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https://github.com/renezander030/capcut-cli

Independent, unofficial CLI to edit CapCut and JianYing projects — subtitles, timing, speed, volume, templates, cut long-form to shorts. No API needed, reads draft_content.json directly. Not affiliated with ByteDance.
https://github.com/renezander030/capcut-cli

automation capcut capcut-api capcut-automation capcut-editor capcut-subtitles capcut-template claude-code-plugin cli draft-content-json jianying python srt-export subtitle-editor video-to-shorts

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Independent, unofficial CLI to edit CapCut and JianYing projects — subtitles, timing, speed, volume, templates, cut long-form to shorts. No API needed, reads draft_content.json directly. Not affiliated with ByteDance.

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README 

          


  capcut-cli — the CapCut/JianYing CLI any LLM agent can drive: zero dependencies, no server, both namespaces




# capcut-cli



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English | [中文](./README.zh-CN.md)



> **Disclaimer:** This is an independent, community-maintained project. It is **not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by** CapCut, JianYing, or ByteDance Ltd. "CapCut" and "JianYing" (剪映) are trademarks of ByteDance Ltd. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners and are used here only for identification (nominative) purposes.



**An independent CLI for CapCut / JianYing that any LLM agent can drive — zero dependencies, no server, both namespaces in one binary.**



JSON in, JSON out: every command reads and writes the local draft store directly, with no MCP server or HTTP daemon. On newer CapCut versions it detects and synchronizes every readable timeline target instead of assuming `draft_content.json` is the only source of truth. That gives any model (Claude, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi) a deterministic boundary for inspection, building, subtitles, captions, translation, and long-form cuts.



**Use it three ways:**



- **CLI** — `npm install -g capcut-cli`, then `capcut  `

- **Library** — `import { loadDraft, lintDraft, saveDraft } from "capcut-cli"` (typed, zero-dep)

- **Queue runner** — `capcut serve` reads JSONL jobs from stdin, for [n8n / Make / Coze](./examples/serve-automation.md)



> **New in v0.13.0:** timeline-mirror repair for CapCut ≥ 8.7 (`sync-timelines`), word-level subtitle export (`export-srt --granularity word`, SRT + VTT), CapCut-native keyframe easing (`keyframe --easing`), deterministic scene-cut detection (`detect-scenes`), portable text-style presets (`make-preset` + `--preset`), and `lint --fix` auto-repair. Full details in the [changelog](./CHANGELOG.md).



## Install



**Prerequisites:** Node ≥ 18 (built-ins only — no native modules). Optional tools unlock specific commands: Whisper for `caption`, FFmpeg for `render`, ffprobe for automatic media metadata, and `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` for `translate`.



```bash

npm install -g capcut-cli      # or: npx capcut-cli 

```



Build from source instead: `git clone https://github.com/renezander030/capcut-cli && cd capcut-cli && npm install && npm run build` (then `npm link` to expose `capcut`).



## Quickstart



```bash

capcut doctor                                  # verify Node, FFmpeg, whisper, draft dirs

capcut quickstart my-first --video clip.mp4    # create + add input + lint, prints the "open in CapCut" step

capcut info ./my-first/                         # inspect the draft (add -H for a table)

```



Then open the project in CapCut to review and render. Every short-video platform forbids automated upload, so the publish click stays human.



## Commands



JSON by default (pipe to `jq`); add `-H` for a human-readable table. Pass `--jianying` to use the JianYing enum namespace. Run `capcut  --help` for full flags.



| Group | Commands |

|-------|----------|

| **Inspect** | `info` · `tracks` · `materials` · `version` · `lint` |

| **Browse / drill in** | `segments` · `texts` · `segment` · `material` |

| **Create** | `init` · `quickstart` · `compile` (build a draft from a JSON spec) |

| **Preview** | `render` (low-res ffmpeg proxy — not CapCut's final render) |

| **Add** | `add-video` · `add-audio` · `add-text` (Wikimedia URLs supported, license-checked) |

| **Edit / animate** | trim · speed · volume · transitions · masks · text/image animations · easing curves |

| **Templates** | apply and extract reusable layouts · `make-preset` (portable text-style presets) |

| **Subtitles & i18n** | `caption` · `import-srt` · `export-srt` (line/word SRT + VTT) · `translate` (multi-language draft clone) |

| **Effects** | `sfx` · `chroma` (chroma key) |

| **Long-form → short** | `cut` · `detect-scenes` (ffmpeg scene-cut detection) |

| **Automation** | `serve` (stateless JSONL runner) · `migrate` · `doctor` · `sync-timelines` (8.7 mirror repair) |



**Full reference** for every command, option, and exit code: **[docs/command-reference.md](./docs/command-reference.md)**.



## Sponsor



capcut-cli is MIT and free forever. Sponsoring funds faster releases and same-week support for new CapCut / JianYing versions — and unlocks power-user extras:



- **$5/mo · Supporter** — sponsors-only release notes plus your name in `BACKERS.md`. Keep the project moving.

- **$25/mo · Pro** — invite to the private `capcut-cli-pro` repo: premium template and caption-style packs, the full Claude viral-shorts pipeline, ready-to-run `compile` specs, and early-access builds. Plus priority issue triage.

- **$100/mo · Team** — everything in Pro for up to 5 teammates, written commercial-use confirmation, your logo in this README, and priority fast-tracking of the features your team needs.



[**Become a sponsor →**](https://github.com/sponsors/renezander030)



> Using capcut-cli at work? The Team tier pays for itself the first afternoon it saves your engineers.



## How it works



CapCut/JianYing store each project as local JSON. capcut-cli loads that store, validates against a version-aware schema, applies your edit, and writes it back atomically (with a `.bak`). No project files are uploaded anywhere; nothing runs as a service. See [docs/version-support.md](./docs/version-support.md) for the CapCut/JianYing versions and schema flags it understands.



## Docs & examples



- [docs/command-reference.md](./docs/command-reference.md) — every command and flag

- [examples/](./examples/) — end-to-end recipes (VO alignment, serve automation, batch subtitle correction)

- [docs/version-support.md](./docs/version-support.md) · [docs/jianying-encryption.md](./docs/jianying-encryption.md)

- [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md) · [Releases](https://github.com/renezander030/capcut-cli/releases) — what's new

- [draftcat](https://github.com/renezander030/draftcat) — sibling project: governed AI pipelines (Go, MIT), same single-binary, no-API design



## Trademarks



CapCut™ and JianYing™ (剪映) are trademarks of ByteDance Ltd. This project is unofficial and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ByteDance; the marks are used nominatively to describe interoperability.



## License



MIT