Concat

1. What is Concat?

Concat is a free video editor for desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) and Android phones. The project calls itself a free, open-source alternative to CapCut. You drop in your clips, cut and arrange them on a timeline, add text, effects and captions, then export an MP4 for TikTok, Reels, Shorts or YouTube.

What sets it apart, according to the project: no watermark, no account, no paid tier, and your footage is never uploaded. Everything runs on your own computer. The AI features (automatic captions, text-to-speech, cutting a person out of the background) use models you download once and then run offline. Concat is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence.

Good for you if:

• You make short videos (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), tutorials, screen recordings or podcast clips and want an editor without a watermark or a monthly fee.
• You want auto-captions, background removal, effects and transitions in one app that runs locally.
• You would rather not sign in, or send unpublished footage to someone else's server.

Not for you if:

• You need a finished, polished product. The project says plainly that Concat is in beta: it works but still has rough edges. Its issue tracker currently lists reports about the timeline, export and menus, so keep a copy of your original footage and do not rely on it for anything critical.
• You want a Vietnamese interface. Concat ships 14 interface languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Croatian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Persian) and Vietnamese is not among them (checked against the locale files in the source on 7 October 2026).
• You use an iPhone and want an App Store install. The iOS build is a test IPA file that has to be sideloaded; it is not on the App Store.

2. What do you need?

• A computer or an Android phone. Windows (regular Intel/AMD PCs and ARM PCs), macOS (Apple chips and Intel), Linux, Android.
• Hardware, per the project's documentation:
  • Minimum: any 64-bit CPU from 2013 or later, 4 GB of RAM, 500 MB of free disk (enough for the app and the smallest caption model). It runs without a graphics card, but the preview then falls back to the CPU.
  • Recommended: a CPU with 6 or more cores, a GPU that supports DirectX 12 (Windows), Metal (macOS) or Vulkan (Linux), and 16 GB of RAM for 4K timelines and the larger caption models. 1080p editing feels much smoother with a GPU.
• Disk space for the AI models (optional): about 3.4 GB if you download all of them. Download only the ones you use.
• Internet to download the app and to fetch an AI model the first time. After that most features work offline.
• No account, no API key, no cost.

3. Step-by-step install

The easiest route is the download picker on the home page, https://concatenate.pages.dev/#download. It detects your operating system and hands you the right build. If you would rather choose the file yourself, use the releases page, https://github.com/jub0t/Concat/releases. The latest version at the time of writing is 0.2.6, published on 6 October 2026. File names carry the version number, for example Concat-0.2.6-windows-x86_64-setup.exe.

On Windows

Step 1: Download the installer

On a typical Windows PC (Intel or AMD) pick the file ending in windows-x86_64-setup.exe (about 82 MB). There is also an .msi package (about 99 MB) if you prefer that format. ARM PCs (for example some Snapdragon laptops) should take the windows-aarch64 file. If you are not sure, use x86_64; most Windows PCs are that type.

Step 2: Run the installer

Double-click the file and follow the setup screens. If Windows SmartScreen blocks it because the build is unsigned, click More info and then Run anyway. That is the project's own instruction.

Step 3: Open the app

When setup finishes, find Concat in the Start menu and open it. If you see the video editor window, it worked.

On macOS

Step 1: Download the disk image (.dmg)

Pick macos-arm64.dmg (about 51 MB) for Apple-chip Macs (M1, M2, M3 and so on) or macos-x86_64.dmg (about 73 MB) for older Intel Macs. To check which you have, click the Apple icon at the top left and choose "About This Mac".

Step 2: Drag it into Applications

Double-click the .dmg and drag the Concat icon into the Applications folder.

Step 3: Open it the first time

Concat's builds are unsigned, so macOS may refuse to open the app after you move it to Applications. If that happens, open Terminal and run this once (it removes the "quarantine" flag macOS puts on downloaded files):

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Concat.app

Then open Concat from Applications as usual.

On Linux

The project provides .deb, .rpm, .AppImage and an Arch package, for both x86_64 and ARM. The "run without installing" route:

1. Download Concat-0.2.6-x86_64.AppImage (about 122 MB) from the releases page.
2. Allow the file to run as a program:

chmod +x Concat-*.AppImage

3. Double-click the file, or run ./Concat-0.2.6-x86_64.AppImage.

There is also a community-packaged Flatpak at https://flatpark.org/apps/app.concat.editor/.

On Android

Download Concat-0.2.6-android-arm64.apk (about 57 MB, for ARM64 phones, which is most phones today) from the releases page and open it. The first time, Android asks whether to allow installs from this source. Confirm only if you downloaded it from the project's official page.

Note: Every release has a SHA256SUMS file (a list of codes for checking that a download was not altered). If you want to be sure, compare the code of your file with the one listed there. The home page also shows the code for the file it gives you.

4. First use

The project describes the workflow simply: download it, open it, drop footage in, cut. You can follow the order below. Button names may differ a little between versions because the app is changing quickly.

1. Open Concat and start a project. Drag a video (for example one filmed on your phone) into the app's library area.
2. Put it on the timeline. Drag the clip from the library down onto the lanes (tracks) at the bottom. It appears as a bar you can preview.
3. Cut the clip. Move the playhead to where you want to cut and press Ctrl+B (⌘B on a Mac) to split every clip at that point. Version 0.2.6 also has a razor: press B to switch it on, then click on a clip where you want the cut. Remove unwanted parts with the Delete key.
4. Add text or effects. The library has titles, effects, transitions and stickers. The project says there are more than 170 effects, filters, transitions and animated text styles.
5. Try automatic captions. The first time you use an AI feature, the app needs to download the matching model from Settings. The Whisper caption model comes in three sizes: Tiny (78 MB), Base (148 MB) and Small (488 MB). Larger is more accurate but slower and needs more RAM. The "multilingual" version detects the spoken language itself. The documentation does not say how well it handles Vietnamese, so test a short clip first.
6. Export. Open the export sheet, choose H.264, HEVC or AV1, set the resolution (up to 4K at 60 frames per second) and start the export. If you can open the MP4 and see no watermark, it worked.

Tip: version 0.2.6 notes that the export sheet follows the timeline's own size and frame rate, so check the timeline settings before you export.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen when you run the installer	The build is unsigned, so SmartScreen warns about unfamiliar files	Click More info, then Run anyway. Do this only for a file from the official page
macOS says the app cannot be opened because the developer is unidentified, or blocks it	The app is unsigned and macOS flagged it as quarantined	Run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Concat.app in Terminal once, then open it again
Linux: double-clicking the AppImage does nothing	The file does not have permission to run	Run chmod +x Concat-*.AppImage, then open it again
The File, View and Edit menus do not respond, or show Mac-style shortcuts on Windows	A bug reported on GitHub against older builds. The 0.2.6 notes say keyboard-friendly menus and shortcuts labelled for each system were added	Update to the latest version from the releases page
A vertical (9:16) export for TikTok comes out in the wrong shape	An open GitHub issue (number 255) reports that exporting non-16:9 sizes is a problem; 0.2.6 says the export sheet now follows the timeline's size	Set the timeline to a vertical size before exporting and play the result. If it is still wrong, report it to the project or use another editor for vertical video for now
Preview stutters, export is slow, or you get an out-of-memory error	A weak machine or no suitable GPU, 4K footage, or a large caption model	Use 1080p footage, close other apps, choose the Tiny or Base caption model, and update your graphics driver
Captions or background removal do nothing	The matching AI model has not been downloaded, or you were offline during the first download	Open Settings and download the model you need while online. After that it works offline
Any other strange behaviour	Concat is still in beta	Go to Settings › About, use the button that opens the log file and the one that copies system information, and attach both to an issue at https://github.com/jub0t/Concat/issues. The app never sends anything by itself

6. Uninstall and update

Update: the documentation does not mention an automatic updater, so the reliable way is to download the newest build from https://github.com/jub0t/Concat/releases and install it over the old one. New versions come out often and the notes list many interface fixes, so staying current is worthwhile.

Uninstall:

• Windows: open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Concat and choose Uninstall.
• macOS: drag Concat.app from Applications to the Trash.
• Linux: for an AppImage, just delete the file. For .deb or .rpm, use your system's package manager.
• Android: uninstall it like any other app.

Concat keeps its settings and the AI models you downloaded in its own data folder (on Windows the project's translation guide mentions %APPDATA%\app.concat.editor). The documentation does not say whether the uninstaller removes it. If you want a full clean-up, delete that folder yourself after uninstalling. Your video projects live wherever you chose to save them, so uninstalling the app does not delete them.

7. Frequently asked questions

Is Concat really free, and is there a watermark? According to the official site it is free, with no watermark, no account and no paid tier. The project is funded by voluntary sponsorship.

Is my footage sent anywhere? The project says everything runs on your machine and nothing is uploaded. The AI models need the internet only for the first download. If something goes wrong, the app only writes a log on your computer and sends nothing on its own.

Will it run on a weak computer? The stated minimum is low (a 64-bit CPU from 2013, 4 GB of RAM), but expect it to be slow, especially with long or 4K video. For a smooth experience aim for 16 GB of RAM and a graphics card.

Is it a CapCut or ByteDance product? No. The official site states that Concat is not affiliated with CapCut or ByteDance; it is simply an open-source alternative made by a community project.

Can I use it on an iPhone? There is an experimental IPA file, but it is not on the App Store and has to be sideloaded. For beginners the Windows, macOS or Android builds are the better choice.