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vidcord - Free Discord Video Compressor for Windows, macOS, and Linux

vidcord app icon

vidcord is a free, open-source Discord video compressor for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Compress videos for Discord's upload size limits without uploading them to a website: choose a 20 MB, 50 MB, 100 MB, or 500 MB target, trim the clip, or choose Lossless Trim to cut on source keyframes without re-encoding. Export a Discord-ready video from your desktop. GIF Mode creates animated .gif exports for Discord's 20 MB Free and 50 MB Nitro Basic tiers.

Select multiple videos through Browse, drag-and-drop, Open With, command-line file arguments, or a second app instance to enter Batch mode automatically. Batch mode probes each file, applies the same standard Compress settings to every video, and produces collision-safe MP4 outputs while keeping processing local.

vidcord supports MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, FLV, WMV, and other formats handled by your system FFmpeg install. It wraps FFmpeg with hardware-accelerated encoding (NVIDIA NVENC, AMD AMF, Intel Quick Sync, Linux VAAPI, Apple VideoToolbox), automatic bitrate calculation, strict output size checks, output FPS controls, and platform-native installers. Built with Tauri 2 (Rust + React). 100% local - no accounts, no uploads, no telemetry.

Platforms Architectures Version Downloads Build License

vidcord Compress mode with video preview, trim timeline, and Discord target controls

At a glance — Free Discord video compressor for Windows 10/11, macOS 11+, and Linux · x86_64 + aarch64 · Platform-native installers · Compresses MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, FLV, WMV to .mp4 · Targets Discord's current 10 / 50 / 100 / 500 MB limits · Hardware-accelerated (NVENC / AMF / QSV / VAAPI / VideoToolbox) · Requires system FFmpeg on PATH · MIT licensed · Works fully offline.

Contents

Why vidcord

Discord's current upload limits are 20 MB (free), 50 MB (Nitro Basic / Boost Level 2), 100 MB (Boost Level 3), and 500 MB (Nitro). It picks a target bitrate for the clip length you want, lets you choose from the video encoders exposed by your FFmpeg install, and drops the result in your Downloads folder by default. You can instead save beside the imported clip, choose a persistent custom folder, or have vidcord ask for a location when the encode finishes. By default, the completed file itself is copied to the system clipboard; if that fails, vidcord reveals it in the platform file manager. It can also be set to always reveal the output. It verifies the finished file against your selected size limit, applies an encoder-specific peak-rate bound, and automatically retries with CPU encoding and safer bitrates when FFmpeg's first pass lands too large.

  • Platform-native packaging. Tauri uses the system WebView (Edge on Windows, WebKit on macOS/Linux) instead of bundling Chromium. Package size varies by platform: Windows installers are the smallest, macOS ships a universal DMG, and the self-contained Linux AppImages are substantially larger.
  • Native-speed encoding. Hardware encoders auto-detected: NVENC, AMF, QSV, VAAPI, VideoToolbox.
  • No telemetry, no accounts, no uploads. Files never leave your machine.

Best for

Need How vidcord helps
Compress a video for Discord free upload limits Use the 20 MB preset, trim the clip, and remove audio if needed.
Compress large MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, or WebM files FFmpeg handles the input format and vidcord exports a Discord-friendly .mp4.
Compress several videos in one pass Batch mode applies shared Compress settings, runs up to two encodes in parallel, and keeps going after individual failures.
Preserve original video quality while trimming Use Lossless Trim for keyframe-aligned stream-copy output without re-encoding.
Turn a video clip into a Discord GIF Enable GIF Mode and choose the 20 MB Free or 50 MB Nitro Basic target.
Make a video fit Discord Nitro or boosted server limits Pick 50 MB, 100 MB, or 500 MB presets without calculating bitrates by hand.
Keep video compression private Everything runs locally on your computer; no web upload step.
Use GPU video encoding from a simple GUI vidcord auto-detects NVENC, AMF, QSV, VAAPI, and VideoToolbox encoders.
Cap output frame rate for smaller files Leave FPS unchanged, or choose a lower output FPS when Discord size is tight.

Features

  • Saved settings presets — the app autosaves the last settings used by default; use the bottom-right preset dropdown to save, restore, and delete up to 20 named compression and mode configurations. Names are limited to 40 characters; changing a saved preset's settings returns the selector to Autosave, while output destination and completion action remain separate autosaved preferences.

  • Automatic Batch mode — selecting two or more videos switches from the single-video workflows automatically. The queue probes and shows each file's resolution, frame rate, codec, bitrate, and duration, with per-file queued, encoding, completed, failed, or cancelled states. Batch uses standard Compress controls only, always writes MP4 output, and provides separate start-trim and end-trim seconds that default to 0. Remove queued items before export; when a trim would leave less than one second, the two trim values are reduced proportionally.

  • Parallel batch encoding — up to two videos encode concurrently by default. If the selected encoder reports a device, session, or resource-contention error, remaining work continues one video at a time. Individual probe or encode failures do not stop the queue, and aggregate progress and ETA cover the whole remaining batch rather than only the currently active item.

  • Four quality presets covering current Discord tiers:

    • 20 MB @ 480p — Discord free tier
    • 50 MB @ 720p — Nitro Basic / Boost Level 2
    • 100 MB @ 1080p — Boost Level 3 or Clips Bypass
    • 500 MB @ native — Nitro Full

  • GIF Mode — export an optimized animated GIF for the 20 MB Discord Free or 50 MB Nitro Basic tier at 15, 30, or Discord-safe maximum 50 FPS. Video-only encoder, audio, and unrelated video controls are hidden while GIF Mode is active; the aspect-ratio crop selector remains available because it still applies to GIF output. Higher frame rates trade spatial detail for motion, and oversized GIFs are retried at progressively lower visual complexity without changing the selected FPS.

  • Advanced mode — custom target size (MB), output resolution, FPS, audio normalization, and any FFmpeg video encoder string, with autocomplete from the encoders your installed FFmpeg exposes. Its per-video audio mixer lists every source track by name and estimated size, defaults to the first track unless another is at least 20% larger by estimated data, and can select any combination without changing saved settings or presets. Leave target size empty to encode at the source bitrate without a file-size limit.

  • Aspect-ratio cropping — available in Compress, Advanced, and GIF Mode; crop to 16:9, 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 4:5, or 5:4 before scaling. A preset matching the imported video's native display ratio is hidden automatically.

  • Smart audio output — optionally peak-normalize retained audio so its highest sample peak reaches 0 dB with a fixed gain. Standard compression starts with the first source track and switches to the largest estimated-data track only when it is at least 20% larger. Advanced mode can select one, several, or all source tracks; each selected track is encoded at 128 kbps and the video bitrate budget accounts for every selected track.

  • Full-resolution frame snapshots — save the frame at the playhead as a PNG with the preview overlay or Cmd+Shift+S / Ctrl+Shift+S. Snapshots follow the configured output destination and copy/reveal completion action.

  • Output FPS controls — standard mode can leave FPS unchanged or cap it at 24, 30, or 60 FPS, hiding options at or above the source frame rate when they would be redundant. Advanced mode accepts a custom FPS value, or an empty field shown as Off for no change.

  • Completion actions — copy the finished output file itself to the system clipboard by default, with an automatic reveal fallback, or always reveal it in Explorer/Finder instead.

  • Trim timeline with fine-grained handles, draggable playhead, snap controls, zoom, pan, undo/redo, and optional looped playback.

  • Lossless Trim — use the dedicated copy-mode tab beside Advanced to preserve every source stream with a fast keyframe-aligned stream copy, or remove all audio tracks without re-encoding the video. Unrelated settings are hidden while the mode is active. When a selected segment is estimated to fit a chosen size target at the source bitrate, pressing Compress offers this mode automatically; accepting it switches to less-precise keyframe trimming so you can choose the trim points again before exporting. Boundaries snap outward to source keyframes; vidcord prefers an MP4 stream-copy output, then the validated source container, and falls back to normal compression when neither is compatible.

  • In-app playback preview of the trimmed segment in single-video mode on Windows and macOS, starting from the current playhead when it is inside the selected range.

  • Responsive single-video scrub previews with display-sized filmstrip/frame thumbnails, sparse thumbnail generation for long videos, playhead-aware fallback preview clips, and hardware-accelerated preview clips where FFmpeg supports them.

  • Efficient preview fallback — exact frame requests use display-sized, bounded in-memory output; cancelling a stale frame no longer interrupts a filmstrip that is already being generated, and generated fallback clips omit unused audio.

  • Linux preview fallback — WebKitGTK live video scrubbing and trim playback are disabled for stability; FFmpeg-generated filmstrip and individual-frame previews remain available while scrubbing.

  • Hardware acceleration, auto-detected at startup:

    • NVIDIA NVENC (h264_nvenc, hevc_nvenc)
    • AMD AMF (h264_amf, hevc_amf)
    • Intel Quick Sync (h264_qsv, hevc_qsv)
    • Linux VAAPI (h264_vaapi, hevc_vaapi)
    • macOS VideoToolbox (h264_videotoolbox, hevc_videotoolbox)

  • Multiple ways to open videos: drag-and-drop onto the window, "Open with vidcord" from Explorer/Finder, command-line file arguments, a second-instance launch, or the in-app Browse button. Selecting one video preserves the normal workflow; selecting multiple videos activates Batch mode.

  • Source details at import — see resolution, frame rate, codec, average bitrate, and duration in a compact summary. Batch mode shows those details for every queued video.

  • Compact fixed-size window — stays fixed at 460×690, with standard and advanced controls fitted into the app surface; long Batch queues use an internal scrollbar rather than expanding the window.

  • System-matched macOS chrome — the native title bar follows macOS Light and Dark appearances together with the app surface.

  • Remove audio — strip the audio track to reclaim space.

  • Strict size checks with bounded retries — finished files are measured against the selected target. Target-size encodes apply encoder-specific peak-rate bounds before adaptive correction. Hardware jobs use at most four full attempts and CPU jobs use at most two, including measured bitrate correction and CPU fallback before reporting the smallest result.

  • Real-time progress with ETA, current attempt number, encoder, and bitrate parsed from FFmpeg's stderr. Batch progress is aggregated across all items and its ETA estimates the remaining queue.

  • OS taskbar & dock progress integration — reflects encoding progress directly on your OS taskbar or dock icon (macOS Dock, Windows Taskbar button, Linux Unity launcher bar) so you can track encoding while unfocused.

  • Native system notifications — mirrors every in-app banner and error in order as a matching OS notification while vidcord is unfocused on Windows, macOS, and Linux; clicking a notification restores and focuses the app.

  • Race-safe cancellation — cancelling keeps the job owned until FFmpeg exits, prevents another encode from starting early, removes partial output, terminates active batch children, and skips queued batch items.

  • Collision-safe auto-named output — direct destination modes atomically reserve name-vidcord.mp4 before encoding and bump -1, -2, … if needed, even if another file appears at the intended path just before compression starts. Batch allocation reserves one unique MP4 path per input.

  • Flexible output location — save to Downloads, beside the imported clip, to a remembered custom folder, or choose a filename after compression finishes. For a batch using Ask when done, successful outputs are staged until one destination folder is chosen and then published together.

  • Verified in-app updates — update checks run after startup settles and no more than once every six hours. After approval, vidcord streams the matching installer to Downloads, validates its size and completeness, compares the downloaded bytes with GitHub's published SHA-256 digest, verifies the independent Ed25519 release signature, chooses an unused filename, and opens it.

  • Automated FFmpeg setup assistance — Windows installers offer winget, and first launch prompts to install through the platform package manager. No FFmpeg binaries are bundled with vidcord.

  • Cross-platform installers: Windows NSIS (x86_64 + aarch64), macOS universal .dmg, Linux .AppImage (x86_64 + aarch64).

Supported input formats

MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, FLV, WMV, and any other container / codec combination your system FFmpeg can demux. Standard and Advanced mode output is .mp4 — H.264 (AVC) by default or H.265 (HEVC) if you pick an hevc_* encoder. Lossless Trim prefers .mp4 and can use the validated source video extension when the source container is the compatible stream-copy choice. GIF Mode creates an animated .gif.

Screenshots

Compress mode Advanced mode Lossless Trim GIF mode Batch mode
vidcord Compress mode with Discord target, crop, FPS, encoder, and trim controls vidcord Advanced mode: custom target size, output resolution, and FFmpeg encoder override vidcord Lossless Trim mode with keyframe-aligned trim controls and no video re-encoding vidcord GIF mode with Discord size target, FPS picker, trim timeline, and Create GIF button vidcord Batch mode with a multi-video queue and aggregate compression progress
Output file Windows context menu macOS Finder
Compressed video saved to the Downloads folder as name-vidcord.mp4 Windows File Explorer right-click menu with Open with vidcord entry on a video file macOS Finder right-click menu with Open with vidcord entry on a video file

Download vidcord

Grab the latest installer for your platform from the releases page:

→ Download latest release

Platform Architecture File
Windows 10/11 x86_64 vidcord_<version>_x64-setup.exe
Windows 10/11 aarch64 vidcord_<version>_arm64-setup.exe
macOS 11+ universal vidcord_<version>_universal.dmg
Linux (modern glibc desktop distro) x86_64 vidcord_<version>_amd64.AppImage
Linux (modern glibc desktop distro) aarch64 vidcord_<version>_aarch64.AppImage

You still need FFmpeg. vidcord does not bundle FFmpeg. See the next section. The installer or first launch can offer to install it for you.

FFmpeg setup

vidcord shells out to the system ffmpeg and ffprobe binaries, which must be on PATH. If they aren't, vidcord can prompt on first launch and attempt a package-manager install: winget on Windows, brew on macOS, or apt/dnf/pacman on Linux with privilege confirmation.

Windows

winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

The vidcord installer and first-launch setup can run this for you when FFmpeg is missing. vidcord recognizes WinGet's FFmpeg install directory immediately, even when the running process has not received the updated PATH.

Windows (aarch64 — Surface Pro X, Snapdragon PCs)

vidcord tries the same winget setup first. If the package is unavailable for your ARM64 PC, see FFMPEG_SETUP.md for the community build and manual PATH steps.

macOS

brew install ffmpeg

Linux

sudo apt install ffmpeg        # Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dnf install ffmpeg        # Fedora (needs RPM Fusion)
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg          # Arch / Manjaro

For more distros, manual installs, or troubleshooting, read FFMPEG_SETUP.md.

Usage

Opening one video uses the normal single-video workflows. Select two or more supported videos to activate Batch mode automatically; Browse, drag-and-drop, Open With, command-line file arguments, and second-instance forwarding all preserve the full selection.

  1. Open a video — drop it onto the window, right-click → Open with vidcord from Explorer/Finder, or click Browse File.
  2. Choose where to save — use Downloads, the imported clip's folder, a remembered custom folder, or Ask when done. Choose whether completion copies the output file or reveals it.
  3. Pick a mode or preset — choose Compress, Advanced, Lossless Trim, or GIF, then select a 20/50/100/500 MB target where that mode applies. Compress, Advanced, and GIF Mode expose the aspect-ratio crop selector; Advanced also exposes custom target size, resolution, FPS, audio normalization, and encoder controls. Leaving its size empty uses the source bitrate without a file-size limit. Standard mode can cap output FPS at 24, 30, or 60 when those values are below the source frame rate.
  4. Trim (optional) — drag the handles or use I / O to stamp the playhead. Space plays the selected range from the current playhead when it is inside the trim.
  5. Choose audio handling — keep the prioritized track, peak-normalize it to 0 dB, or remove audio to reserve more bitrate for video. In Advanced mode, open the mixer beside the mute and normalize buttons to inspect every source track, select individual tracks or all tracks, and keep that choice for this video only; each selected track reserves 128 kbps.
  6. Export. Compress and Advanced re-encode to the selected target, Lossless Trim uses Trim Without Re-encoding after keyframe discovery, and GIF mode creates an animated GIF. Progress shows the current attempt, encoder, bitrate, and ETA for encoding modes; when the export is done, vidcord reports the result and runs your selected completion action.

In Batch mode, the queue shows source details and per-file status while each video uses the same standard Compress target, crop, FPS, encoder, audio, and separate start/end trim settings. Up to two encodes run in parallel by default; resource contention switches the remaining queue to one-at-a-time processing. The queue continues after individual probe or encode failures, reports an aggregate ETA for the remaining work, and skips queued items when cancelled.

The footer preset selector starts at Autosave. Save the current compression and mode settings as a named preset, restore it later, or delete it; if you change one of those settings afterward, the selector returns to Autosave to show that the saved preset no longer matches. Output destination, custom folder, and completion action are saved independently for the next launch.

Compression goes to ~/Downloads/<original-name>-vidcord.mp4 by default, with -1, -2, … appended if the name is taken. Lossless Trim uses the same collision-safe naming and may use the source video extension when stream copying requires it.

Batch compression always produces MP4 outputs. Direct destinations reserve a unique path for every successful item. With Ask when done, all successful outputs are staged until one destination folder is chosen, then published together without overwriting existing files. The default completion action copies successful outputs as one clipboard group; the reveal action opens each distinct output folder once and selects every successful output in it.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key Action
Space Play / stop preview from the playhead
, / . Step 1/30 second back / forward
Shift + ← / → Nudge active trim handle by a small step
J / K Jump playhead to trim start / end
[ / ] Nudge trim start / end by a small step
I / O Set trim in / out to current playhead
R / U Reset trim to full clip
Cmd/Ctrl + Z Undo trim
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z Redo trim
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S Save a full-resolution PNG snapshot

Hardware acceleration

At startup vidcord runs ffmpeg -encoders, detects compatible CPU and hardware encoders, and prefers the first available H.264 hardware encoder on a new installation. A saved encoder choice, including CPU, remains unchanged. Advanced mode can accept any FFmpeg video encoder string; the Encoders dialog shows what your installed FFmpeg exposes. Hardware jobs use hardware-assisted decoding only where the platform policy makes it worthwhile; Windows and macOS keep the decode path in software to avoid extra GPU transfer overhead. Failed hardware encoder paths retain the CPU fallback.

Vendor / Platform Encoder Notes
NVIDIA h264_nvenc, hevc_nvenc Maxwell 2nd-gen and newer
AMD h264_amf, hevc_amf Windows only; Linux uses VAAPI
Intel h264_qsv, hevc_qsv HD Graphics 500-series and newer
Linux (any GPU) h264_vaapi, hevc_vaapi Requires a working /dev/dri/renderD*
macOS h264_videotoolbox, hevc_videotoolbox Available on Intel or Apple Silicon when exposed by FFmpeg
Fallback (CPU) libx264, libx265 Always available

On Linux, vidcord probes /dev/dri/renderD* once per session to pick the right VAAPI device, and sets LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=radeonsi for AMD systems.

Building from source

Prerequisites

Tool Version Notes
Rust stable (2021 edition) rustup default stable
Node.js ^20.19 or >=22.13 see package.json engines
FFmpeg any recent must be on PATH at runtime
Linux extras — libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev, libappindicator3-dev, librsvg2-dev, patchelf
Windows extras — WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 11)

Run the dev build

git clone https://github.com/cyroz1/vidcord
cd vidcord
npm install
npm run tauri dev

Vite serves the frontend on :5173 and Tauri launches the window with hot-reload.

Produce a release binary

npm run tauri build

Installers / bundles land in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Quality gates

npm run lint                                            # eslint src
npm run typecheck                                       # tsc --noEmit
npm test                                                # vitest
npm run format                                          # prettier --write src
cargo fmt   --check --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml --tests -- -D warnings
cargo test  --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
(cd src-tauri && cargo audit)                           # respects .cargo/audit.toml

CI treats any clippy warning as an error and also runs npm/Rust audit, version, asset, lint, typecheck, test, build-tool integrity, artifact provenance, and build checks. Keep new Rust code warning-clean.

Build profiles

  • release — LTO, codegen-units = 1, strip, panic = abort. Used for tagged v* releases.
  • ci — inherits release with lto = false, codegen-units = 4, opt-level = 1. Used by non-tag CI builds for speed.
  • dev.package."*" — third-party deps built at opt-level = 1 so FFmpeg stderr parsing and regex stay responsive in tauri dev while our own crate stays unoptimised for fast incremental compiles.

CI / releases

.github/workflows/build.yml runs a shared frontend build, consolidated Rust formatting/audit/clippy/test checks, and a 5-way platform matrix (Windows x86_64/aarch64, macOS universal, Linux x86_64/aarch64). Release builds attest their installer provenance, and the release job verifies those attestations and creates detached Ed25519 signatures before drafting a GitHub release from the matching CHANGELOG.md section. See RELEASE_SIGNING.md for the signing-key contract.

Project layout

src/                       React + TypeScript frontend
  App.tsx                  Root component — trim UI, preset wiring, compress flow
  ipc.ts                   Typed wrappers around Tauri invoke() commands
  losslessTrim.ts          Pure fit and keyframe-snap helpers for Lossless Trim
  settingsPresets.ts       Preset schema, normalization, equality, and parsing helpers
  components/              PreviewPane, TrimTimeline, ProgressSection, Toast, SettingsPresets, EncodersDialog
  hooks/                   useCompression, useEncoders, useSettings, useToasts
  __tests__/               Vitest tests (node env, Tauri APIs mocked)

src-tauri/                 Rust backend
  src/lib.rs               Tauri builder, plugins, Linux env shims, file-open routing
  src/ffmpeg.rs            Probe / preview / filmstrip / VAAPI discovery + caches
  src/ffmpeg/encoders.rs   FFmpeg encoder detection + encoder cache invalidation
  src/gpu.rs               Vendor detection (lspci / system_profiler / CIM)
  src/settings.rs          Typed settings persisted via atomic rename
  src/commands/            #[tauri::command] handlers (compression, encoders, files, updates)
  tauri.conf.json          Product config, CSP, file associations, bundle targets

.github/workflows/         App build/release workflow plus site validation workflow
scripts/                   Version, asset, and site structured-data checks

A deeper architectural tour — IPC boundary, file-open race conditions, cache layout, settings migration — lives in AGENTS.md.

Troubleshooting

"FFmpeg not found" after installing it. Use Retry in vidcord. On Windows, the app checks the standard WinGet aliases and Gyan.FFmpeg package directory directly. For other install methods, quit vidcord fully and relaunch it so the new PATH is loaded; if a newly opened terminal cannot run both ffmpeg -version and ffprobe -version, repair the install or its PATH entry using the setup guide.

The output file exceeds the target size. vidcord now retries oversized outputs automatically, first at a lower bitrate with the selected encoder and then with CPU encoding when needed. If it still cannot hit the requested limit, the status line reports the smallest oversized result. Try Remove audio, drop to a lower resolution in Advanced mode, or pick hevc_* (H.265) if your recipient can decode it.

Live scrubbing or trim playback is unavailable on Linux. These controls are disabled because WebKitGTK's GStreamer playback path can crash the renderer on some Linux systems. The timeline still provides FFmpeg-generated filmstrip and individual-frame previews while scrubbing.

Windows console flashes during a compress. Shouldn't happen — every FFmpeg invocation sets CREATE_NO_WINDOW (0x08000000). If you see it, open an issue with the vidcord log (%LOCALAPPDATA%\vidcord\vidcord.log).

Where do settings live?

OS Path
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\vidcord\settings.json
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/vidcord/settings.json
Linux ~/.local/share/vidcord/settings.json

Logs live alongside settings.json as vidcord.log (rotated at 5 MB).

FAQ

What is the best free Discord video compressor?

vidcord is built specifically for Discord uploads. It offers one-click 20 MB, 50 MB, 100 MB, and 500 MB targets and runs locally on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and uses FFmpeg instead of uploading your video to a third-party compression website.

How do I compress a video for Discord under 20 MB?

Open the video in vidcord, choose the 20 MB preset, trim to the part you want to share, optionally enable Remove Audio, and click Compress. vidcord calculates the target bitrate from the clip length, verifies the finished file size, and retries with safer settings if the output is too large.

Is vidcord free and open-source?

Yes. vidcord is released under the MIT License with the full source on GitHub. There are no paid tiers, accounts, or trials.

Does vidcord upload my videos anywhere?

No. vidcord runs video processing entirely on your computer — no compression server, no account, and no telemetry. The app automatically checks the GitHub Releases API for updates at most once every six hours, deferred for eight seconds after startup. It only downloads an installer after you choose to install an available update. The website also requests public release metadata from GitHub and an aggregate download count from Shields.io; no video data is included in either request. Compression itself works without an internet connection.

How do in-app updates work?

When an update is available, vidcord offers the matching Windows, macOS, or Linux installer and keeps the GitHub release page as a fallback. After you approve the download, the app streams it to Downloads, enforces size and completeness limits, compares the bytes with the SHA-256 digest published in GitHub release metadata, verifies the pinned independent Ed25519 release signature, and only then gives the installer an unused filename and opens it. This independent release signature does not replace platform code signing.

What are Discord's video upload size limits?

  • Free accounts: 20 MB per file.
  • Server Boost Level 2 / Nitro Basic uploads: 50 MB.
  • Server Boost Level 3 uploads: 100 MB (also the ceiling for the Clips Bypass trick).
  • Nitro Full: 500 MB per file.

vidcord ships one preset per tier and picks a resolution cap that usually still looks reasonable at that bitrate.

Which video formats does vidcord support?

Any container your system FFmpeg can demux: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM, FLV, WMV, and more. Compress and Advanced output .mp4 (H.264 by default, H.265 if you pick an hevc_* encoder in Advanced mode); Lossless Trim prefers .mp4 and can use the validated source extension when needed.

Can vidcord compress MP4 files for Discord?

Yes. MP4 is the main output format and one of the common supported input formats. You can open an existing .mp4, trim it, choose a Discord size limit, and export a smaller .mp4 ready to upload.

Can vidcord compress multiple videos at once?

Yes. Select two or more supported videos through Browse, drag-and-drop, Open With, command-line file arguments, or a second-instance launch. vidcord enters Batch mode automatically, probes each file, shows source details and status in a removable queue, and applies the standard Compress target, crop, FPS, encoder, audio, and separate start/end trim settings to every item. Batch always produces MP4 files, runs up to two encodes concurrently by default, falls back to one at a time after resource contention, continues after individual failures, and reports an aggregate ETA for the remaining queue.

Does vidcord require Discord Nitro?

No. The 20 MB preset targets free Discord accounts; the 50 / 100 / 500 MB presets cover Nitro Basic, boosted servers, and Nitro.

Can I change the output FPS?

Yes. Standard mode offers Off, 24, 30, and 60 FPS, and hides choices at or above the source video's frame rate when they would be redundant. Advanced mode lets you enter any positive FPS value, or leave the Off field empty to keep the original cadence.

How is vidcord different from using FFmpeg directly?

vidcord calculates the right target bitrate for your clip length and size limit, detects supported CPU and hardware encoders for you to choose from, remembers your selection, streams attempt details and ETA back while FFmpeg runs, verifies the final file size, retries oversized results, handles visual trimming, and writes to a predictable, auto-incremented path in Downloads, beside the source clip, or in a remembered custom folder. It can also ask for the final filename after compression. The completed file can then be copied as a file object to the system clipboard or revealed in the platform file manager. Under the hood it's still FFmpeg — Advanced mode exposes the encoder string so you can override any of it.

Can vidcord compress a video without re-encoding?

Yes. Lossless Trim stream-copies the selected source streams and snaps the visible boundaries outward to source keyframes, so the export keeps original quality without video re-encoding. It does not promise a target size; when a size-based segment is estimated to fit, Compress offers the same mode with a keyframe-precision warning. Keyframe discovery failure blocks the lossless export, and incompatible stream-copy inputs fall back to normal compression.

Does vidcord work on Linux and Wayland?

Yes. vidcord ships as an .AppImage for x86_64 and aarch64 and is tested on GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXQt, Sway, and Hyprland on both X11 and Wayland. Hardware-accelerated encoding uses VAAPI via /dev/dri/renderD*. Live video scrubbing and trim playback are disabled on Linux because WebKitGTK's GStreamer playback path can crash the renderer on some systems. FFmpeg-generated filmstrip and frame previews remain available while scrubbing.

Is there a CLI version?

No — vidcord is a GUI app. For scripted workflows, call FFmpeg directly; the presets in vidcord are just wrappers around standard FFmpeg arguments.

Does vidcord work offline?

Yes. Once vidcord and FFmpeg are installed, no internet connection is needed to compress a video. Update lookup, installer downloads, and the website's live download count simply remain unavailable while offline.

What are the system requirements?

  • Windows 10 or 11 (x86_64 or aarch64) with the WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 11).
  • macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer, Intel or Apple Silicon.
  • Linux with glibc and WebKit2GTK 4.1 (almost every modern desktop distribution).
  • Disk space for the app package and FFmpeg; exact sizes vary substantially by platform and package source.

Contributors

  • wvbzy (WubzyFN on X) — suggested the output destination and completion action features.

Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome. Before opening a PR:

  1. Run all quality gates above — CI is strict about clippy and formatting.
  2. Add a ## vX.Y section at the top of CHANGELOG.md for user-visible changes. The release workflow uses it as the GitHub release body.
  3. Don't bump version numbers casually. package.json, src-tauri/Cargo.toml, and src-tauri/tauri.conf.json must stay in sync, and any bump triggers a release the next time a tag is pushed.

Read AGENTS.md for the architectural invariants you're expected not to break (Tauri command registration, blocking work and spawn_blocking, the three file-open delivery paths, Linux env shims for KDE / LXQt / Sway / Hyprland, cache invalidation rules).

License

vidcord is released under the MIT License. FFmpeg is a separate dependency and is licensed under the LGPL/GPL by its own authors — vidcord invokes the ffmpeg and ffprobe binaries on your system but does not redistribute them.

Acknowledgements

  • FFmpeg — the actual video compression.
  • Tauri — cross-platform desktop shell.
  • React + Vite — frontend.
  • YABDP4Nitro — documented the Discord Clips size-limit quirk that the 100 MB preset targets.
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