Before you install anything
- All three run commands on your computer. They install software, read your video folder and run tools like ffmpeg. Start with a copy of one clip in a new folder, never your only copy of a project.
- The installs are free; the AI is on your plan. The AI that drives each tool runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan.
- You need the desktop or terminal version of Claude or ChatGPT. A chat in the browser can't run them.
1. video-use (Browser Use)
What it does: You drop raw clips into a folder and talk to Claude Code. It transcribes the clips, cuts the filler words and dead air, adds short audio fades at the cuts, can colour-grade and burn in subtitles, and hands back one finished file (edit/final.mp4).
Works with: Claude Code and Codex (any agent that can run commands).
How to install:
1. Install ffmpeg (on a Mac: brew install ffmpeg).
2. Clone the repo and link it as a skill:
git clone https://github.com/browser-use/video-use ~/Developer/video-use
ln -sfn ~/Developer/video-use ~/.claude/skills/video-use
3. In the folder: uv sync (or pip install -e .).
4. Copy .env.example to .env and paste your ElevenLabs API key.
What it costs: The code is free and open source (MIT). The transcription runs through ElevenLabs, so you need an ElevenLabs API key: there is a free tier, and past it the speech-to-text price is about $0.22 per hour of audio (as of October 2026). Claude Code runs on your Claude plan.
What it touches: Your video folder (it writes everything into a new edit/ folder next to your clips), ffmpeg on your computer, and one call to ElevenLabs per clip for the transcript.
One line to start: "Use video-use on this folder: cut the ums and the dead air, keep everything else, and give me final.mp4."
Source: github.com/browser-use/video-use (README, 19.10.2026)
2. Tesseract by Mirage
What it does: An editing engine your AI drives: cuts, captions, motion graphics, keyframes, colour and sound. It keeps your edit as a project, so the next change starts from where you left off instead of from zero.
Works with: the ChatGPT desktop app (as a plugin), Claude Code (in the Claude desktop app, local session) and Codex.
How to install:
- ChatGPT desktop: install the official Tesseract plugin by Mirage from the plugin listing, then start a local session with access to your media folder. ChatGPT installs and checks the engine.
- Claude Code: in a terminal, npx skills add mirage-hq/Tesseract (needs Node.js), pick both Tesseract skills, open a new local session and ask Claude to follow the runtime install guide.
- Runs on Mac (Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows 10 or later (64-bit).
What it costs: "Free local engine. No Mirage account required." Rendering on your computer is free. Your ChatGPT or Claude plan is separate.
What it touches: It runs on your computer and needs access to your media folder; your AI installs the engine and runs it to preview and render.
One line to start: "Use Tesseract on clip-01.mov: make the captions bigger and show me a preview before you render."
Source: mirage.app/tesseract/chatgpt and mirage.app/tesseract/claude (19.10.2026)
3. ButterCut
What it does: Claude watches and transcribes your footage, picks the best takes and builds a rough cut, a scene or a selects reel. You get a timeline you open in your own editor. In its own words: "Edits footage. Generates none."
Works with: Claude Code (best in the Claude desktop app); Codex and other coding agents also work.
How to install:
1. On a Mac with an M-series chip, clone the repo and open it:
git clone https://github.com/barefootford/buttercut.git && cd buttercut
2. Open Claude Code there and run the /setup skill. It installs Ruby, Python, FFmpeg and WhisperX for you (Homebrew asks for your password once).
What it costs: The core version is free (single-track cuts, export to Final Cut Pro, Premiere and DaVinci Resolve). ButterCut Pro is $49 a year and adds B-roll over your main track. The transcripts are made on your Mac with WhisperX, so there is no extra API key; Claude runs on your Claude plan.
What it touches: Your footage stays on your Mac. It runs FFmpeg and WhisperX locally and writes a library (transcripts, stills, summaries) and an XML timeline. The summaries and stills are read by Claude.
One line to start: "Make a library from my clips folder, then build a 60-second rough cut with the best takes."
Source: github.com/barefootford/buttercut (README) and buttercut.io (19.10.2026)
Which one first
- You use ChatGPT: start with Tesseract.
- You use Claude Code and talk to camera: start with video-use. It's the quickest way to get rid of the pauses.
- You shoot a lot and edit in Final Cut, Premiere or Resolve: start with ButterCut and let it build the first rough cut.