An offline video editor for Mac
Yapwing is a Mac video editor that keeps working with Wi-Fi off. Speech-to-text, filler-word and silence removal, captions, search, the chat assistant and export all run on the Mac’s own chip. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no account to edit. You need a connection only to download the app and its models, to subscribe and to get updates.
What runs on your Mac
| Job | How it runs |
|---|---|
| Speech-to-text | A Parakeet speech model in Core ML, about 632 MB, downloaded once in the background. Until it arrives, a smaller built-in model transcribes. English only. |
| Chat assistant | Gemma 4. Macs with less than 32 GB of memory use the E4B model, about 5 GB; Macs with 32 GB or more use the 26B model, about 17 GB. It downloads only when you press Download. |
| Picture search | SigLIP 2 Base, about 784 MB. Optional. |
| Library analysis | Runs locally with no model download. |
| Export | Rendered on the Mac: H.264 MP4 at 30 fps, captions burned in, sound leveled to −14 LUFS. |
Cutting, captions, crops and Follow Subject need no model beyond these.
What needs a connection
- Downloads. The app, and each model once, fetched from Hugging Face.
- Updates. Yapwing checks its update feed about once a day.
- Subscribing. Checkout opens in your browser. Signing in on a second Mac sends a six-digit code to your email.
- Subscription refresh. If the server cannot be reached, a subscribed Mac keeps exporting for three days past the paid period.
- An outside agent, if you connect one. Claude Code or Codex talk to their own provider. Yapwing’s built-in chat does not.
When it does connect, the app sends only a sign-in token. There are no analytics or trackers in the app or on this site. The privacy policy has the detail.
Remove filler words and silence without uploading
Because the transcript is made on the Mac, cleaning up speech needs no service. Three ways, from most to least hands-on:
- Delete the words. Select “um” in the transcript and press Delete. The sound and picture go with it.
- Tighten pauses. Edit → Tighten Pauses shortens every pause longer than 0.4 seconds to 0.4 seconds.
- Ask. Press ⌘K and type “cut the filler words” or “get this under 30 seconds”. The local model does it as one undo step, and a request that would cut more than a quarter of the video waits for you to press Apply.
Your original files are never changed. Every cut can be restored.
Captions, offline
Captions come from the same local transcript. Retype a misheard word and the caption changes while the voice stays as recorded. Drag captions in the preview to place and size them. Export burns them into the picture in 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 or 16:9.
If you want an offline Descript alternative
Descript’s help center states that it “doesn’t support offline editing”; projects save and sync through its cloud. [1] Yapwing covers the central idea, editing video by editing text, entirely on a Mac. It does not cover Descript’s podcast, screen recording or team features. The full comparison lists both sides.
Limits worth knowing
- Apple Silicon Macs on macOS 26 or later. No Windows, no Intel, no phone app.
- English speech only.
- Exports are 1080p at 30 fps, SDR. There is no 4K.
- The models take disk space: about 632 MB for speech, plus 5 GB or 17 GB if you want the chat assistant.
- It is built for short talking videos, not multi-camera or effects work.
Questions
Can I edit video on a plane?
Yes. Download the models while you are online, and after that importing, transcribing, cutting and exporting all work in airplane mode.
Is anything uploaded to transcribe my video?
No. The speech model is a file on your Mac and the audio never leaves it.
Do I need an account?
Not to edit. You give an email when you subscribe, which lets the subscription follow you to another Mac.
How much does it cost?
Editing is free, and so is your first export. After that, exporting is $9.99 a month or $79 a year. There are no credits or minutes.
Is there a private video editor with no upload for Windows?
Not this one. Yapwing is Mac only.
Try Yapwing
Download it, open a recording and cut it by its words. Editing needs no account, and your first export is free. After that, exporting is $9.99 a month or $79 a year.
Sources
- Descript help center: offline editing and cloud sync.