Rescript - A free, open source, Descript alternative. Runs in-browser.
byā¢
š¬ Open source, transcript-based video editor that lives in the browser.
Edit videos by simply editing the transcript text.
Runs fully in the browser: Local, free and offline!
Replies
Rescript
Running fully in-browser is a strong differentiator for this category, since the thing that makes people hesitate about editing tools is uploading raw footage of themselves to someone else's server.
The tradeoff I'd want measured is where the tab gives up. Browser memory limits are real, and a 90-minute recording is a very different ask than a 5-minute one. Do you have a rough ceiling in practice? And does transcription run locally too, or does that step reach out ā because if it does, the privacy story quietly changes for the part people care about most.
Rescript
@ark_y_kĀ Transcript is also fully local, nothing goes to any server.
On performance, running it on an M1 Macbook, it is able to handle 20min+ videos comfortably.
@wassghaĀ Fully local transcription is the part that makes the privacy claim actually hold ā that's the step most in-browser tools quietly send out, and it's the one carrying the most sensitive content.
20 minutes on an M1 is a useful number to have. What I'd want to know is the shape of the wall past it: does it slow down gradually, or does the tab just die? Degrading is something a user can work around by splitting the file. A crash forty minutes into an edit is the kind of thing people don't come back from. Is there a warning when a file looks too big for the session?
Editing video by tweaking the transcript sounds genuinely clever, especially the local-only angle. One thing that would make it way more useful for me though is multi-track support, since most real projects have narration, music and B-roll that need separate timing rather than living on one timeline.
Rescript
@belinda_lattimoreĀ I agree, but iām hoping folks would contribute that! Open to PRs.
Does it have all features of DeScript or only the transcript based editing feature?
Rescript
@himani_sah1Ā So far, it has the transcript editing and the filler word removal. What other features would be interesting to add?
GrowMeOrganic
Some editing products reduce the video quality when we export the edited clip. Does this retain it as is?
So for example, if the video is in 4K, it exports back 4K, right?
Rescript
@iamanantguptaĀ It will keep the same input resolution.
Dial
love that this is a weekend project and fully local, that's a rare combo for video editing tools. curious how it holds up on longer source files though, like an hour long podcast recording. is the transcription and scrubbing still snappy on a mid-range laptop at that length, or does the in-browser part start to strain once the timeline gets long. either way nice work shipping this solo.
Rescript
@omri_ben_shoham1Ā It would depend on your machine, but an M1+ Macbook is able to comfortably handle 30-1h30 of video totally fine.
Meridian
Transcript-based editing in the browser is a strong idea, especially with everything staying local.
How does Rescript handle edits beyond cuts, such as removing filler words or tightening pauses without making the final video feel unnatural?
Rescript
@adityaharish2002Ā It has one-click filler word removal built in :)
How do you handle longer videos or really dense transcripts in the browser? I'm curious if there's a practical file size limit before things start getting sluggish, since everything's running locally.
How does it handle languages other than English?
Rescript
@kamil_infeldĀ It works in about 10 languages but mainly trained for english.
Editing a transcript instead of a timeline is one of those ideas that feels obvious only after someone builds it. Keeping everything local makes the pitch much stronger for interviews and personal footage. And a weekend project that puts a real workflow on the table is more interesting than another polished roadmap.
Rescript
@ra5tadarkĀ Thank you :)