Shotcut 25.01 Update Brings Bins, HSL Filters, and More

Shotcut, the beloved open-source video editor, has just released its latest version, 25.01, with many new capabilities, enhancements, and fixes that make video editing more reliable and seamless for users.

One of the most noteworthy improvements in this version is the addition of Bins along with media type and text search within the Playlist. This feature lets users organize clips more effectively, especially when working on large or complex projects.

Furthermore, the newly introduced “View” > “Files” panel provides an easy-to-navigate overview of all imported files, while the “Show in Files” function in Properties and Jobs makes it a cinch to locate your media on disk.

In addition to more intuitive file management, Shotcut 25.01 also brings several powerful video filters. The HSL Primaries and HSL Range filters allow editors to fine-tune color adjustments, whereas the new Gradient Map filter offers more refined creative control over color schemes.

On top of that, the “Settings” > “Player” > “Pause After Seek” toggle now defaults to the old behavior (pausing automatically), ensuring a smoother transition for longtime users who prefer more traditional playback controls.

For audio aficionados, the Fade In Audio and Fade Out Audio filters have gained a new Type parameter, which gives you more control over how your audio transitions sound, from gentle fades to sharper cuts.

Those editing on Windows Arm CPUs can benefit from added hardware encoding options (h264_mf and hevc_mf codecs), making the export process both speedier and more efficient.

Shotcut 25.01 also showcases improved tolerance for inconsistent video modes when working with MLT XML clips or sub-projects. This means fewer headaches when mixing various footage formats in a single timeline. At the same time, you can now take advantage of additional Properties options—like adding a “Speed: Forward Only” time filter—to further customize how clips playback.

Besides rolling out new features, this release resolves a host of issues reported by the community. Notably, the “Playlist” > “Generate Slideshow” with trimmed video clips has been fine-tuned to facilitate quick montages better, making it a breeze to compile highlight reels or promotional videos. Color management also sees a bump in reliability, especially when combining filters such as Hue/Lightness/Saturation on multiple tracks.

Moreover, several time format inconsistencies have been tackled. The Scrub bar, Timeline, and Keyframes rulers now consistently respect the user’s chosen settings and exporting markers as chapters works properly even if you select a non-standard time format. Similarly, subtitle glitches on non-integer frame rates have been rectified, ensuring a more accurate subtitle display.

Linux users, especially those working with the Wayland graphics subsystem, will also be pleased to know that drag-and-drop from the Source player is finally fixed. Additionally, Shotcut now supports a native Wayland session (without relying on Xwayland) in its Flatpak version.
Shotcut 25.01 Video Editor

Under the hood, the Shotcut development team has refreshed the software’s underlying components by including MLT 7.30.0, Qt 6.8.1, dav1d 1.5.0, AOM AV1 3.11.0, OpenCV 4.10, libvpx 1.15.0, Opus 1.5.2, WebP 1.5.0, and SVT-AV1 2.3.0.

Lastly, the H.264 High Profile export preset now defaults to a higher 65% quality than YouTube or standard defaults, providing smoother playback and crisper visuals.

For those exploring higher dynamic range (HDR) workflows, Shotcut’s improved support for 10-bit pass-through and rudimentary HDR editing—without GPU effects—makes it a more versatile tool, though the developers do note that previewing HDR content accurately remains a work in progress.

Refer to the release announcement for details about the Shotcut 25.01 video editor changes.

You can download the application in the universal AppImage format, ready for use on any Linux distribution. Additionally, installation files for Windows and macOS are also available.