--- name: CapCut Video Editing slug: capcut-video-editing category: AI Engineering description: Plan and guide CapCut edits for short-form social videos (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) with retention-paced cuts, auto-captions, and beat-synced sound, while ensuring licensing and safety compliance. Use when cutting a reel, setting up captions, or assessing commercial safety of CapCut assets. github: "https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills/tree/main/skills/capcut" language: Shell stars: 19 forks: 4 install: "npx degit https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills/tree/main/skills/capcut ~/.claude/skills/capcut" installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/capcut source_path: skills/capcut/SKILL.md collection_size: 25 category_size: 2451 collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/social-media-skills/skills" added: 2026-08-11T07:22:43.235Z last_synced: 2026-08-11T07:22:43.235Z canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/capcut-video-editing" --- # CapCut Video Editing Plan and guide CapCut edits for short-form social videos (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) with retention-paced cuts, auto-captions, and beat-synced sound, while ensuring licensing and safety compliance. Use when cutting a reel, setting up captions, or assessing commercial safety of CapCut assets. **Install:** ```bash npx degit https://github.com/social-media-skills/skills/tree/main/skills/capcut ~/.claude/skills/capcut ``` ## README # capcut The **short-form editing tool skill** — edit to the script, drive the pace, ink the captions, tighten sound with the license check, and ship safe + to spec. The agent plans and flags the hazards; the **human executes and approves**; **WoopSocial publishes** the finished file. (Ships with `tools/integrations/capcut.md`.) ## The POV: the edit serves the script — and "free" has fine print CapCut earned its place as the default short-form editor: auto-captions in seconds, beat-sync, background removal, trend templates, phone-to-desktop sync — with a **~15-minute ceiling by design** (it's a short-form tool; route long-form to Descript/Resolve). Two top-1% edges most creators learn the hard way. **(1) The licensing fine print:** the June 2025 ToS grants ByteDance a perpetual, transferable, sublicensable license to anything **uploaded/synced** (you keep copyright — it's a license, not ownership, stated precisely) — so **client/NDA material edits locally, never synced**; and the music trap: free-library assets are personal-use only, and even tracks labeled **"Commercial use" are reported cleared for TikTok/CapCut platforms only** — YouTube/IG claims still happen, verify per track. **(2) Check the tier before you build:** features migrate behind Pro over time, and the documented failure is hours of editing ending at a paywalled export. The craft line: the edit **executes what `short-form-video-script` designed** — pacing, captions, and sound serve the beats; and auto-captions always get an accuracy pass, because a wrong claim in a caption is a published error. ## Read these first 1. **short-form-video-script** — the beats this edit executes. 2. **brand-profile** + **design-and-templates** (caption style/type/color) + **voice-builder** (any copy/TTS). ## The framework: EDITS (Depth: `references/the-edits-framework.md`.) - **E — Edit to the script:** load the beats; cut everything that isn't in them; the hook lands in the first seconds; the last cut is the loop. - **D — Drive the pace:** visual change every ~2–4s (jump cuts, punch-ins/keyframes, B-roll, text pops); beat-sync; scrub-test for dead stretches. - **I — Ink the captions:** auto-captions + the mandatory accuracy pass; style once, save the preset; sound-off first; SRT/VTT export when copy travels. - **T — Tighten sound + effects (the license gate):** license-check music BEFORE export (the "Commercial use"-is-TikTok-only trap); platform-native audio, licensed tracks, or ai-music-and-sound; effects sparingly. - **S — Ship safe + to spec:** right resolution/fps per destination; ToS hygiene (local-only for client work); likeness/AI-disclosure handled; export → scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial. ## The reality (verify-quarterly) 2026 CapCut: auto-captions (free ~10-min/project cap; Pro unlimited; SRT/VTT/ASS export), real-time background removal, motion/camera tracking, vocal isolation + flicker removal (Pro), TTS/avatars, Long-Video-to-Shorts, keyframes/beat-sync, MP4/MOV to 4K (Pro). Plans restructured early 2026 — **Standard ≈ $9.99 / Pro ≈ $19.99 (~$15 annual); sources conflict (regional/legacy $7.99–9.99 figures) — verify in-app**, and features migrate behind Pro over time (check tiers before building). Documented billing/cancellation complaints (manage via app store). The ToS + music-license spines as above. India ban since 2020. **Attribute all; verify-quarterly.** Full detail: `references/capcut-2026-reality.md`. The daily loop, the pre-edit tier check, the client-work hygiene checklist, long-form routing, and two worked examples: `references/workflows-and-templates.md`. ## Honest scope (never violate) - **The agent** plans the edit (cut plan, pacing, caption spec, sound plan + license gates, export spec) and flags every ToS/licensing hazard; the **human executes in CapCut**, judges footage, approves the cut (no CapCut agent connector — never pretend to see or edit video; never fabricate "that cut works"). **WoopSocial publishes** the finished export (TikTok's required fields validate there) — it does **not** edit video; CapCut's direct-to-TikTok path exists and the split is a stated choice. - **Licensing/ToS spine:** personal-use free assets; "Commercial use" music verified per track; uploaded-content license → **client/NDA work local-only, never synced** (counsel for high-stakes; not legal advice); users bear responsibility for uploads. **Likeness + AI-disclosure:** no non-consensual lip-sync/deepfakes; disclose TTS/AI voices where required (EU AI Act; C2PA). **Never** pirated packs, unlicensed music, uncorrected captions, or fabricated prices/gates/metrics. (Full scope: `references/scope-and-connections.md`.) ## Distinct from its siblings (route correctly) **capcut (this)** = the short-form timeline edit · **short-form-video-script** = designs the beats (read first) · **captions-and-clipping / opus-clip** = clip long video into shorts (feeds this) · **descript** = text-based talk/long-form editing (the >15-min route) · **canva** = graphics + simple motion · **ai-video / veo-3 / kling / runway** = generate footage (this edits it) · **talking-head-and-piece-to-camera** = the performance the footage comes from · **tiktok-video-publishing / instagram-reels-publishing / youtube-shorts** = platform publish specifics. ## Where this connects Reads first: **short-form-video-script** + **brand-profile/design-and-templates** + **voice-builder.** Pulls footage from: **talking-head-and-piece-to-camera**, **ai-video/heygen** (disclosed), **captions-and-clipping.** Feeds: **tiktok-video-publishing**, **instagram-reels-publishing**, **youtube-shorts**, **before-after-and- transformation**, **content-recycling.** Publishes via: export → **scheduling-and-queue → WoopSocial.** Tool file: **`tools/integrations/capcut.md`.** Measure with: native + **analytics-and-reporting** on watch-through / 3s hold — never fabricated. ## Definition of done A short-form edit that executes the script's beats (hook inside the first seconds, dead air gone, the loop cut last), paced with a visual change every ~2–4s and beat-synced sound, captioned via auto-captions plus the mandatory accuracy pass in a saved on-brand preset inside safe zones, with every asset license-checked before export (personal-use free assets avoided for commercial work; "Commercial use" music verified per destination platform; no pirated packs or unlicensed songs), the ToS hygiene held (client/NDA material local-only, never synced), likeness/AI-disclosure handled (no non-consensual lip-sync; TTS/avatars disclosed where required), and the export to spec per destination; tiers checked before the edit was built (no paywall surprise at export), the human executing and approving the cut, and the finished file published via WoopSocial; measured on watch-through/ 3s hold natively; **no fabricated prices, feature gates, capabilities, or metrics**; and correctly distinguished from short-form-video-script, captions-and-clipping/opus-clip, descript, canva, and the video generators.