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Zulko/moviepy

Python library for programmatic video editing: cuts, concatenation, text overlays, compositing and custom effects on video, audio and GIF.

Open-source alternative to:Adobe Premiere Pro

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What is it?

MoviePy is a Python library for video editing. It covers cutting and concatenating clips, inserting titles, compositing multiple clips (non-linear editing), processing video frames, and writing custom effects. Media is loaded as numpy arrays so every pixel is accessible to Python code, which makes effects short to define.

The library reads and writes the common audio and video formats, including GIF, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with Python 3.9+. Edits are expressed as a chain of clip operations and then encoded to mp4, webm, gif and similar formats. The README notes that this is slower than calling ffmpeg directly because of the cost of moving frame data in and out of Python.

Version 2.0 introduced breaking API changes; the v1 documentation is no longer maintained. Installation is via pip.

Key features

  • 01Cut, subclip and concatenate video and audio clips
  • 02Overlay text clips and composite multiple clips with transparency
  • 03Apply custom per-frame effects using numpy arrays
  • 04Read and write mp4, webm, GIF and other common formats
  • 05Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with Python 3.9+

Use cases

  • Automating batch video edits such as trimming and adding captions in Python scripts
  • Generating GIFs or short clips from existing footage
  • Building custom visual effects or frame-level video processing pipelines

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install MoviePy with pip

    pip install moviepy

Things to know

  • Version 2.0 introduced major breaking changes, so v1 code and tutorials may not work.
  • Heavier data import and export make it slower than using ffmpeg directly.
  • Previewing and custom FFmpeg setups need extra installation steps.

In collections

AI video & audio tools

Topics

#video-editing#video-processing#python#gif#animation#multimedia#hacktoberfest#video

FAQ

What is moviepy?
Python library for programmatic video editing: cuts, concatenation, text overlays, compositing and custom effects on video, audio and GIF. MoviePy is a Python library for video editing. It covers cutting and concatenating clips, inserting titles, compositing multiple clips (non-linear editing), processing video frames, and writing custom effects. Media is loaded as numpy arrays so every pixel is accessible to Python code, which makes effects short to define.
Is moviepy free to use? What license does it have?
moviepy is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is moviepy still maintained?
Updated within 6 months. The last commit to moviepy was on Aug 26, 2026.
What can I use moviepy for?
Automating batch video edits such as trimming and adding captions in Python scripts Generating GIFs or short clips from existing footage Building custom visual effects or frame-level video processing pipelines
How do I install moviepy?
Install MoviePy with pip: pip install moviepy
Where can I get moviepy?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/Zulko/moviepy

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