5.2k stars · Unlicense · 31.6.0 (2026-09-06)
One command strips silence and dead air from a screencast — typically 15-25% shorter, better retention.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
A command-line tool that measures the sound across a recording and removes the quiet parts, then joins what is left. There is no timeline, no settings screen and no project file.
Why it matters
Screen recordings made by one person are full of waiting. None of it is bad footage. It is just time. Time is the only thing between a viewer and the end of your tutorial. Cutting it does not make the video worse. It makes it shorter. Shorter tutorials get finished, and that is close to what YouTube actually rewards. It also makes every other tool here cheaper. Fewer minutes to transcribe. Fewer to fix the loudness. Fewer to caption.
- One command. Nothing to set up except ffmpeg, which you need for #4 anyway.
- Public domain licence. The freest licence in my records.
- Handles any file ffmpeg can read, so it works before or after Camtasia.
- It cuts by loudness. A pause you made on purpose is just silence to it. Watch the result before you publish.
- It re-encodes the video unless you tell it not to. That costs a little quality.
- Install from GitHub, not PyPI. PyPI is nine months behind. See the note above.
source venv/bin/activate pip install --upgrade "auto-editor @ git+https://github.com/WyattBlue/auto-editor" auto-editor lesson.mp4 --output lesson-tight.mp4
