Video export
Render your timeline to a finished file from the export dialog, without uploading your footage anywhere.
Quick overview
- Open the export dialog with the export button on the toolbar, or
Ctrl + Shift + E. - Pick a format, resolution, aspect ratio, and frame rate.
- Choose a quality preset, and decide whether to include audio.
- Optionally trim the export to a range of the timeline.
- Start the export and watch the progress bar, or minimize it to a floating popup and keep editing.
- The finished file downloads automatically when it's done.
Detailed reference
Formats
| Format | Container | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MP4 (H.264) | .mp4 | Widest compatibility, social platforms, sharing |
| WebM (VP9) | .webm | Web playback, smaller files |
| GIF | .gif | Short, silent, looping clips |
| WAV | .wav | Audio only, no video |
| Image sequence | .zip of frames | Frame-by-frame work in another tool |
MP4 is the fully supported export today
MP4 renders end to end reliably. The other formats are offered in the export dialog but are still being wired up, so they may not produce a file yet. Export to MP4 for now. See Supported formats.
Today the Format field in the export dialog lists MP4 (H.264) only; the table above reflects where the format reference is headed as the other encoders get wired up, not what you can pick right now.
Resolution
| Preset | Dimensions (16:9) |
|---|---|
| 480p | 854 × 480 |
| 720p | 1280 × 720 |
| 1080p Full HD | 1920 × 1080 |
| 1440p QHD | 2560 × 1440 |
| 4K Ultra HD | 3840 × 2160 |
The output dimensions adjust to whichever aspect ratio you pick; the preset above sets the long edge.
Aspect ratio
| Ratio | Use |
|---|---|
| 16:9 | Standard widescreen |
| 9:16 | Portrait, stories and reels |
| 1:1 | Square |
| 4:3 | Classic |
| 21:9 | Ultra-wide |
Frame rate
Choose 24 fps for a filmic feel, 30 fps as a general default, or 60 fps for smooth motion.
Quality preset
| Preset | Trade-off |
|---|---|
| Draft | Fastest, lowest bitrate, good for a quick check |
| Standard | Balanced, the default |
| High Quality | Heavier bitrate, largest file |
Range and audio
Export the whole timeline, or set a start and end point to render just a section. If your project has audio tracks, toggle whether to include them in the render.
How it renders
Export uses the browser's WebCodecs API with a hardware encoder preference: where your device has hardware-accelerated H.264 encoding, the browser uses it directly for a fast render; where it does not, the same WebCodecs pipeline still encodes in software, just slower, so the render still completes without any extra steps on your part. Either way, nothing is uploaded, your footage never leaves your machine to render.
The encoder probes H.264 quality profiles from High down to Baseline for the widest compatibility, and audio (when included) is mixed down and encoded to AAC separately before both streams are combined into the final MP4. A snapshot of your project is taken before encoding starts, so you can switch to another page or part and keep working while the export finishes in the background. Progress reporting shows the current frame, a percentage, and an estimated time remaining. Cancel at any point, or minimize the dialog to a small popup and keep working elsewhere while it finishes.
Step by step
1. Export a finished cut to MP4
- Open the export dialog with the export button on the toolbar (the download icon on the right) or
Ctrl + Shift + E. - Step 1 of the wizard is for platform presets; there's nothing to pick yet, so click Next to move straight to Settings.
- In Settings, leave Format on MP4 (H.264), choose a resolution and aspect ratio, and pick a frame rate. If your project has audio, leave Include audio tracks checked.
- Click Next to reach the summary, review the estimated file size and duration, then click Export.
- Watch the progress bar (frame count, percent, ETA), or click the minimize button to shrink it to a floating popup and keep editing while it renders. The file downloads automatically when it finishes.
2. Export just a section for a quick check
- Open the export dialog and go to Settings.
- Set Draft as the quality preset for the fastest render.
- Enter a start and end time in the Range fields to cover just the part you want to check, instead of the whole timeline.
- Export as usual; a short draft-quality clip renders far faster than the full timeline at High Quality, so you can confirm your settings before committing to the full export.
3. Export a vertical clip for a story or reel
- Open the export dialog and go to Settings.
- Set Aspect to 9:16 (Portrait) and Quality to 1080p Full HD.
- Set FPS to 30, the common default for short-form vertical video.
- Export; the output dimensions are computed from the resolution preset and the aspect ratio together, so a 9:16 1080p export renders at 1080x1920.
Common tasks
| Task | Steps |
|---|---|
| Cancel a render in progress | Click Cancel in the export dialog, or in the minimized popup; the partial encode is discarded, nothing downloads |
| Keep working during a long export | Click the minimize button once export starts; the export keeps rendering in the background off a snapshot of your project while you switch pages or parts |
| Match a platform's expected size | Pick the resolution and aspect ratio combination the destination wants (see the tables above) before you export; there's no separate resize step afterward |
| Skip audio in the render | Uncheck Include audio tracks in Settings before exporting, if your project has an audio track you don't want in the file |
Troubleshooting
- Export says an encoder isn't available. MP4 export needs the WebCodecs API and the mp4-muxer library the app ships with; on a browser that lacks WebCodecs (roughly Chrome and Edge before version 94, or Safari before 16.4), the dialog reports the encoder as unavailable instead of attempting a render. Update or switch browsers to export.
- The Preset step in the wizard is empty. That's expected right now; there are no preset cards to choose from yet. Click Next to skip straight to Settings and choose your options manually.
- The export finished but has no sound. If your browser's audio encoder doesn't support AAC, the export quietly continues as a video-only file rather than failing outright. Try a current version of Chrome or Edge if you need audio in the output.
- Export seems stuck on "Rendering audio…". On a timeline with several audio clips, the audio mix is rendered offline before video encoding even starts; a long or effects-heavy audio timeline can make this step take a noticeable moment before the frame-by-frame progress bar appears.
- Nothing happens when you click Export. Check the Format field: today it only offers MP4. Formats picked through any other path aren't wired to a working encoder yet and report "Encoder not available" rather than producing a file.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl + Shift + E | Open the export dialog |
Tips
Match the destination
Export at the size and frame rate the destination expects: vertical at 30 fps for a story, 1080p at 30 fps for most social video.
Trim the range for a quick check
Rendering a full timeline can take a while on a long video. Set a short range first to confirm your format and quality settings look right before exporting the whole thing.
Related
- Video editor overview for the full workspace
- Timeline and tracks for setting up what you are about to export
- Effects, transitions, and color for the look that gets baked into the render
- Audio, recording, and subtitles for what the audio toggle includes
- Supported formats for format details across the whole app