How to cut video footage in Kdenlive on Linux

Do you have some video footage that you need to make some cuts to? Unsure about how to make cuts in footage on Linux? We can help! Follow along as we show you how to use Kdenlive to cut video footage on Linux!

Installing Kdenlive on Linux

Before we can demonstrate how to cut video footage in the Kdenlive video editor, we need to go over how to install the video editor on Linux, as it does not come pre-installed on many Linux operating systems.

To start the installation of the Kdenlive video editor, open up a terminal window. Launch a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Once the terminal window is open and ready to go, follow the installation instructions below that corresponds with your distribution.

Ubuntu

Those on Ubuntu Linux will be able to get the Kdenlive video editor up and running with the Apt package management command below.

sudo apt install kdenlive

Debian

There’s an older version of the Kdelive video editor available for Debian Linux in the “Main” software repository. Though, keep in mind that you may be missing out on newer features by installing it in this way, as Debian takes longer to update software than other distros. To install it, use the following Apt-get command.

sudo apt-get install kdenlive

Want a more up to date version of Kdelive on your Debian PC? Consider following the Flatpak or Snap installation instructions instead.

Arch Linux

On Arch Linux, get the latest Kdelive video editor installed with the following Pacman command.

sudo pacman -S kdenlive

Fedora

To get the latest version of Kdelive working on Fedora Linux, you must use the following Dnf command in a terminal window.

sudo dnf install kdenlive

OpenSUSE

On OpenSUSE, you’ll be able to install a relatively recent version of the Kdenlive video editor by entering the following Zypper command into a terminal.

sudo zypper install kdelive

Keep in mind that some releases of OpenSUSE (LEAP) have older versions of Kdelive available. If you are missing new features, consider following the Flatpak or Snap installation instructions instead.

Flatpak

Kdenlive is available on the Flatpak Flathub store. To get it working on your system, start by enabling the Flatpak runtime on your system. Then, use the commands below to install the software.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo 

flatpak install flathub org.kde.kdenlive

Snap

The Kdenlive video editor is on the Snap package store. So, if you’re running a Linux operating system that has support for Snaps, you’ll be able to get the app working rather quickly.

Note: you must have the Snapd runtime installed and running on your Linux PC to install Snap packages from the Snap store. For more information on how to set up Snapd, click here.

After enabling the Snapd runtime on your Linux PC, use the snap install command to get the latest Kdenlive.

sudo snap install kdenlive

Cut video footage in Kdenlive

Now that the app is installed on your Linux PC launch, Kdenlive on the Linux desktop. Then, find the “New” button and click it to create a new project.

Upon clicking the “New” button, a project selector will appear on the screen. Look through and select the video profile that best matches the video clip you’d like to cut. Then, click “OK” to confirm. Once you’ve set up your new project, click “File” followed by “Save As” and save your project.

With your Kdenlive video project saved, follow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to cut footage.

Step 1: Find the “Project” menu and click on it with the mouse. Then, select the “Add Clip or Folder” button to import footage to the Kdenlive editor.

Step 2: After importing your footage to Kdenlive, it will appear in the “Project Bin.” Click on the clip you wish to cut with the mouse and drag it to the timeline. For best results, drag it to V1 (Video 1).

Step 3: Click on the clip in the timeline with the mouse. Then, press the Spacebar to start playback of the clip in the “Project Monitor.”

Step 4: Watch through your clip in the Kdenlive “Project Monitor” till you get to the part that you’d like to cut. Then, press the Spacebar button again to pause the footage.

Step 5: With the clip playback paused, click on the scissor icon to switch to the “Cut” mode in the Kdenlive video editor. Then, click on the paused spot with the mouse to cut the footage. Repeat steps 3-5 for cuts that must be made in the footage.

Step 6: After you’ve finished cutting your footage in Kdenlive, click on the mouse icon to exit the “Cut” mode. Then, click on the clip you cut and press Delete to remove the cut footage from the timeline.

Step 7: When you delete a cut clip from the project, there will be a gap in the Kdenlive timeline. Drag the remaining footage that was not cut together with the mouse to get rid of the gap.

Done deleting clips from the Kdenlive timeline? Press Ctrl + S to save the edits made.

Step 8: Once the project file is saved, you’re ready to render out the footage as a video file. Locate the “Render” button at the top of the Editor and click it to access the rendering settings for Kdenlive.

Step 9: In the “Rendering” window, select the type of file you’d like to output your footage. Then, click the “Render to File” button to start rendering your newly cut footage.