Instagram is taking on CapCut on the Mac, expanding Edits beyond phones with tools for more involved video projects. Instagram's free Edits video editor is now available for Mac, bringing a multi-track timeline, color controls, and direct Instagram publishing. The desktop app also supports horizontal and vertical videos, with watermark-free exports at up to 4K resolution.
The Mac version adds mouse and keyboard controls for projects that require more space than a phone screen provides. Users can also customize keyboard shortcuts, including matching those they use in another editor. Editing tools include keyframes, audio waveforms, and controls for splitting, cutting, and trimming clips.
Color wheels, log conversions, and curves handle color adjustments, while users can import their own LUTs and font files. Edits features Instagram's licensed and royalty-free audio libraries, along with hundreds of sound and video effects. It also offers unlimited automatic captions with support for multiple languages.
Creators get Instagram's licensed and royalty-free audio libraries. Audio and text styles saved on mobile carry over to the desktop app. While not currently available, Instagram plans on making cross-platform editing available in the future.
Users can publish directly to Instagram from the Mac app, with support for tagging, locations, and trial reels. Export options also let users prepare videos for other platforms or personal projects. The app includes an option to enable Model Context Protocol, or MCP, in settings for workflows involving AI agents.
Instagram says it plans to release desktop updates weekly. Edits for Mac is available to download starting Thursday. Currently, there is no Windows version.
Edits is a direct competitor to Byte Dance's Cap Cut, which released its own mac OS version in 2021. According to Meta's most recent earnings call, Edits already has more than 50 million active users.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing