Cliptate

On-device AI for Mac audio and video creators

Open sourceAudio & Music

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About Cliptate

Picture this: you've just recorded a 45-minute interview on your M2 MacBook Air, and you need a rough cut, clean subtitles, and a transcript. All before your next meeting. Cliptate is built exactly for that workflow. It's a native macOS app that takes audio and video, runs transcription and speech synthesis entirely on your Apple Silicon chip, and spits out editable text, subtitles, and rough cuts without ever touching a cloud server.

What makes Cliptate worth a look for privacy-conscious creators is the on-device-first architecture. Models run via MLX on your Apple Silicon Mac, which means your recordings stay local. There's no subscription, no SaaS pricing wall, and no vendor holding your data hostage. You download the app from GitHub Releases, pull the models you need, and you're running. Pro features are fully unlocked in the free GitHub build.

The trade-off is real hardware requirements: you'll need an M1 or later Mac running macOS 15 Sequoia. If you're on Intel or an older OS, you're out. The project is also early-stage open source (13 stars at time of writing), so don't expect a polished enterprise product. But for a solo video editor, podcaster, or developer-creator who wants fast, private transcription and TTS without paying $20/month to a SaaS, Cliptate is a genuinely interesting option.

Key features

On-Device Transcription

Cliptate runs speech-to-text models locally via MLX on Apple Silicon, so your audio never leaves your Mac during transcription.

AI Cut Workspace

The AI Cut workspace lets you import video in the main area and navigate your project from a sidebar, designed to support rough-cut editing directly from transcripts.

Dictation into Other Apps

Beyond file-based transcription, Cliptate supports live dictation so you can pipe recognized speech directly into any other macOS app.

Pause Trimming

Cliptate can automatically detect and trim pauses from recordings, which saves manual scrubbing time when cleaning up interview audio or podcast drafts.

On-Device Text-to-Speech

Speech synthesis runs locally using MLX Audio Swift, letting you generate voiceover audio from text without sending data to an external TTS API.

FCPXML Export

The app supports FCPXML output, which means you can push rough cuts and subtitle data directly into Final Cut Pro for finishing.

Best for

Mac video editors and podcasters on Apple Silicon who want local transcription
Developers or technical founders who want a free, open-source alternative to cloud transcription SaaS
Final Cut Pro users who want AI-assisted rough cuts via FCPXML
Creators handling sensitive audio who can't send recordings to third-party servers

Skip if

Anyone on an Intel Mac or macOS older than 15 Sequoia. The app flat-out won't run
Teams expecting a polished, commercially supported product. This is an early open-source project with 13 GitHub stars
Creators who need Windows or Linux support, it's macOS-only by design

Pros & cons

Pros

Completely free with all Pro features unlocked via the GitHub download, no subscription required
All transcription and TTS models run on-device via MLX, keeping recordings private
FCPXML export means it slots directly into a Final Cut Pro editing workflow
Supports five display languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and German
Release builds are Developer ID signed and Apple notarized with SHA-256 checksums, which is a solid baseline for a free open-source app

Cons

Requires macOS 15 Sequoia on Apple Silicon. M1 minimum, no Intel support at all
Very early project (13 GitHub stars, 1 fork) with no commercial support channel
Storage and memory requirements vary by model and aren't clearly documented until you open the Models panel after install
Optional online AI services require you to supply your own provider API keys and configuration, there's no managed integration

Frequently asked questions

Is Cliptate really free, or is there a paid tier?

The GitHub download is fully free with no subscription. All models and Pro features are included at $0. There are no paid tiers advertised in the repository.

Which Macs can run Cliptate?

You need an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) running macOS 15 Sequoia or newer. Intel Macs are not supported.

Does Cliptate send my audio to the cloud?

No. Transcription and TTS run locally via MLX on your Mac. The only network calls are for initial model downloads and optional online AI services you configure yourself with your own API keys.

How does Cliptate compare to Whisper-based tools like MacWhisper?

Both use on-device transcription on Apple Silicon, but Cliptate adds a full editing workspace with FCPXML export for Final Cut Pro, pause trimming, and on-device TTS. MacWhisper is more narrowly focused on transcription output.

Can I export subtitles to Final Cut Pro?

Yes. Cliptate supports FCPXML export, which is the native format Final Cut Pro uses for importing timelines, rough cuts, and subtitle data.

How Cliptate compares

Cliptate vs MacWhisper

MacWhisper is a more mature, commercially supported transcription app for Mac, but it doesn't offer FCPXML rough-cut export or on-device TTS. Cliptate covers more of the post-production workflow at $0.

Cliptate vs Descript

Descript is a cloud-based editor with strong transcription and overdub features, but it requires a paid subscription and sends your audio to its servers. Cliptate keeps everything local for free.

Cliptate vs Adobe Premiere Pro (AI features)

Premiere's AI transcription is tightly integrated into a full NLE but costs $55+/month and runs cloud-side; Cliptate is a free, local alternative specifically for creators already in the Final Cut Pro world.

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