About Losslesscut
Your independent guide to the fastest lossless video editor available today.
The Tool That Changed Video Editing
LosslessCut exists because of a simple frustration: why does trimming a video clip take so long? Traditional video editors re-encode every frame when you just want to cut out a segment. For a 10GB drone recording where you only need two minutes of footage, that means waiting 20+ minutes for the software to process something that should take seconds.
LosslessCut solves this by working directly with the video container. It trims, splits, and merges media files without touching the encoded data. The result? Operations that finish in seconds rather than minutes, with zero quality loss. No re-encoding, no waiting, no compromises.
How LosslessCut Started
A Side Project with Big Ambitions
Mikael Finstad (known as “mifi” online) started LosslessCut as an open-source side project. A developer based in Norway, Finstad wanted a simple GUI tool built on top of FFmpeg that could trim video files without the overhead of full re-encoding. The first versions were basic but functional.
Growing Beyond Basic Trimming
As more users discovered the tool, feature requests poured in. LosslessCut added multi-segment support, letting users mark multiple cut points in a single file. Merge/concatenation arrived, audio waveform visualization was introduced, and the interface started maturing into something genuinely polished.
Feature-Rich and Cross-Platform
The project gained serious traction on GitHub, crossing 10,000 stars. Key additions included Smart Cut (experimental frame-accurate cutting), multi-track editing for adding or removing audio/subtitle streams, and import/export support for formats like CSV, CUE sheets, and DaVinci Resolve XML. Linux and macOS builds became first-class citizens alongside Windows.
29,000+ GitHub Stars
LosslessCut has grown into one of the most popular open-source media tools on GitHub, with over 29,600 stars. Version 3.68.0 (released January 2025) is the latest stable build. The tool now handles everything from black scene detection to GPS map views for drone footage, all while staying true to its core principle: fast, lossless operations.
What LosslessCut Actually Does
At its core, LosslessCut is a graphical frontend for FFmpeg focused on lossless media operations. Here is what that means in practice:
Lossless Trimming
Cut video and audio files at any point without re-encoding. The original quality stays intact because LosslessCut only modifies the container, not the encoded streams.
Multi-Track Editing
Add, remove, or replace individual audio, video, and subtitle tracks. Useful for stripping unwanted audio channels or adding subtitle files to video containers.
Merge and Concatenate
Combine multiple clips that share the same codec parameters into a single file. No re-encoding needed as long as the source files are compatible.
Container Remuxing
Move streams between container formats (MP4 to MKV, for example) without re-encoding. Handy when you need a different container for compatibility reasons.
LosslessCut supports virtually every format FFmpeg handles: MP4, MOV, WebM, Matroska, OGG, WAV, and dozens more. Video codecs like H264, H265, AV1, VP8, and VP9 all work. Audio codecs including AAC, MP3, FLAC, Opus, and PCM are supported too.
The Developer Behind It
Mikael Finstad
@mifi on GitHub
Mikael Finstad is a Norwegian software developer who maintains LosslessCut alongside several other open-source projects. His work reflects a practical philosophy: build tools that do one thing well and make them available to everyone. LosslessCut is released under the GPL-2.0 license, meaning anyone can use, study, and modify it freely.
Beyond LosslessCut, Finstad has contributed to the broader FFmpeg ecosystem and maintains tools related to media processing. His approach to development prioritizes speed, reliability, and a clean user interface over feature bloat.
Why People Rely on LosslessCut
LosslessCut has built a loyal following across several distinct user groups. Drone operators use it to pull highlight clips from hours of flight footage. Podcast producers trim raw recordings before importing into their DAW. Security professionals extract relevant segments from surveillance video. Content creators on YouTube and Twitch use it to rough-cut large recordings before fine-editing in Premiere or DaVinci Resolve.
The common thread is speed. When you have a 50GB file and need a 2-minute clip from the middle, LosslessCut finishes the job in about three seconds. Try that in any traditional video editor and you will be waiting a while.
On Reddit and tech forums, LosslessCut comes up constantly in threads about video trimming tools. Users praise its simplicity, its lack of bloat, and the fact that it just works. With 29,600+ stars on GitHub, it ranks among the most popular open-source media tools available.
About This Website
Losslesscut (losslesscut.net) is a fan-made, independent informational website. We are not affiliated with Mikael Finstad or the official LosslessCut project in any way.
This website was created to help users find accurate information about LosslessCut, including download links that point to official sources, usage guides, and frequently asked questions. We do not host or distribute the software ourselves.
Every download link on this site points to the official GitHub releases page maintained by Mikael Finstad. We believe in supporting open-source developers and encourage users to contribute to the LosslessCut project if they find it useful.
Our goal is straightforward: make it easier for people to discover LosslessCut, understand what it can do, and get started using it. We respect the developer and the open-source community behind this project.
Get in Touch
Have a question about this website or want to report an error? Visit our Contact page and we will get back to you.
For official software support, bug reports, or feature requests, head to the LosslessCut GitHub repository where Mikael Finstad and the community handle technical issues directly.