capcut-cli

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Privacy — update to 0.18.0 if you have ever run capcut fixture. In every version up to and including 0.17.2, the bundle that command produces carries the device_id, mac_address and hard_disk_id CapCut stamps into your drafts. Only home paths and email addresses were redacted, and SANITIZE_REPORT.json wrote its own source_dir / out_dir unredacted, putting the username back. Because the documented flow is to attach that bundle to a public issue, following it published a stable device ID and MAC address while the filename and the report both said "sanitised". Fixed in 0.18.0 (#59). Treat any bundle generated by an earlier version as unsanitised. npm install -g capcut-cli@latest.

Security — update to 0.17.1 or newer. Versions up to and including 0.17.0 build the automation script behind export --batch by pasting the draft folder's name into it, so a folder named with the right characters can run commands of its own on macOS and Windows. Fixed in 0.17.1, together with an ffmpeg filter option injection reachable from a draft's caption colour (render --burn-captions), a compile spec whose name could write outside the draft store, predictable temp files on every draft write, and serve echoing credential values into its own output. Both injection paths need a draft folder or draft file you did not author, so the exposure is local rather than remote. npm install -g capcut-cli@latest. Details in the changelog.

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 <command> <project>
• Library — import { loadDraft, lintDraft, saveDraft } from "capcut-cli" (typed, zero-dep)
• Queue runner — capcut serve reads JSONL jobs from stdin, for n8n / Make / Coze

New in v0.18.0: capcut fixture now redacts the device identifiers CapCut stamps into every draft, so a bundle is finally safe to attach to a public issue (#59); init warns when the bundled template predates the CapCut version that owns the target drafts folder, instead of letting the app refuse the draft with a misleading "unusual path" error (#67); the nested Timelines/ guidance is gated on detected app version, so 8.5.0 users stop seeing a 7.x warning their own evidence contradicts (#68); and the schema docs record CapCut's frame quantisation of durations on first open (#69). Full details in the changelog.

New in v0.17.1: seven security fixes, led by the two export --batch command-injection paths above, plus a performance pass that makes lint --fix and lint roughly 4x faster on large projects and starts every invocation 22-27% sooner by loading command modules only when they are used, and a subtraction pass that drops dead code, folds ten duplicated blocks into shared helpers, and ships 28 fewer files. No command or flag changed, and written drafts stay byte-identical to v0.17.0. Full details in the changelog.

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.

npm install -g capcut-cli      # or: npx capcut-cli <command>

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).

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.

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

Full reference for every command, option, and exit code: docs/command-reference.md (简体中文: docs/command-reference.zh-CN.md).

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 →

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

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 for the CapCut/JianYing versions and schema flags it understands.

• docs/command-reference.md — every command and flag (简体中文)
• docs/quickstart.zh-CN.md — 剪映快速上手 (JianYing-first quickstart, Simplified Chinese)
• examples/ — end-to-end recipes (VO alignment, serve automation, batch subtitle correction)
• docs/version-support.md · docs/jianying-encryption.md
• CHANGELOG.md · Releases — what's new
• draftcat — sibling project: governed AI pipelines (Go, MIT), same single-binary, no-API design

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.

MIT