There are three ways to get clips out of the OpenShorts pipeline: run the code from GitHub yourself, use the project’s official cloud at openshorts.app, or use a hosted copy like this one. They cut clips the same way. What changes is the setup, the bill, the watermark and where your video goes.
Short answer
- Run it yourself if you already use Docker, clip a lot of videos every week, or need the footage to stay on your own machine. It is free apart from your hardware and the AI API calls.
- Use the official cloud if you want the project’s own hosted version and its newer features, and you don’t mind a watermark on free clips.
- Use openshorts.org if you want clean clips from a video today without installing anything. One video a day up to 30 minutes is free, with no watermark and no sign-up.
Side by side
| Self-hosted | openshorts.org (Shortyard) | openshorts.app (official cloud) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Git, Docker, an AI API key in .env |
None | Google sign-in |
| Hardware | Your machine; CPU works, a GPU is much faster | Our GPUs | Their servers |
| Free use | Unlimited, you pay for compute and API calls | 1 video a day, up to 30 min | First video up to 60 min, then 20 min a month |
| Watermark on free clips | None | None | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | — | $7.99 a month (300 minutes) | $12 a month |
| Where your video goes | Stays on your machine | Our servers, deleted after clipping | Their servers |
| AI that picks the moments | Gemini by default | Claude | Their choice |
Official cloud prices from openshorts.app, checked November 15, 2026. Check their site for current prices.
What self-hosting takes
The project’s README walks you through it. In short: clone the repository, copy .env.example to .env and add an AI API key, then start it with docker compose up. Expect a few gigabytes of downloads the first time, and leave enough memory for the transcription model. Without a GPU, transcribing a long video can take longer than the video itself.
Once it runs, it is yours: no limits, no sign-up, and your files never leave your computer. If that suits you, we recommend it.
What we changed
We run the OpenShorts code as it is published under the MIT licence, with two changes for speed and cost. The transcript runs on a GPU, and the moments are picked by Claude instead of Gemini. We also delete the source video as soon as the clips are made.
Is openshorts.org the official OpenShorts?
No. openshorts.org is an independent site run by the Shortyard team. It is not affiliated with OpenShorts, openshorts.app or the project’s authors. The official project is at github.com/mutonby/openshorts and its cloud is at openshorts.app. The licence notice for the code we use is on our credits page.