SeniorMatt/kinoklip

What it is

Kinoklip is a non-linear video editor written from scratch in C++20 with Qt 6 Widgets and FFmpeg. Its layout, behavior, and default shortcuts follow DaVinci Resolve's Edit page, with a KDE Breeze look, and it ships as a single AppImage. It targets Linux editors on modest hardware, including integrated GPUs, where Resolve's official support is limited.

The editor decodes through the GPU video engine (VA-API on Intel and AMD), composites with OpenGL, preloads the next clip before a cut, and keeps background work to what the user requests. Resolve's free Linux version lacks H.264/H.265; Kinoklip bundles H.264, H.265, AAC, AV1, VP8/VP9, Opus, Vorbis, and MP3 via FFmpeg for import and export.

All current releases are alpha or beta pre-releases. The project explicitly says it is not a full Resolve replacement and is not yet available on Windows or macOS. It is an independent project, not affiliated with Blackmagic Design, and follows a clean-room policy for Resolve-related behavior clean-room policy.

Quick start

1. Download a release from the releases page. Linux users should take the AppImage bundle.
2. Make it executable and run it from your desktop or terminal. The project documents Linux AppImage packaging in its packaging notes.
3. Open the Project Manager to create a project, then use the Media, Cut, Edit, Compositing, Color, Audio, and Deliver pages. The README's screenshots show each page, and the user guide describes how to use the editor.
4. Start from Resolve's default keyboard shortcuts, or pick a preset for Vegas Pro, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Kdenlive, or Shotcut from the keyboard presets. The default Resolve keymap is documented separately Resolve keymap.

Because releases are pre-release builds, keep backups of projects you care about.

Build from source

Building requires Qt 6 and FFmpeg. The project provides two documented paths: an Arch container or host Qt. Command-line options and the exact build steps are in the building guide. The source tree layout and module contracts are documented in the directory map and architecture plan.

Constraints and licensing

The editor is Linux-only today. It requires a GPU with OpenGL 3.3, including integrated AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA graphics. Releases are beta software and may contain bugs. Kinoklip collects no telemetry, analytics, or automatic crash reports; a bug report shares system information only when the user chooses to, as described in the privacy notes.

The code is GPL-3.0-or-later license, but the Kinoklip name, icon, and logos are not under the GPL, so forks must replace them logo license. The AppImage bundles GPL FFmpeg components, including codec libraries. H.264, H.265, and AAC may be covered by patents in some countries, and users are responsible for determining whether they need a patent license. The project says the app was built with AI, except for the hand-drawn icon, and it does not want AI-generated art contributed.

HotRepo's take

Kinoklip appeared on HotRepo's new-project list for C++ on 2026-11-08, gaining 6 stars during a roughly 2.5-hour observation window and reaching 106 stars. It has not recorded a GitHub daily all-language rank, so there is no broader leaderboard position to point to. The repository is very new and the only HotRepo signal is a short new-list entry, which is not enough to judge long-term adoption. The more concrete distinction is its stated target: Linux editing on OpenGL 3.3 GPUs with free H.264/H.265 support, a narrow gap that Resolve's free Linux build does not fill.