LosslessCutfor Windows

LosslessCut is an open-source video cutter created by Mikael Finstad. Ordinary editors re-encode video when saving a cut, which is slow and loses a little quality each time. LosslessCut instead uses its bundled FFmpeg to copy the original data around the cut points, so it can pull a clip out of a multi-gigabyte action camera, drone or screen recording file in seconds with the original quality intact.

It suits anyone who needs to trim the start and end of long recordings, keep only a few segments and join them, or extract an audio or subtitle track. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the interface has been translated into many languages. It cannot, however, add effects, burn in subtitles or change resolution, since those require re-encoding, and because cuts snap to keyframes it is not suited to frame-accurate editing.

Lossless cutting

Mark segments on the timeline with start and end points and export them without re-encoding. Segments can be saved as separate files or merged into one, and the selection can be inverted to remove a middle section instead.

File merging

Joins several files that share the same codecs into one without re-encoding, which is handy for recordings a camera split into multiple parts.

Track editing

Add, remove, replace or extract the video, audio and subtitle tracks inside a file—for example, saving only the audio of a lecture or dropping an unwanted language track.

Remuxing

Changes the container, such as MKV to MP4, without touching the encoded streams. Because nothing is recompressed, the conversion is fast and lossless.

Automatic detection

Scene changes, black frames and silence can be detected and used to split a file into segments. Segment lists can be imported or exported as chapters, CSV or EDL.

Snapshots and automation

Save the current frame as an image or export many frames at once. A command-line interface and an HTTP API allow repetitive jobs to be automated.

Features

Cutting, merging, track editing, remuxing and automatic segment detection cover nearly everything lossless editing can do. Effects, subtitle burning and resizing are deliberately out of scope because they require re-encoding.

Ease of Use

The workflow of dropping in a file, marking segments and pressing Export is simple. When a cut starts earlier than expected because of keyframes, though, users need to understand how lossless cutting works, so some trial and error is normal at first.

Stability & Safety

The project is open source, and the developer states that it contains no ads or tracking. The Windows build on GitHub is not code-signed, so Windows or antivirus software may show warnings; a signed, paid Microsoft Store version is also offered. Development is active, with 3.70.2 released on October 28, 2026.

• Avidemux — A free, open-source editor that offers lossless cutting plus filters and re-encoding when needed.
• Shotcut — A free, open-source timeline editor that adds effects and titles but re-encodes on export.

Is LosslessCut free?

Yes. LosslessCut is free and open source and can be downloaded from GitHub at no cost. The paid Microsoft Store and Mac App Store versions support the developer and add automatic updates; on Windows the store version is also code-signed.

Why does my LosslessCut export start a few seconds before the cut point?

A lossless cut can only begin on a keyframe, so LosslessCut starts from the nearest keyframe before your start point. Placing the start point on, or a few frames after, a keyframe shown on the timeline gives a closer result.

Does LosslessCut need to be installed?

No, there is no installer. On Windows, extract the 7z archive and run LosslessCut.exe; settings and temporary files are stored in %APPDATA%\LosslessCut, so the developer does not describe it as a fully portable app.

Can LosslessCut cut videos without losing quality?

Yes. It copies the original streams instead of re-encoding them, so the exported clip has exactly the same quality as the source.

Does LosslessCut work on Windows 7?

Current versions do not. Support for Windows 8.1 and older was dropped in the 3.5x series, and the latest release officially supports only 64-bit Windows 10 and 11.

LosslessCut is a strong recommendation for anyone who needs to cut clips out of long videos quickly and without quality loss. Its speed, quality preservation and track tools are excellent, but keyframe limitations and the unsigned GitHub build hold it to our editor rating of 4 out of 5.

Editor rating 4/5