If you’ve ever tried editing videos on a Chromebook, you already know the struggle. Most professional video editors are designed for Windows or macOS, and web-based editors often feel limited once you move beyond basic trimming. That’s where Shotcut comes in.
Shotcut is a free, open-source, and surprisingly powerful video editor that works very well on Chromebooks, thanks to the built-in Linux development environment. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the complete process of installing Shotcut video editor on a Chromebook.
How to Install Shotcut on Chromebook
Shotcut is a cross-platform video editor available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Since ChromeOS supports Linux apps through its Linux container (also known as Crostini), we can install the Linux version of Shotcut and use it like a native desktop application.
With Shotcut, you get a full timeline-based video editor, support for a wide range of audio and video formats, advanced filters and transitions, and solid performance even on mid-range Chromebooks.
Before installing Shotcut, make sure the Linux development environment is enabled on your Chromebook. If Linux is already enabled, you can jump straight to the installation steps.
Here’s the corrected and polished version:
1. Click on the App Launcher.
2. Open Terminal, then click on the Penguin option to open the command-line interface.
3. In the Terminal, run the following command to update your Linux container and avoid dependency issues. Wait for the update process to complete:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
4. Run the following command and press Enter to install Shotcut on your Chromebook directly from the Linux repositories:
sudo apt install shotcut -y
5. After that, Linux will download and install Shotcut along with all the required components. Once the installation is complete, you can close the Terminal.
6. To use it, open the Launcher on your Chromebook and scroll to the Linux apps folder. You should see Shotcut listed there.
7. Click on it to launch the application. The first launch may take a little longer than usual, especially on lower-end Chromebooks, which is completely normal.
Shotcut runs surprisingly well on Chromebooks with Intel or AMD processors. Everyday tasks such as cutting clips, adding transitions, applying filters, and exporting 1080p videos generally work without major issues.
How to Install Shotcut Using Flatpak on Chromebook
If the above methods do not work, you can use the Flatpak command to install the Shotcut video editor on your Chromebook. Here are the steps you can follow:
1. Open the Terminal on your Chromebook.
2. Then install the Flatpak package manager to install the Shotcut video editor on your Chromebook. To do this, run the following terminal command:
sudo apt-get install flatpak
3. Once, the flatpak package manager is installed on your device. Run the following terminal command:
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
4. After that, run the below command to install the Shotcut video editor:
sudo flatpak install flatpak org.shotcut.shotcut5. If you are prompted with the question ‘Use this ref? [Y/n]:‘, press the Y key on your keyboard to continue the installation process.
6. Now, wait for the installation process to complete until you see the screen depicted in the screenshot below. After that, you are ready to use the Shotcut video editor on your Chromebook.
7. To open Shotcut, click on the App Launcher icon and look for the Linux apps folder. Then, click on the Shotcut app icon to open it.
Final Thoughts
Performance depends heavily on your hardware. Chromebooks with limited RAM may notice slower rendering times, especially when working with high-resolution footage or complex effects. For smoother performance, it is recommended to have at least 8 GB of RAM.
Once everything is set up, Shotcut provides a full-featured editing experience at no cost. If you’re looking to do serious video editing on a Chromebook, this setup is absolutely worth trying.
