OpenVideo

A local-first desktop studio for recording a selected window, organizing media, editing a timeline, and exporting an MP4—without uploading your project or media.

Quick start · What works today · Local-first · Contributing · Security

Important

MVP status. OpenVideo is under active development. It runs from source today; it does not yet provide a packaged installer or auto-update service. The hero artwork is concept artwork and does not indicate that external AI-video features are available.

What is OpenVideo?

OpenVideo is an open-source Electron application for creators who want a straightforward, private video workflow on their own machine. Select a desktop window, record it to a local WebM file, arrange local media in a timeline, review it in the Program Monitor, and render a local H.264/AAC MP4 using FFmpeg.

The application is deliberately local-first today: no account, cloud upload, analytics, crash reporting, or provider network calls are part of the current product. Its approved future direction is a hybrid AI editor built around the same local workflow; see the hybrid AI editor direction.

What works today

Surface	Current capability
Selected-window recording	Lists capturable desktop windows, grants capture only for the actively selected source, and saves incremental WebM recordings locally.
Local projects and media	Creates local projects, imports local assets, and keeps projects, assets, recordings, voice profiles, TTS output, and exports in local app storage.
Timeline editing	Adds tracks and clips; trim, split, delete, and adjust opacity, scale, position, rotation, volume, keyframes, transitions, and audio mix settings.
Review	Provides playhead movement and a best-effort Program Monitor for reviewing saved timeline state.
Final export	Renders a saved timeline locally to H.264 video and AAC audio in an MP4 container through a locally installed FFmpeg executable.
Optional local narration	Supports consent-based local voice profiles and user-configured local_qwen TTS jobs. No model or runtime is downloaded by OpenVideo.

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22 or newer
• npm 10 or newer
• FFmpeg for final MP4 export
• On macOS, Screen Recording permission for the terminal that runs OpenVideo or for the packaged app when one becomes available

Install and run

git clone https://github.com/Theorvane/openvideo.git
cd openvideo
npm install
npm run dev

The first capture attempt on macOS can require a permission prompt or a relaunch after you grant access.

Export an MP4

OpenVideo uses your local FFmpeg executable. Set an absolute executable path, or make ffmpeg discoverable through an absolute directory in PATH:

VIDEO_TOOL_FFMPEG_PATH=/absolute/path/to/ffmpeg npm run dev

Relative FFmpeg paths are rejected. If FFmpeg is unavailable, OpenVideo reports the local runtime issue and does not start an export job.

A local editing workflow

1. Choose a window — refresh the available sources and select one desktop window.
2. Record locally — preview, record, pause, resume, and stop. The result is written as a local WebM file.
3. Build a project — create a project, import local media, and place assets on timeline tracks.
4. Shape the edit — trim, split, delete, adjust clip properties, and review the playhead in Program Monitor.
5. Export locally — save the timeline and render an MP4 with the local FFmpeg runtime.

Recordings are stored under Electron user data by default:

<Electron userData>/recordings

For development, override that directory with an absolute path:

VIDEO_TOOL_RECORDINGS_DIR=/absolute/path/to/recordings npm run dev

Local-first by design

OpenVideo separates Electron's main process, preload bridge, and React renderer. The renderer receives a narrow, typed window.videoTool API; raw ipcRenderer, local file paths, FFmpeg arguments, voice-sample paths, and export paths remain outside the renderer.

This boundary supports a few non-negotiables:

• Your media stays on your device. There is no cloud upload, hosted render queue, account system, analytics, crash reporting, or provider network call.
• Capture is constrained. The app grants access only to the selected desktop source.
• Voice consent matters. Local voice references must be yours or collected with permission, are stored locally, and can be deleted.
• Final rendering stays local. FFmpeg is the authoritative output path for supported saved timeline state.

Optional local Qwen TTS

OpenVideo can start a local_qwen TTS job only after you configure a compatible local wrapper and model files yourself. This is an optional audio-asset workflow; it does not replace recording and it does not make external requests.

Read the local Qwen voice-profile guide and begin with the safe configuration example. The configuration path and all filesystem paths used by the wrapper must be absolute:

VIDEO_TOOL_TTS_CONFIG_PATH=/absolute/path/to/local-qwen-tts.json npm run dev

Current boundaries and planned seams

OpenVideo intentionally has a narrow MVP boundary.

Available now	Not available now
Selected-window capture	Full-screen capture
Local WebM recordings	Microphone or system-audio mix in the selected-window recorder
Local projects, media, and timeline editing	Cloud sync, uploads, hosted rendering, accounts, analytics, crash reporting, or auto-update
Local H.264/AAC MP4 export	Multiple final export formats or frame-perfect/multitrack mastering guarantees
User-configured local Qwen TTS	Automatic model/runtime downloads or guaranteed wrapper compatibility
Provider interfaces in src/shared/providerSeams.ts	Gemini Veo, OpenAI Sora, ElevenLabs, or any other external AI provider integration

Program Monitor is a best-effort review surface, not a frame-perfect final render. For supported saved timeline state, FFmpeg MP4 export is the authoritative local output.

Verify from source

npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run build

npm run build compiles Electron main, preload, and renderer output into out/. It does not package an installer.

For end-to-end manual QA, run the app on macOS with Screen Recording permission, record one selected window, create a project with a local asset, make a small timeline edit, and export an MP4. Automated tests cannot grant the operating-system permission.

Contribute

OpenVideo welcomes focused contributions that preserve its local-first and security boundaries.

1. Read AGENTS.md and search existing issues and pull requests.
2. Create or find a GitHub issue, update dev, and create a focused branch.
3. Add or update tests for behavior changes.
4. Run the checks above and open a pull request to dev.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the workflow, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md for participation expectations, SUPPORT.md for help, and SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure guidance.

License

OpenVideo is distributed under the MIT License.