Editor

Every command that opens, changes, checks or renders the edited cut of an episode, with its usage, options and errors.

These commands work on one episode's cut, the file index.html in the episode folder. An episode folder is <project>/episodes/ep01. Your agent runs them in the Edit loop, after the Videos loop.

Every command on this page needs a signed-in computer. Signed out, each one prints You are not signed in. Ask your agent to run minicut login. and exits with code 10. See Account.

Every command except minicut edit and minicut catalog runs in the episode folder. A path you name must be inside that folder.

minicut edit

Opens the MiniCut editor on one episode and prints a link to it.

Usage

minicut edit PROJECT [--episode EPISODE] [--port PORT]

Replace the following:

• PROJECT: the project id or the project folder.
• EPISODE: the episode, ep01 to ep999.
• PORT: the port on your computer the editor listens on.

Details

The editor runs on your computer until you stop it. Each episode keeps its port, so the link stays the same on every restart while that port is free. If another program holds the port, the editor moves to a free one and says the link changed. If this episode's editor is already running, the command prints its address and starts nothing new.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Open the first episode of a project

minicut edit night-market

You see the editor version, a link that works once within 2 minutes, and the command that stops the editor.

Open episode 2

minicut edit night-market --episode ep02

Output

The link carries a one-time code. To open the editor again after 2 minutes, run minicut edit again. Stop the editor with Ctrl+C.

See also

minicut render, Projects

minicut render

Renders the episode in this folder to a video file, or runs the editor's lint, check or transcript import on it.

Usage

minicut render [-o FILE] [--quality {draft|looks|delivery}]
minicut render lint [--json]
minicut render check [--json]
minicut render transcribe TRANSCRIPT

Replace the following:

• FILE: the video file to write, a .mp4, .webm or .mov path inside the episode folder, for example renders/ep01.mp4.
• TRANSCRIPT: a .json transcript file inside the episode folder.

Details

minicut render makes the finished episode as one video file in the episode folder. lint is a fast check of the cut while you edit. check runs lint, then opens the cut and checks it again. transcribe puts a transcript into the episode.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Render the final file

minicut render -o renders/ep01.mp4 --quality delivery

You see the render's progress, then the file appears at renders/ep01.mp4.

Check the cut before a render

minicut render check

Output

lint and check print one line for each problem. With --json they print the result as JSON.

See also

minicut snapshot, Checks and loops

minicut timeline

Prints the cut, or changes it in one step that minicut timeline undo reverses.

Usage

minicut timeline [--json]
minicut timeline {move|trim|split|delete|duplicate|ids|apply|undo} ...
minicut timeline set '#CLIP_ID' --text "WORDS" [--json]
minicut timeline fit [--plan] [--json]
minicut timeline fit --undo

Replace the following:

• CLIP_ID: the id of a caption, title or card clip, for example cap-c05-l01.
• WORDS: the new words for that clip.

Details

With no subcommand, minicut timeline lists every track and clip: starts, ends and what plays. Each change is one step, and each step can be undone. Run minicut timeline SUBCOMMAND --help for the arguments a subcommand takes.

fit moves everything after a shortened shot up, so the cut gets shorter and no take ends on a still frame. A shot whose clip.json says "fit": "freeze" keeps its still frame.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

List the clips in the cut

minicut timeline

You see every track and clip in the cut, with its start and end.

Change the words of one caption

minicut timeline set '#cap-c05-l01' --text "I never left." --json

Preview a fit without changing the cut

minicut timeline fit --plan

Output

See also

minicut captions, minicut render

minicut captions

Redoes every caption in the episode to one standard.

Usage

minicut captions [EPISODE_FOLDER] [--top LINE_IDS] [--bottom LINE_IDS] [--json]

Replace the following:

• EPISODE_FOLDER: the episode folder. Without it, the current folder.
• LINE_IDS: one or more spoken line ids, comma separated, for example c05-l01.

Details

Each caption goes bottom centre inside the title safe area, at most 2 lines, split at the natural break and timed to its line's audio. The words stay as they are. Run it again after you change the words with minicut timeline set. The Mock and Edit loops check captions with minicut check captions.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Redo every caption in episode 1

minicut captions episodes/ep01

Move one line to the top of the frame

minicut captions episodes/ep01 --top c05-l01

You see the captions it changed, then whether every caption now meets the standard.

Output

See also

Checks and loops, minicut timeline

minicut snapshot

Saves still pictures of the episode in this folder, with no render.

Usage

minicut snapshot [--frames COUNT | --at SECONDS] [-o FOLDER]

Replace the following:

• COUNT: how many stills to take across the episode.
• SECONDS: the times to take stills at, comma separated, for example 1.5,3.
• FOLDER: the folder for the stills, inside the episode folder.

Details

A snapshot is the fast way to look at the cut. It needs the browser that minicut setup installs.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Take stills at three times

minicut snapshot --at 1,3,5 -o snapshots

You see the path of each still it saved.

See also

minicut keyframes, minicut compare

minicut keyframes

Saves pictures of how each animation in the episode moves.

Usage

minicut keyframes [TARGET] [--selector SELECTOR]

Replace the following:

• TARGET: a file inside the episode folder to look at. Without it, the episode.
• SELECTOR: a CSS selector. Only the elements that match it are shown.

Details

Use it to check that a title, name tag or effect moves the way you want. It needs the browser that minicut setup installs.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Check every animation in the episode

minicut keyframes

See also

minicut compare

Puts versions side by side in one picture.

Usage

minicut compare FOLDER [--out FILE]

Replace the following:

• FOLDER: a folder inside the episode folder that holds the versions to compare.
• FILE: the picture to write, inside the episode folder.

Details

Use it to choose between versions of a shot or a still. It needs the browser that minicut setup installs.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Compare the stills in one folder

minicut compare snapshots --out compare.png

See also

minicut grade-compare, minicut snapshot

minicut grade-compare

Puts colour looks for one clip side by side in one picture.

Usage

minicut grade-compare --for CLIP [--grades LOOKS]

Replace the following:

• CLIP: the clip to show the looks on.
• LOOKS: the colour looks to compare, comma separated.

Details

Use it to pick the colour look of the episode before the final render. It needs the browser that minicut setup installs.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

See also

minicut catalog

Lists the ready-made titles, name tags, transitions and effects that come with the editor.

Usage

minicut catalog [WORDS] [--type {block|component}] [--json]

Replace the following:

• WORDS: what you want, in English, for example reveal a headline one line at a time.

Details

The search runs on your computer. Search before you build a title or effect by hand, then add the one you pick with minicut add. minicut catalog works in any folder.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Search for a title

minicut catalog "reveal a headline one line at a time" --json

You see the matching pieces, best match first, each with its name.

See also

minicut add

Puts a ready-made piece into the episode in this folder.

Usage

minicut add NAME [--force]

Replace the following:

• NAME: the piece's name, as minicut catalog lists it.

Details

The piece's files go into the episode folder. You then place it in the cut.

Options

Global options: see Global options.

Examples

Add a film grain effect

minicut add grain-overlay

See also

Errors

Next