Quick Setup Guide
From sign-in to your first export in about ten minutes.
This guide is the fastest path through ScriptCut. It covers the five stages every project moves through, in order. Each stage has its own chapter later in this manual with the full detail; this is the map.
Before you begin
ScriptCut runs entirely in your web browser at app.scriptcut.io. There is nothing to install. You will need a transcript of your recording with word-level timecodes (most editing software can export one), and, if you want to hear your picks inside ScriptCut, the matching audio file.
Step 1 · Create your account
Go to app.scriptcut.io and choose Create one on the sign-in screen, or sign in with Google. Your dashboard opens empty, ready for your first project. A short guided tour offers to walk you through each page; you can follow it or skip it at any time. A new email account confirms its address first: click the link in the verification email. If the verification link has expired, sign in with the same email and password and a fresh link is sent for you; the Resend Verification Email button is always on that screen too. Creating an account again with the same email and password simply signs you in to the account you already made.
Step 2 · Start a project and import
Click New Project, give it a name, and pick the workflow that matches your editing software. ScriptCut then walks you through a short import wizard: optionally attach your video or audio, upload your transcript (or use Transcribe for me), optionally attach the timeline XML, and tag your speakers. When you press Start, your transcript opens in the editor.
Step 3 · Clean up, then select
On the Cleanup page you fix any transcription typos and split run-on lines so the script reads clean. On the Select page you mark the moments worth keeping: click a line once for Must have, twice for Maybe. You can even drag across just the words you want.
Moving between steps: the steps sit at the top of the editor as icons with their names, and the one you are on is highlighted. The page icon on the left opens the Transcript side (Import and Cleanup), and the film slate icon opens the Story side (Select, Arrange and Review). On a phone they sit in a bar at the bottom of the screen: tap a step, or swipe left or right on the bar to move between Select, Arrange and Review. Your account photo sits at the right end of that bar.
Step 4 · Arrange the story
On the Arrange page you drag your selected lines into the order that tells the best story, and optionally group them into acts or chapters. The runtime at the top tells you exactly how long your cut will be.
A line that sits slightly indented has been dragged out of its original order. The indent disappears when you drag it back, and Reset arrange clears every indent. A group looks different: it is a titled header bar above its lines, with a collapse arrow, a strip count and a Play group button.
Reading a row on Arrange: the thin bar on the left keeps its Select colour (green is Must have, yellow is Maybe). A gold star just outside the row on the left means it is a favorite. A small grey notes icon just outside the row on the right means the line has a note; hover it to read the note, and a small purple dot on it means a note you have not read yet. On a phone the notes icon is a small dot at the bottom left of the row instead: purple means a note you have not read yet, and it turns grey once you open the note and have read it. The three-line grip on the left is the drag handle. The grey X on the right unselects the line and sends it back to Select.
Red rows after AI Arrange: if you switched on Allow AI to remove sentences, lines the AI suggests dropping show with a red bar on the left, a red tint and faded text. Press Keep on a line to restore it, or Confirm removal to unselect every line still red. Nothing is deleted from the transcript, and Undo reverses the whole run.
Step 5 · Review, share, and export
The Review page shows your finished selection as a clean read. Share a link so your client can approve it, then export: a formatted PDF, a timeline (XML) that rebuilds your cut in your editor, subtitles, or the spliced audio.
