Exporting

How do I export from ChatCut — formats, resolutions, and options?

ChatCut’s export panel offers two video codecs (MP4/H.264 and WebM/VP8), four resolution presets from 480p to 4K, and five frame rates, defaulting to 1080p H.264 on every plan.

Resolution presets

Each resolution preset sets the target pixel count of the video’s short side:

4K is only offered when exporting locally from the desktop app. Cloud/web export exposes 480p, 720p, and 1080p only — 4K isn’t available there regardless of plan.

Frame rate options

Frame rate is chosen from five fixed values, or left unset to render at the timeline’s own composition fps:

Codecs and quality settings

Two video codecs are available, each rendered at a fixed compression quality (CRF — lower means higher quality and a larger file):

Neither H.264 nor VP8 export is plan-gated — both are available on every plan.

ProRes export for motion graphics

Motion graphics have a separate export path: each motion graphic renders as its own ProRes 4444 .mov file with a transparent alpha channel. ProRes 4444 export requires a Pro plan — it’s gated behind the prores_export feature key, one of the two feature keys a Pro subscription unlocks.

Default settings

If you don’t change any export setting, ChatCut renders at 1080p in H.264.

The “Export Settings” dialog has five tabs — Video, Audio, Graphics, Subtitles, and XML — each one producing a different kind of output file from the current project’s timeline. The header “Export” button that opens this dialog is disabled while the timeline is empty.

What does each tab export?

When is the Export button disabled?

The header “Export” button is disabled whenever the timeline is empty. Add at least one clip to the timeline to enable it.

What happens after I start an export?

Starting an export opens a queue card anchored under the header Export button. Each row shows a type badge (VIDEO, AUDIO, GRAPHICS, SUBTITLES, or XML), the export’s name, and a status word; about three rows are visible at once, with the rest reachable by scrolling. Hovering a row reveals an X that cancels the export while it’s still running, or dismisses the row once it’s finished — dismissing only removes it from the queue and never deletes the rendered file. The queue only reflects exports observed in your current session: renders that had already finished when you loaded the editor never enter it, so it starts empty after a page refresh.

How does cloud export progress and notify me?

A cloud render shows staged progress — Preparing, Exporting, Re-encoding audio, Finalizing, Checking status — with its progress bar capped at 97% until the render actually finishes. A render still running after 100 seconds switches its row to “Taking longer than usual,” with the note “This can take a few minutes for longer or higher-resolution videos.” If you start a cloud export while media is still uploading, ChatCut queues it as “Preparing media…” with a rough time-left estimate and starts it automatically once uploads finish; a queued export survives up to 24 hours before being dropped.

How do I get a finished export, and how long can I access it?

A completed cloud render downloads automatically once per browser — if you have multiple tabs open, only one claims the download, and its row then reads “Saved to your Downloads.” You can still retrieve it afterward: a completed row offers “Download again” and “View” (an in-app player with its own download button). A finished local (desktop) export instead reads “Saved to your selected folder,” with “Show in Finder” and “Open” actions in place of a download link. If an export fails, its row shows a “Retry” link. The export queue and its retry/download actions only reach the 20 most recent render jobs for the project, so older renders drop out of reach through this dialog.

See also: How do I export from ChatCut — formats, resolutions, and options, Can I export in 4K, How is the ChatCut editor laid out.

How do I export subtitles from ChatCut?

Open the Export Settings dialog and switch to the Subtitles tab, then choose SubRip (.srt) or Plain text (.txt) from the Format control. Captions must be turned on first — the tab shows “Turn on captions first — subtitles are exported from the active caption track.” if no caption track is active. Export stays disabled until every clip on the caption track finishes transcribing, showing “Transcription is still running. Try again once every clip on the caption track finishes.” The exported .srt uses the same caption render plan as the burned-in subtitles, so cue timing lines up frame-for-frame with your exported video. If the caption track is scoped to a translation, both formats export the translated text instead of the original language. The file is named after your project, e.g. “<project name>.srt” or “.txt”.

See also: How do I export from ChatCut — formats, resolutions, and options, How do I edit video by editing the transcript.

Can I export my timeline to Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. The editor’s Export Settings dialog has an XML tab that exports your timeline as an FCP7 XMEML .xml file, with separate presets for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve because the two apps interpret Basic Motion scale differently. After importing, point your NLE at the folder holding your original media to relink offline clips.

XML export can’t carry everything: captions, GIFs, motion graphics, solids, SVGs, and text items are dropped, along with border-radius, effects, and transitions — a warning toast lists exactly what was skipped so you can reapply it in your NLE.

If your timeline has motion graphics, a Pro-gated “Include motion graphics” toggle renders each one to a separate ProRes 4444 .mov file with alpha and downloads it alongside the XML; move those files into the same folder as the XML before importing.

See also: Which ChatCut features require a paid plan

Can I export just the audio as an MP3?

Yes — the Audio tab in the export dialog exports your timeline as an MP3 file, and it says exactly what to expect: “Export audio as MP3. Video tracks will be ignored.” Any video on the timeline is skipped; only the audio renders.

Audio export always runs as a cloud render, even if you’re using the desktop app. The mp3 codec is audio-only (no picture, no CRF/quality setting), unlike the H.264 and WebM (VP8) codecs on the Video tab.

See also: How do I export from ChatCut — formats, resolutions, and options.

Can I export with a transparent background?

Yes, for motion graphics: ChatCut exports each motion graphic as its own ProRes 4444 .mov file with an alpha channel, so the background stays transparent. Transparent export only applies to motion graphics, and one ProRes 4444 file is generated per motion graphic — it isn’t a whole-timeline export option. ProRes 4444 export requires a Pro plan; without it, the export option shows a PRO badge and opens the pricing page instead.

Can I export in 4K?

Yes — ChatCut has a 4K export preset, but you can only use it when exporting locally from the desktop app. The four resolution presets are 480p, 720p, 1080p, and 4K, defined by target short-dimension pixel counts of 480, 720, 1080, and 2160 respectively. Exporting from the browser (cloud export) only offers 480p, 720p, and 1080p — 4K is restricted by export location, not by plan, so no subscription upgrade is needed to unlock it.