How to Contribute

There are a number of ways to contribute for people all skills and skill levels.

Translation

We use the Transifex collaboration web site to translate the Shotcut user interface. Additional languages are already started but have not yet reached the 60% minimum level to be included in a Shotcut release.

Support Other Users

An easy way for non-programmers to help is simply to participate in the Shotcut Forum by answering user’s questions. Alternatively, consider making a tutorial video on YouTube or similar.

Write Documentation

We are now building documentation in the forum using its wiki-mode where any trusted user (some forum experience required or manual promotion) can edit the topic. Please treat this like real documentation you would see in a user manual. Some day these topics might get compiled into an offline help file or large document. Initially, we only have English, but it is a sub-category with the hope that some day a volunteer will offer to translate to another language.

Report a Bug

You can report a bug on the Shotcut Forum using the Bug category or on GitHub Issues. Bug reports must include the Shotcut version, your operating system, and the steps. It can helpful to include a screenshot, screencast video, or project file. Please do not use this to request a feature.

Make a Preset

After you make a filter preset that you think others would like, you can share it on the Shotcut Forum or as a GitHub Pull Request. You can locate presets on your system by choosing Settings > App Data Directory > Show… and navigating to the presets folder.

Add a Filter

The engine has many additional filters that are not yet exposed. You can easily add a Shotcut UI for it. You can see existing filter UIs and add your own in your Shotcut install folder, look in the folder share/shotcut/qml/filters (Shotcut.app/Contents/Resources/shotcut/qml/filters on macOS).

See How to Make a Plugin for more information. You can share your filter UI on the Shotcut Forum or as a GitHub Pull Request.

Write Code

The biggest impact you can make is to contribute a code change and submit that as a GitHub Pull Request. To make working on Shotcut code and some of its dependencies easier we provide some SDKs with setup instructions. Of course, you are free to try to work on the Shotcut code another way, but there is no help provided for that as it gets very complicated quickly.

How To Use the Linux SDK
How To Use the Windows SDK
How To Use the macOS SDK

All code contributions should assign copyright to Meltytech, LLC; however, exceptions may be considered for a major contribution.

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Shotcut is a free, open source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. Major features include support for a wide range of formats; no import required meaning native timeline editing; Blackmagic Design support for input and preview monitoring; and resolution support to 4k.

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