Uncut vs video-use
An agent skill that returns a finished file, and a desktop editor with a timeline. What each one is good at.
video-use is a skill for coding agents: you point it at a folder of raw footage and get final.mp4 back. Uncut is a desktop editor with the agent inside it. Both are MIT licensed and free, so the choice comes down to how you want to work.
Uncut is free under the MIT licence and runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 13 or later. It needs Claude Code or Codex installed and signed in, plus ffmpeg, and it has no Uncut account or quota. Its limits are real too: it is a young project on a 0.x version, with a small community.
| Uncut | video-use | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Mac app with a timeline | Skill for an agent with shell access |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Output | Editable project, then H.264 or HEVC export | edit/final.mp4, from an edit decision list |
| Agents | Claude Code or Codex | Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, Openclaw and others |
| Transcription | Local, whisper.cpp | ElevenLabs Scribe, with your key |
| Checking | Separate critic scores rendered frames | Self-evaluation at every cut, up to three fix passes |
| Hand edits | Yes, on the same timeline | No timeline in the project; you ask the agent |
Where video-use is better
- Nothing to install but a skill. There is no app, so it fits a terminal, a server or a Telegram bot through Browser Use Box.
- Any agent with a shell. Uncut supports two.
- Richer transcripts. Scribe gives speaker labels and audio events such as laughter. Uncut has no speaker separation.
- Animation overlays. It can spawn HyperFrames, Remotion, Manim or PIL overlays in parallel sub-agents.
- Session memory. A
project.mdcarries decisions into next week's session. - Reach. Its repo has about 30,300 stars.
Where Uncut is better
- You can see and touch the edit. The agent works on a live timeline, and you can trim, retime and mix by hand afterwards.
- Undo by turn. Each agent turn is one undoable step.
- Local transcription. No transcription key, and no audio sent for it.
- Reviewing with a fresh pair of eyes. The critic is a separate process with none of the builder's conversation.
- Everything else an editor has. Captions, a mixer with ducking, text looks, shader effects, screen and simulator capture.
Which to pick
Pick video-use if a finished file from a chat or a server is all you want. Pick Uncut if you expect to look at the cut and change it yourself.