ffmpeg? no ui at all there.
this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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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.mp4
Check out the docs for more https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-doc.html
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.
Nice, I'll be adding some if these to my recipes.
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.
I havn't done much of anything in kdenlive but I already use premier pro and I thought maybe i'd try kdenlive it can't be too different right? I'm sure it's not too bad but I was completely stuck without using any tutorials.
I was using Davinci Resolve before and I found the transition to be quite easy.
I'm sure it is, I will get to actually learning it one day. Or maybe I will just continue with davanci resolve and just pirate even though it's free to avoid any privacy issues.
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.
i will try avidemux, thanks.
Others mentioned it but I'll insist on kdenlive.
Yes it's intimidating, so much so I initially started it, closed it and went back to ffmpeg, so the CLI.
What I was lacking wasn't a good UI or UX but rather the principle of video editing. Once you actually learn the basics :
- cuts (each file become a track, each file can be sliced in smaller piece and re-arranged)
- timeline (cuts next to each other or on top of each other, including audio, videos, cards, etc)
- effects (fade in, fade out, etc)
- project management (organizing files, designing cards for titles, etc)
then regardless of which software you use it's nearly the same.
So I would actually invest just an hour to try a tutorial, edit a 1min video, get feedback on it from friends then try again. Honestly video as a medium is not going away anytime soon, in fact arguably platform like TikTok (sadly) made it even more popular. Consequently investing a bit of time today would benefit you for decades to come.
Now this was an interesting read, thanks (I will probably invest an hour or so in some video tutorials)
Glad to hear! I'm also no expert but if you have more specific questions, please do ask. I'd be happy to try to help.
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.
Capcut Desktop KineMaster
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.
Are you not making the next Avatar movie? I came here to help because I thought... I believed... Oh, well.
For simple cutting I just use ffmpeg. It can do a few other effects too.
Well I gotta find a way to save amd organize all the commands that I will need from time to time
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.
Blender is the one software that I wouldn't consider simple at all
avidemux used to be pretty good.
Hmm will take a look at it, thanks.
For jobs where you just want to make cuts check out 'Lossless Cut'. It's extremely simple and extremely fast.
everything is an ffmpeg GUI, lightest is just ffmpeg commands and mpv to test :D
Writing your mlt script in nano. Doesn't get lighter than this. ;)
This is unnecessary bloat, write a script using ffmpeg and ed.
DaVinci resolve is on a completely different level to shotcut or kdenlive. None of them are totally intuitive, but the required learning on something like Shotcut essentially boils down to understanding that pretty much everything is a video filter, or basic track operation hotkeys (e.g S to split video segment at selected frame, X to delete selected segment).
For your use cases I'd suggest taking another look at either of those and ignoring "advanced" settings wherever possible, it's really not that bad and you're unlikely to find anything on either Linux or windows that is both lightweight & does all that
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.
I will probably give up and watch a couple of tutorials for kdenlive
LosslessCut for simple cutting and concatenating
Lossless cut is phenomenal for simple cutting and concatenating but unfortunately and at least for the time being it doesn't do anything beyond that that is useful for me, but well it is called lossless cut after all, so...
You did say simple...
Openshot is pretty simple. Its like windows media player.