf \ "drawtext=text='Hello world':x=20:y=20:fontsize=32:fontcolor=white" \ -c:a copy text.mp4 # ADD AUDIO TRACK (replace existing audio) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i music.mp3 \ -map 0:v -map 1:a -c:v copy -shortest out.mp4 # ADD AUDIO TRACK (mix with existing audio) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i music.mp3 -filter_complex \ "[0:a][1:a]amix=inputs=2:duration=shortest[a]" \ -map 0:v -map "[a]" out.mp4 # CHANGE SPEED (2x video, drop audio) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=0.5*PTS" -an fast.mp4 # SCALE / RESIZE ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 resized.mp4 # SUBTITLES (burn in) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf subtitles=subs.srt out.mp4Check out the docs for more https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html
Nice, I’ll be adding some if these to my recipes.
Very interesting, but seems way more complicated than just using a UI. 😂
I super agree. I try to do as much as possible on Linux via GUI because I can remember where a button is, but I can’t remember all the flags and parameter quirks of each command.
I just enjoy looking shit up for strangers on the internet and being a smartass …
I have no problem using the terminal, its very useful, but trying to edit a video like that seems like an exercise in masochism.
for me even typing “sudo pacman -Syu” is masochism compared to just pressing the “Update” button in the gui package manager.
for one video, absolutely. for fifty? it’s a lifesaver.
Lmao, thank you obvious. 😂
Do you have any reference app that has easy to use interface in your liking?
I believe even OpenShot is the most basic version of video editing. Windows Movie Maker, Clipchamp, Capcut, all are have same basic interfaces.
Are you not making the next Avatar movie? I came here to help because I thought… I believed… Oh, well.
Avidemux is very simple, but maybe too simple to track an object idk. All I’ve used it for is basic cutting.
It’s good for basic things like cutting, merging and transitions. It can be used to blur something as long as it’s not moving.
avidemux used to be pretty good.
Hmm will take a look at it, thanks.
For simple cutting I just use ffmpeg. It can do a few other effects too.
They appear daunting, but the simple edits you’re talking about aren’t very difficult to do. I’ve used kdenlive for simple things and it’s pretty easy to learn. Your may just take a little Google for the first run through.
Blender has a video editor as part of its suite. If you are not familiar with video editing software there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube to get you started. Otherwise the building blocks are there and you can build off of your previous knowledge and likely get the results you are looking for.
LosslessCut for simple cutting and concatenating






