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Documentation Index

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WannaCut gives you four distinct ways to bring media into your project: the classic Import button, a native drag & drop from your OS file manager, a built-in YouTube downloader powered by yt-dlp, and a Web Media Linker for streaming public network sources directly. Each method lands assets in the same Media Library panel, ready to be trimmed, previewed in the Source Monitor, and placed onto the timeline.

Method 1: Import Button

The Import button lives in the Media tab of the left sidebar (the film-strip icon). Clicking it opens the operating system’s native file picker filtered to all supported media types in one combined group:
CategoryExtensions
Videomp4, mkv, avi, mov
Audiomp3, wav, ogg
Imagejpg, jpeg, png, webp
After you confirm your selection, WannaCut calls the Tauri import_asset command, which copies the file into the project’s videos/ folder and reloads the asset list. A green “Assets imported” notification confirms the operation.
Only the extensions listed above are accepted. If you attempt to import a file with any other format — for example .flac, .heic, or .wmv — WannaCut will show a red “Invalid file type: Only video, audio, and images are allowed” notification and cancel the import without modifying your project.

Method 2: Drag & Drop from OS

You can drag one or more files directly from your operating system’s file manager and drop them anywhere inside the WannaCut window. WannaCut detects where the drop lands:
  • Dropped on an existing track — the file is imported as an asset and immediately placed as a new clip on that track at the time position corresponding to where you released the mouse.
  • Dropped outside the timeline (e.g., on the sidebar or the preview area) — the file is imported into the Media Library only; no clip is created automatically.
The same extension filter applies as with the Import button. Dropping multiple files at once is supported; each file is processed in sequence.

Method 3: YouTube Download

The YouTube Download button — styled in red and located in the top header bar — opens the YouTube import dialog. Paste a full YouTube URL into the input field and click Fetch Media. Under the hood, WannaCut invokes the bundled Tauri command download_youtube_video, which uses yt-dlp (a bundled dependency, no separate installation required) to fetch and convert the video. The downloaded file is saved directly into the project’s videos/ folder and appears in the Media Library panel as soon as the download completes.
Tauri command: download_youtube_video
Args: { projectPath, settingsFolder, url }
The yt-dlp download requires a JavaScript runtime to be configured in WannaCut’s settings. If the runtime is missing or misconfigured, the download will fail with a “YT-DLP Error: Check your JS Runtime” notification. Open Settings → Export & Runtime to configure it.

Method 4: Web Media Linker

The Web Media Linker provides quick network integration to stream or fetch public video links directly into the active project. Exact behavior may vary depending on your WannaCut build, but the feature is intended for referencing publicly accessible media from a network source rather than a local file.

The Media Library

All imported assets appear as cards in the Media tab of the left sidebar. Each card shows:
  • Thumbnail — auto-generated by FFmpeg for video and image assets; audio assets display a waveform icon.
  • File name — the name of the source file (editable, see tip below).
  • Duration — formatted as HH:MM:SS.ms for video and audio; images display .
  • Type badge — color-coded label: fuchsia for video, cyan for audio/image.
A search box at the top of the panel lets you filter assets by name or type in real time. Click any asset card to load it into the Source Monitor.
To rename an asset, double-click its name on the asset card. WannaCut will rename both the entry in the project file and the underlying file inside the videos/ folder. Make sure to use a name without special characters to avoid file system issues.

Source Monitor & Sub-clips

The Source Monitor is the small preview canvas in the upper-left area of the workspace. It lets you review an asset and define a precise sub-range before placing it on the timeline — a workflow familiar from professional NLEs.
1

Open an asset

Click any asset card in the Media Library. The asset loads into the Source Monitor and begins from its first frame.
2

Set an In point

Scrub to the frame where you want the clip to begin, then press I. The left edge of the scrubber bar shifts to the In point, highlighted with an indigo overlay.
3

Set an Out point

Scrub to the frame where you want the clip to end, then press O. The right edge of the scrubber snaps to the Out point. The indigo highlight covers the marked range.
4

Place the sub-clip on the timeline

Drag the asset from the Source Monitor and drop it onto a timeline track. Only the frames between your In and Out points are placed. Internally this sets beginmoment to your In point and duration to the length of the marked range.
If you skip setting In/Out points, dragging from the Source Monitor places the full asset duration onto the timeline, starting from the very first frame.

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