Setup guide

Concat, the free CapCut alternative, step by step

Concat is a free video editor for Android phones and Windows, Mac and Linux laptops. Everything runs on your device: no account, nothing uploaded, no watermark.

Before you start

Concat is still in beta (version 0.2.8), so expect a few rough edges. Its builder, jub0t, asks you to report anything that breaks on GitHub.

The downloads are not signed yet, so your device will warn you the first time. Step 1 shows how to get past that on each device.

Your first video in 4 steps

  1. Download Concat

    The download page picks the right version for your phone or laptop automatically.

    Open the download page

    Android (8.0 or later): Android asks you to allow installs from this source the first time. Allow it, then install.

    Windows: when SmartScreen stops it, tap More info › Run anyway.

    Mac (macOS 12 or later): drag Concat to Applications. If macOS says the app is damaged, run this once in Terminal:

    Mac Terminal command 
    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Concat.app

    Linux has AppImage, deb, rpm and Arch packages on the same page. iPhone is beta and sideload only, not on the App Store.

  2. Add your video

    On a phone: start a new project, tap Media › Import media, then tap your video to put it on the timeline.

    On a laptop: click New project, pick 9:16 for Reels and Shorts, then click Import and double-click your video.

  3. Generate the captions

    On a phone: tap Captions on the bottom strip.

    On a laptop: select your video on the timeline, then click the T button (Generate Captions) on the timeline tray.

    Pick a model, a placement (Bottom, Centre or Top) and a size, then tap Generate captions. One caption lands per spoken phrase, timed to your words.

    The first time, Concat downloads the caption model (Base is about 148 MB). After that it works offline.

  4. Export in 4K

    The video exports at your project's size, so set the project to 4K (when you create it, or later with Modify).

    Then tap Export (top bar on a phone, top right on a laptop) and keep the codec on H.264. There's no watermark.

    On Android the file goes to your Movies folder, so it shows up in your gallery.

Remove the background

Select your clip. On a phone tap Edit; on a laptop open the Inspector's Video tab. Find Remove background, choose Auto removal and set Subject to Person.

No green screen needed. The first time it downloads a 15 MB model for people.

Official guides