How to trim a video on Mac

Trim with QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player comes with every Mac and works on any video file in Finder.

1. Open the video in QuickTime Player (double-click it, or Control-click and choose Open With > QuickTime Player).
2. Choose Edit > Trim, or press Command-T. A trimming bar with yellow handles appears.
3. Drag the yellow handles to mark the part you want to keep; everything outside them is removed. Click and hold a handle to see individual frames for a precise cut.
4. Click Trim.
5. Choose File > Export As and pick a resolution. Choose a name and folder and click Save.

QuickTime exports QuickTime movies (.mov) with H.264 or HEVC, not MP4. Resolutions larger than your video are dimmed. To watch the export, choose Window > Show Export Progress.

Trim in the Photos app

For videos already in your Photos library, such as clips synced from your iPhone, trim them where they are. You do not need to export the video first, and the original footage is kept in case you change your mind.

1. In Photos, double-click the video, then click Edit.
2. Drag the sliders at both ends of the timeline to the new start and stop points. Click the Play button to preview.
3. Click Done, then choose Save Video to keep only the trimmed version, or Save Video as New Clip to keep the original and add a trimmed copy.

A trim saved with Save Video can be undone: open the video, click Edit and click Revert to Original, or drag the sliders back to the ends and click Done.

Remove a section from the middle

QuickTime Player can split a movie into clips, which lets you drop a part in the middle.

1. Move the playhead to where the unwanted part starts and choose Edit > Split Clip (Command-Y).
2. Move to where it ends and split again.
3. Click the clip in between to select it and press Delete.
4. Click Done, then choose File > Export As to save the result.

For more control, such as joining clips or adding music, iMovie is a free Apple editor available from the App Store.

• QuickTime Player: best for any video file in Finder, including screen recordings and downloads.
• Photos: best for videos already in your library; edits sync to your other Apple devices if you use iCloud Photos.
• iMovie: best when you need several cuts, transitions, titles or music.

Keep the sound or remove it

QuickTime and Photos keep the audio of the part you keep. If you want the trimmed clip silent, MuteVideo’s Trim and mute page handles both in Safari or Chrome: drag the yellow edges, set Sound to As is to keep the audio or Remove to drop it, and save. Its fast trim copies the video without quality loss, though the start can move slightly to a keyframe; the exact trim encodes the video again. It accepts MP4, MOV and WebM, up to 500 MB in total on a desktop.