What you need to run Cutroom
Cutroom runs on Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The editor and the transcription run on the CPU, so you do not need a graphics card to use it. A GPU is a speed-up, not a requirement: it makes exports faster and powers AI upscaling. To drive Cutroom with an AI agent you also need Node.js. Here is the honest minimum and what makes it comfortable.
- OS
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
- CPU
- Any modern 64-bit CPU
- GPU
- Not required
- Disk
- A couple of GB free
- GPU
- A Vulkan-capable GPU
- Memory
- 16 GB
- For AI
- Node.js
The short version
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
Cutroom is a Windows desktop app. Any 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 machine can run it. There is no Mac or Linux build.
Runs on the CPU
The editor and transcription work on any modern 64-bit CPU. A portable transcription engine ships, so no graphics card is required.
A GPU helps, if you have one
A graphics card speeds up video exports and is used for AI upscaling. Without one, exports fall back to software and still finish.
Node.js for the AI
Driving Cutroom with an agent needs Node.js installed. Editing by hand needs nothing extra. Cutroom checks and points you to it.
The floor, and what makes it comfortable
The minimum is genuinely modest, because the editor and transcription run on the CPU. If you have a graphics card, you get faster exports through hardware encoding and you unlock AI upscaling, which needs a Vulkan-capable GPU. More memory helps with 4K footage and several tracks at once. Cutroom does not hard-block on memory: the only thing it checks before it acts is free disk space, before a download.
- Minimum: Windows 10/11 64-bit, a modern CPU, room on disk
- Recommended: a GPU for fast exports and AI upscaling, 16 GB of memory
- Node.js only if you want to drive it with an agent
Minimum vs recommended
No hard memory gate.
The only thing Cutroom checks before it acts is free disk space, before it downloads an engine. It does not block on memory, so the recommended specs are guidance, not a gate.
Room for the engines it downloads
Cutroom downloads a few open-source engines on first run so features like transcription and a full FFmpeg work. The essentials are small. Budget a couple of gigabytes free to be safe, plus space for your own projects and exports. Bigger, more accurate transcription models and the AI upscaler are optional and only download if you use them, so you only spend the disk on what you actually turn on.
- The default transcription model is about 148 MB, a full FFmpeg about 150 MB
- Larger transcription models (about 488 MB and 1.5 GB) are optional
- The AI upscaler downloads only if you use it
First-run engine downloads
- Transcription engine + model
- ≈ 156 MB
- Full FFmpeg
- ≈ 150 MB
- Larger models & upscaler
- Optional
Questions about requirements
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, a modern 64-bit CPU, and a couple of gigabytes of free disk space for the engines it downloads on first run, plus room for your projects. The editor and transcription run on the CPU, so no graphics card is required.
No. A portable transcription engine ships and the editor runs on the CPU, so Cutroom works on machines without a dedicated GPU. A graphics card is a speed-up: it makes exports faster through hardware encoding and is needed for AI upscaling, which uses a Vulkan-capable GPU.
Not today. Cutroom is a Windows desktop app for Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. There is no Mac or Linux build.
There is no hard memory gate; Cutroom does not block on RAM. As guidance, a machine that runs a modern desktop comfortably will run it, and 16 GB is comfortable for 4K footage and several tracks at once.
The first-run essentials are small: the default transcription engine and its English model come to roughly 156 MB, and a full FFmpeg is about 150 MB. Budget a couple of gigabytes free to be safe, plus room for your own media and exports. Larger transcription models and the AI upscaler only download if you use them.
Only to drive Cutroom with an AI agent over MCP, since the connector runs on Node. Editing by hand needs nothing extra. Cutroom checks for Node and points you to it if it is missing.