Bringing media in

Import your files

1. In the Assets panel, click + and choose one or more files. File → Import media assets… (Ctrl+Alt+I) does the same.

2. Or drag files from your computer onto the Assets panel — or straight onto a track in the timeline, where they land at the point you drop them.

cutipAI opens these files:

• Video: MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI
• Audio: MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG
• Images: PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, PSD

Browsers cannot show AVI or Photoshop files directly, so cutipAI makes a viewable copy when you import one: an AVI becomes a WebM for playback, and a PSD is flattened to a single picture of all its visible layers. Your original file is never changed, and it is the original that is stored or relinked. A long AVI can take a little while to convert, because this happens on your computer.

MOV files are imported as video. If an earlier version labelled a MOV as an image, reopening the project corrects its type. Playback still depends on the codec inside the file.

If you drop a file cutipAI cannot open, it tells you which one, rather than skipping it silently.

Remove items from a project

Select an asset, or select several with Ctrl/Cmd-click or Shift-click, then click the bin beside New folder and New timeline at the bottom of the Assets panel. The bin also works on a selected folder or timeline and is disabled when nothing is selected. With the bin focused, Enter or Space opens the same confirmation.

Confirm Delete to remove the selection, or Cancel to keep it. The confirmation warns if asset deletion will also remove clips from your timelines. Empty folders and timelines also need confirmation, and the project must keep at least one timeline. You can undo deletion. Your original media files stay untouched. Right-click → Delete and the Delete key use the same safeguards.

Bring in what you made in the Sandbox

1. Click the sparkle button next to + in the Assets panel. Pick the images, videos or sounds you want, and click Import.

   

   

This costs nothing: you paid for those generations when you made them, and nothing is copied or uploaded. They appear in your assets marked Cloud-only.

Where your footage lives

When you import a file, cutipAI reads it from your computer. Automatic storage is off by default, and your saved choice is retained. With Store automatically my imported footage on (in Preferences → Storage), it also stores a copy in your account, in the background, so the project opens with its stored footage on any computer you sign in on. These private copies live on cutipAI's hosting provider's servers, up to your storage allowance.

Turning the switch off stops automatic storage; it does not delete copies already stored.

Storage in the account menu opens the same allowance, purchase and removal controls. Quota-backed generated images and videos share your allowance with uploaded footage. When a new generation can only be kept temporarily, a notice tells you to download it promptly. Full storage does not prevent generation: download the result to keep a local copy, remove stored files you no longer need, or purchase more space. Remove stored files in Preferences → Storage to delete those copies. Project data, including your timeline and media references, syncs separately from the files. AI features you request may still upload the media they need to generation providers while automatic storage is off; see the privacy policy.

• Used shows how much of your storage allowance you have filled, with separate percentages for videos, images, audio and other files. The storage chip in the top bar shows the same total.
• Every account includes 3 GB. The storage purchase section accepts any whole number from 1 GB to 1 TB, shows the current monthly and annual prices, and pays directly from your credit balance.
• When your allowance is full, new clips simply stay on your computer. Remove stored files in Preferences → Storage to make room.
• Store this project's footage stores clips you imported before the switch was on.
• To store individual clips, right-click one asset — or select several and right-click the selection — then choose Store in the cloud.

If storage cannot finish, the clip shows Could not store — retry instead of waiting forever. Right-click it and choose Retry storing in the cloud, or choose Keep on this device to stop trying while leaving the original file where it is.

MP4 and MOV storage uses the filename when the browser leaves the file's media type empty or reports a nonstandard Windows type. A playable imported video is therefore stored as video rather than being refused because of operating-system metadata.

Offline clips

A clip shows as offline when cutipAI cannot reach its file: the browser needs permission again, or the file was moved, renamed or changed.

In Chrome, imported or relinked files reopen automatically when you close a project and return through the dashboard in the same tab. After a full reload or browser restart, saved links reopen when the browser allows it. If asked, choose persistent access to remember permission.

• Restore access, at the top of the Assets panel, asks the browser for permission again, for every clip that needs it at once.
• Relink, beside it, lets you point offline clips at their files. For a single clip, right-click it and choose Relink file….

Choose a folder in the relink dialog. Display only files with the exact name starts checked: it shows matches for the original filename, including its extension and letter case. Turn it off to choose a renamed replacement. Files with the same name show their folder location so you can choose the right one. Confirm your selection with Relink file.

The bulk Relink dialog offers the same filter. Review its proposed matches before applying them; duplicate-name matches start unchecked. If nothing matches, choose another folder or turn off the filter. Browsers without a folder picker let you select files instead.

In Chrome 153, choose Enable saved links… when the notice appears (or open an asset's Relink dialog). If you are in a regular window, tick I’m using a regular window, not Incognito or Guest, then choose Enable saved links and restore access. This one-time choice lets cutipAI reopen the existing saved links after refreshing, closing the tab or restarting Chrome. You do not need to select each file again. If Chrome asks, choose Allow on every visit to remember file-access permission.

Do not enable this in Incognito or Guest windows: Chrome 153 has a crash when reading saved file handles in those modes. Selecting files manually still works for the current tab. A file that has moved or been deleted still needs relinking.

Next

• Organising assets
• Editing on the timeline