Learn · Guide 3 of 10

Editing basics

The everyday moves: cutting, trimming, moving clips, transitions and compound clips.

Cut and trim

1. Pick a tool

   A is the select tool. B is the blade: click a clip to cut it, ⇧-click to cut every row at that point. Esc goes back to select.

2. Split at the playhead

   Press S, or Edit Timeline ▸ Split at Playhead ⌘B.

3. Trim and move

   Drag a clip’s edge to trim it, or drag the clip to move it. The timeline scrolls when you drag near its edges. Moves that would overlap another clip are refused when you let go.

4. Delete, or close the gap

   ⌫ deletes and leaves a gap. ⇧⌫ (Edit Timeline ▸ Ripple Delete) closes it up.

Select and rearrange

1. Select several clips

   Drag on empty timeline space to box-select (⇧ or ⌘ adds). Click a row’s header to select the whole row. ⌘A selects everything; Esc or ⇧⌘A clears it.

2. Move them together

   Dragging a selection moves every clip by the same amount and the same number of rows. Each clip has to land on a row of its own kind.

3. Copy and paste, even between projects

   ⌘C ⌘X ⌘V paste at the playhead, keeping the spacing and rows. It works between two different projects too.

4. Zoom

   ⌘+ and ⌘−, pinch, or ⌥-scroll. ⇧Z fits the whole timeline.

5. Name and tag rows

   Double-click a row name to rename it. Right-click a row header to give it a role: Dialogue, Music or Effects. Ducking and loudness use these roles.

Transitions

1. Open the Transitions pane

   ⌘5. You get dissolves, fades and dips, wipes, pushes and slides, zooms, spins and blurs, slams, whip pans, shake, light leaks, glitches and flashes.

2. Drop one on a cut, or on one edge

   Drag a tile onto a cut between two clips. Drop it near the start or end of a single clip to make that clip transition in or out over whatever is underneath, which is how graphics fade in. Double-clicking a tile, or Edit Timeline ▸ Add Transition at Playhead ⌘T, adds it at the spot nearest the playhead.

3. Set the length

   Drag the edges of the transition badge. New transitions use the pane’s Default length. Transitions that show both shots at once need spare footage past the cut; if there isn’t enough, HTCUT tells you instead of freezing a frame.

Compound clips

Select clips from any rows and choose Edit Timeline ▸ New Compound Clip ⌥G. They become one clip that moves, trims and transitions as a stack. Double-click it to edit inside; Esc or ⌘[ goes back. Break Apart Compound Clip ⇧⌘G undoes the grouping.

More timeline tools

• J and L cuts: select the outgoing clip, then Inspector ▸ J / L cut lets the sound lead or trail the picture.
• Sync by sound: select a camera clip and a separate mic recording, then Edit Timeline ▸ Sync Clips by Audio. The selected clip on the lowest video row is the reference.
• Connected clips: Edit Timeline ▸ Connect Selection to What’s Under It keeps a clip riding on its moment through later edits.

Ripple edits across the whole timeline

Removing or inserting time so that every row follows is a command: footage splices, stills and graphics stretch, music beds lose or gain whole beats, and compound clips follow inside. It refuses to cut out speech it can hear unless you add --allow-speech.

$ htcut ripple cut --from 3:10 --to 3:14 --dry-run
$ htcut ripple insert --at 1:05 --dur 2s
$ htcut ripple trim --clip 6cefc281 --end -0.5s

Command only: ripple cut, insert and trim across every row aren’t in the app’s menus yet. Run them yourself or ask Claude.