Your first edit in 10 minutes

1. Import your files

Everything starts with your source files. Caliptus references them where they are on disk: importing is instant and your originals are never modified.

1. Open the Media tab in the tool rail.
2. Click Import, or drag files straight from your file explorer onto the panel.
3. Once imported, drag a media item onto the timeline, or select it and use Add to timeline.

See the full Import & media guide

2. Cut and arrange on the timeline

The timeline is where the edit takes shape: tracks stacked top to bottom, clips laid left to right, and a playhead showing the current frame.

1. Move the playhead and click Split (or press S) to cut a clip at that point.
2. Select a clip and press Delete to remove it, or use Delete (close gap) to pull the following clips left.
3. Toggle Snapping so clips align cleanly to cuts, markers and the playhead.

See the full Timeline guide

3. Generate captions

Caliptus transcribes speech into subtitles using a local speech-recognition model. Nothing is uploaded: the audio and the transcription stay on your computer.

1. Select a clip that has speech and open the Captions tab.
2. Pick a Model. The spoken language is detected automatically.
3. Click Generate automatically; the captions are created and placed on the timeline.

See the full Captions guide

4. Export your video

Once the edit is done, export turns your timeline into a finished video file. Caliptus renders on your machine, with simple presets.

1. Click Export in the top bar and choose a destination.
2. Pick a Preset, or set Resolution, Frame rate, Quality, Codec and Bitrate yourself, then start the export.

See the full Export & delivery guide

What's next?

This tutorial covers just what you need to get your first video out. The reference guide details every tool in the editor, area by area.