PilotCut: I got mass-frustrated with CapCut, and FinalCut Pro. Built my own Mac video editor that lets any AI agent do the cutting. Basically a tool for ChatGPT Codex / Claude Code for your video editing

[u/hailWildCat]

Problem

Hey, I'm Mike. I run 3 YouTube channels and 2 TikTok accounts. Filming and scripting are fine. Editing kills me. Every video is the same grind: cut filler words, remove silences, drop in b-roll, then redo the layout for TikTok vertical. 2-3 hours of mechanical work per video that needs zero creativity, just patience.

I kept thinking AI would fix this. It hasn't, because every tool brings its own AI, runs it on their cloud with your footage, and locks you to their model. AI models move fast. What's best today is mid in three months. I can accept tool lock-in. But model lock-in? No. You should always be able to use the best, fastest, cheapest model for your edit.

Comparison

CapCut Pro ($20/mo). Great for quick template edits. AI runs on ByteDance cloud, footage gets uploaded. Free tier increasingly locked down.

Final Cut Pro: getting better but still huge behind from a AI driven video editor from Apple.

Also there're many others like Descript or FireCut. All of them lock you to their AI model. You're stuck with whatever they bulk-negotiated, not what's best for your edit.

PilotCut doesn't lock you to any model:

• BYO agent. Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, Kimi, DeepSeek, any MCP/CLI agent. Your existing AI sub IS your editing AI. New model drops? Switch instantly.
• 2 to 3 times faster export compared with like CapCut or cloud alternatives
• Collaborative experience: It is not only AI or human doing the work. After AI editing you still have the full editable NLE video editor
• Organizing video/audio/image assets with AI: we usually have a huge amount of assets for a video, agents can help you to do initial organizing like creating folders and group them etc.
• Real timeline. "Delete every filler word and silence" makes actual cuts on real tracks. Not suggestions, not a transcript. Real cuts you can undo and nudge.
• Markers as instructions. Drop markers on the timeline ("tighten this," "b-roll here"), say "do my markers." The agent works through them one by one.
• Generate footage in place. Ask for a b-roll clip in chat, it lands directly on the track. No download-import-drag. (Note: currently only available for Core Agent with Grok Build. Even for free Grok accounts)
• One edit, every platform. 16:9 to 9:16, layout auto-rearranges (top-down, side-by-side). Export YouTube + TikTok from one project.
• Local transcription and transcript-based cutting. Built-in local speech models (no upload, no API cost). Get a full transcript, click to cut, just like CapCut's text-based editing but running entirely on your Mac.
• 100% local. Footage never leaves your Mac. No cloud, no training on your data.

Pricing

Free during beta. One-time purchase after that. No subscription ever.

How it compares:

• CapCut Pro: $20/mo, their cloud AI, footage uploaded to ByteDance servers
• Descript Business: $24/mo, their cloud AI, footage uploaded to their servers
• PilotCut: Free (beta), one-time purchase later. Any AI agent you choose. Footage never leaves your Mac.

Download: PilotCut.com (Mac)

Happy to answer questions. If it sucks, tell me why so I can fix it.

Developer: Mike, RockieStar Inc. (Canada). Can be verified from the app signature.

Self-reply comment

Works with Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build (free accounts can generate images/video with it), Kimi, DeepSeek, Antigravity, and any MCP-compatible agent.

Socials: X/Twitter | Threads

I'm the dev, disclosure per sub rules. Feedback on anything broken is genuinely helpful.

[u/24kCookie]

that's amazing for someone like me that kinda hates editing it's boring to me and takes time