# Frequently asked questions > Short answers to the questions people ask most, each linked to the full explanation. > > Verified against the current RoughCut app on 28 August 2026 > https://www.roughcuteditor.com/docs/faq Short, direct answers to the questions people ask most about RoughCut: what it produces, whether Final Cut Pro is required, which videos and languages work best, what is uploaded and when, what it costs, how the trial counts, what Pro adds, how review and recompute work, how to get captions back into your editor, and where to get help. Every answer begins with the direct response and links to the article that covers it fully. If you are diagnosing a specific failure, the troubleshooting page is organised by symptom and the error reference lists the exact messages RoughCut shows. ## What RoughCut produces ### What exactly do I get out of RoughCut? One file: a frame-accurate FCPXML timeline. Import it into Final Cut Pro and your rough cut appears, linked to your original footage. RoughCut never re-renders or re-encodes your video — the edit is a set of cut decisions, not a new video file. See [Export and import FCPXML](/docs/export-fcpxml). ### Do I need Final Cut Pro? You need an editor that imports FCPXML. RoughCut is built for Final Cut Pro; the exported file also imports into DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro. RoughCut prepares the edit — it does not play or render video. See [system requirements](/docs/system-requirements). ### What kind of videos work best? Talking-head, voice-driven recordings: tutorials, courses, vlogs, podcasts, and presentations to camera. That is what the editing pass is tuned for. Music-driven and multi-camera edits are not the target. ### Which languages are supported? English and Arabic are tuned and tested for both transcription and editing. The on-device model understands many more languages, so others often work, without an editing-quality guarantee. See [system requirements](/docs/system-requirements). ### Can I just transcribe without cutting? Yes. Choose `Transcribe Only` in the sidebar. It exports SRT subtitles or plain text, needs no AI key, is never gated by purchase, and never consumes one of your included rough cuts. See [Use Transcribe Only](/docs/transcribe-only). ## Keys, costs, and privacy ### Why do I need my own API key? The AI editing pass — removing retakes, false starts, and tangents — runs on Gemini or OpenAI under **your own** account. You bring the key, your provider bills you directly, and RoughCut has no servers in between. See [Choose Gemini or OpenAI](/docs/choose-ai-provider). ### What happens if I add no key at all? RoughCut still removes silences and long pauses using on-device analysis only. You lose bad-take and tangent removal, nothing else. Turn `Bad-take removal` off for this mode. ### How much does a video cost to process? Your provider bills your key at its published rates; RoughCut adds no markup and publishes no per-video figure because rates change. On-device transcription costs nothing extra. Longer recordings cost more, and [Second Look](/docs/second-look) adds another call. ### Is my footage uploaded anywhere? **Your video is never uploaded.** On-device transcription, the default, uploads nothing. The AI editing pass sends transcript **text** only. The single feature that sends audio is Pro Cloud transcription, and only for a job where you explicitly select it, and only to OpenAI under your own key. See [Privacy and data flow](/docs/privacy-data-flow). ### Where are my API keys stored? In the macOS Keychain, encrypted by the system — never in a settings file, never in an exported configuration. Each key is sent only to the provider it belongs to. ## Trial, purchase, and Pro ### How does the free trial work? Your first five completed rough cuts are included, with no account and no time limit. Failed and cancelled jobs do not count, and Transcribe Only never counts. See [Trial, core unlock, and RoughCut Pro](/docs/plans-purchases). ### Will I be charged monthly? Not for the app. The unlock is a one-time Mac App Store purchase and the core app is never a subscription. RoughCut Pro is a separate, optional subscription for convenience features, and the app works fully without it. ### What does Pro add? Smart Silence, Cloud transcription, Second Look, goal summarising, and future Pro features. Everything core — the recording-environment presets, on-device transcription, bad-take removal, review, recompute, and export — works without Pro. ### What is Smart Silence? A Pro feature that measures your recording's actual noise floor and picks the silence threshold for you, instead of you choosing a preset or a dB value. The value it chose is shown on the finished job. The manual presets stay free. See [recording environments](/docs/recording-environments). ### What is Second Look? A Pro feature that re-reads the footage that survived the first editing pass, where leftover retakes and false starts are easier to spot, and removes only high-confidence cases. Borderline proposals become review suggestions you apply with one click — never silent deletions. If it fails, your standard cut is untouched. See [Second Look](/docs/second-look). ### How do I cancel Pro, or get a refund? Subscriptions are managed in your App Store settings, and Apple handles billing, cancellation, and refunds. Use [Apple's billing support](https://support.apple.com/billing) for payment questions. ## Working with cuts ### Can I change what it decided to cut? Yes. Every finished job lists every cut with its transcript, category, and confidence. Play any range to hear it, flip any decision, then click `Recompute Cuts` — the timeline is rebuilt without re-transcribing or calling the AI again. See [Review the cut on the timeline](/docs/review-timeline). ### Do I have to export again after recomputing? Yes. A file you already exported does not update itself. RoughCut tells you so with `Cut list recomputed — re-export the FCPXML.` See [Recompute](/docs/recompute). ### How long does a job take? Transcription is the longest stage. RoughCut does not publish processing-time guarantees, because it depends on your Mac, the recording length, and which features are on. See [Understand job progress](/docs/job-progress). ### Final Cut says my media is offline after import. The exported timeline references your original file where it was when the job ran. Do not move, rename, or delete it before importing. If you already did, use `File → Relink Files` in Final Cut Pro. ## Final Cut Pro workflow ### Can I send files straight from Final Cut Pro? Yes, with a one-time share destination. When a video arrives RoughCut asks whether to transcribe it or make a rough cut; audio-only files go straight to transcription. See [Send media from Final Cut Pro](/docs/fcp-share-destination). ### How do I get the transcript back as captions? Export SRT from a finished transcription, then in Final Cut Pro choose `File → Import → Captions`. See [Export SRT captions](/docs/srt-captions). ## Setup and advanced ### The model download is stuck — can I install it manually? Yes. Use `Copy download link` in `Settings → Models & Data`, download the file in a browser, then use `Import model file…`. See [Install the local speech model](/docs/speech-model). ### What is the Evaluation section for? An optional power-user tool that measures how closely RoughCut's automatic cuts match reference edits you provide. Everyday use never needs it. See [Evaluate RoughCut against your own edits](/docs/evaluation-overview). ### What is Langfuse and do I need it? Optional third-party tracing, off by default and completely inert without your own keys. You do not need it for any editing feature. See [Connect Langfuse tracing](/docs/langfuse). ### Where do I get help? Start with [Troubleshooting by symptom](/docs/troubleshooting) or the [error reference](/docs/error-reference). If neither resolves it, [contact support](/docs/contact-support).