Third-party software — CUTFORGE

Last updated: 2026-07-09

CUTFORGE (cutforge.app) is proprietary application software. It may include FFmpeg binaries in the Windows installer and/or download a portable FFmpeg build on first launch so you can import media and export MP4 without administrator rights.

This page lists the main third-party components, their licenses, and how to obtain source code.

FFmpeg and FFprobe


Purpose	Media probe, decode, encode (MP4 export, thumbnails, proxies)
Copyright	FFmpeg developers — ffmpeg.org
License	GNU General Public License v3 (GPL v3) — full text
Build used	BtbN Windows 64-bit GPL build (FFmpeg-Builds)
Auto-download URL	Pinned immutable BtbN autobuild (not rolling `latest`) — currently `autobuild-2026-07-09-14-21` / `ffmpeg-N-125509-g8ad6288553-win64-gpl.zip` (FFmpeg-Builds releases). SHA-256 verified at download.
Upstream source	github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg

How CUTFORGE provides FFmpeg

1. Bundled — `ffmpeg.exe` and `ffprobe.exe` may be copied next to the installed application when you run the official Windows installer.

2. Auto-install — If FFmpeg is missing or invalid, CUTFORGE may download and extract the BtbN GPL zip into `%APPDATA%\com.cutforge.studio\ffmpeg\bin\` (Windows, no admin required).

3. Manual setup — You may point CUTFORGE to your own full/GPL FFmpeg `bin` folder via Set up FFmpeg… in the toolbar.

License texts in the application

The installed application includes a `licenses/` folder with:

`FFmpeg.txt` — notice, source links, and written offer (GPL v3 section 6)
`GPL-3.0.txt` — pointer to the official GPL v3 text

Open License → Open-source licenses in the desktop app, or read these files on disk.

Written offer — corresponding source (GPL v3)

If you received FFmpeg only in binary form through CUTFORGE, you may request a copy of the complete corresponding source code by email:

info@cutforge.app

Include “FFmpeg source request” in the subject. We will reply with download instructions or a link within a reasonable time, at no more than our cost of physically performing source distribution. This offer is valid for at least three (3) years from the date you received the binary.

Your responsibility

You are responsible for complying with codec patents, copyright, and export rules when distributing videos you create. CUTFORGE does not grant patent licenses for H.264, HEVC, or other codecs.

Other components

CUTFORGE also uses open-source libraries in its desktop shell and build toolchain (Tauri, Rust crates, npm packages). Their licenses are satisfied through their respective distributions; this page focuses on FFmpeg because it is user-visible, GPL-licensed, and may be downloaded at runtime.