Redact

Trim video by deleting from its transcript.
No timeline, no video editor. Select words, delete, export.

Version 1.3.0 · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel

Download Redact

Redact is what I wanted from a text-based video editor. Trim a clip by editing its transcript. Runs locally. Private. Free.

It's best for talking-head work where the edit is mostly "cut the bad takes and tighten the pacing". Podcasts, interviews, tutorials, pitch videos, anything where the cadence matters more than the visuals.

How it works

1. Import a video or audio file. MP4, MKV, WebM, MOV, AVI, MP3, WAV, M4A all work.
2. WhisperKit transcribes on-device. Word-level timestamps.
3. Click words to select. Delete to mark them for removal. Click-drag, shift-click, and cmd-click all work the way they do in any text editor.
4. Hit Space to play. Deleted sections are skipped live with an audio crossfade so cuts don't sound like cuts.
5. Export. FFmpeg re-cuts the original to match your edited transcript. MP4, MKV, or WebM.

Transcription runs on-device through WhisperKit (CoreML + Metal under the hood, no Python, no cloud). You can switch models in Preferences. English-only and turbo variants both ship. The waveform sits along the bottom so you can click anywhere to scrub. Undo and redo are unlimited. Projects save as .rdt files when you want to come back to an edit.

Export

• Video. MP4, MKV, or WebM. Quality and speed presets in Preferences.
• SRT. Subtitle file with timestamps already adjusted for your deletions.
• Voice-over (optional). If you set an ElevenLabs API key, you can export a re-read of the edited transcript in a voice you pick.

Install

Download the latest .dmg from Releases, open it, and drag Redact to Applications. If macOS blocks the first launch, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway".

One external dependency: FFmpeg.

brew install ffmpeg

WhisperKit is built in and downloads the selected model automatically on first use.

Keyboard shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Import media	Cmd+O
Save project	Cmd+S
Export video	Cmd+E
Export SRT	Cmd+Shift+E
Undo	Cmd+Z
Redo	Cmd+Shift+Z
Delete selected	Delete
Select all	Cmd+A
Play / Pause	Space
Skip back 5s	Left arrow
Skip forward 5s	Right arrow
Preferences	Cmd+,

Preferences

What you can tune: transcript font, size, and highlight color. Dark / Light / System theme. Whisper model. Audio crossfade duration on playback and export. Output video quality and encoder preset. ElevenLabs API key and voice for TTS export.

Building from source

git clone https://github.com/madebysan/redact.git
cd redact
swift build
swift run Redact

Builds with Xcode 16+ targeting macOS 14+.

Tech stack

• Swift + AppKit for the native macOS UI
• AVFoundation with a periodic time observer driving the live skip-and-fade loop
• WhisperKit for on-device speech-to-text (CoreML + Metal)
• DSWaveformImage for waveform rendering
• FFmpeg (subprocess) for audio extraction and final video export

Feedback

Found a bug or have a feature idea? Open an issue.

License

MIT

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Made by santiagoalonso.com