CutPilot

FAQ & troubleshooting

Quick fixes first, product questions second. If you're stuck beyond these, email support@cutpilot.app.

Troubleshooting

The Setup tab says the helper is offline

Silence cut, captions and filler removal need the CutPilot Helper running. In order:

  1. Is it installed? If you only installed the plugin, grab the helper from the download page and run the installer.
  2. Is it running? Look for CutPilot Helper in your menu bar / system tray, or start it from Applications (macOS) or the Start menu (Windows). The Setup tab's health check goes green within a few seconds — no plugin reload needed.
  3. Token mismatch? If the panel reports an authentication error to the helper, re-run the helper installer — it rewrites the token file (~/Library/Application Support/CutPilot/helper-token on macOS, %APPDATA%\CutPilot\helper-token on Windows) that both sides share.
  4. Port conflict? The helper listens on local port 41750 by default. If another app owns that port, set a different port in config.json next to the token file and restart the helper.
  5. Security software? The helper only ever binds to 127.0.0.1, but some firewalls prompt anyway — allow it; no network exposure is possible.

Everything that doesn't need media analysis — chat, timeline edits, presets — keeps working while the helper is offline.

My API key is marked invalid

  1. Whole key, right box? Paste the full key (they're long) into the field for the matching provider in Settings — an OpenAI key won't validate as an Anthropic key.
  2. Billing enabled? The most common cause: the provider account has no payment method or has hit its spending cap. Keys from unfunded accounts are rejected or fail on first use. Check the provider's billing page.
  3. Key revoked or expired? Keys can be deleted at the provider side. Create a fresh key and paste it in — CutPilot re-verifies immediately.
  4. ChatGPT Plus is not an API plan. A ChatGPT subscription does not include API access; you need a key from platform.openai.com. Same idea for the other providers — see creating keys.
  5. Network filtering? Corporate proxies sometimes block api.openai.com, api.anthropic.com or generativelanguage.googleapis.com. Verification needs to reach the provider once.

CutPilot says the sequence is empty (or nothing happens)

  1. Is a sequence active? CutPilot operates on the active sequence. Click into the timeline of the sequence you want to edit so it has focus, then retry.
  2. Does it have clips? A brand-new sequence with no clips gives the agent nothing to snapshot. Add media first.
  3. Silence cut needs audio. Detection runs on your clips' audio. Video-only clips (or muted, detached audio on another sequence) produce no ranges.
  4. Offline media. If clips are offline (red "Media offline"), relink them — the helper needs the real media files on disk to analyze.
  5. Transcript tools need a transcript. "Remove fillers" and quote-based edits read the sequence transcript. Transcribe in Premiere's Text panel first, or let CutPilot transcribe through your key.

Where did my captions go? (SRT import)

Premiere's plugin API can't create caption tracks directly yet, so CutPilot writes an .srt file and shows you where it saved it. Import it with Text panel > Captions > Import captions from file — timings match your sequence exactly. This is a two-click step for now; it becomes automatic as soon as Adobe exposes the API.

How do I undo what the AI did?

One step: Edit > Undo. Every confirmed plan applies as a single Premiere transaction labeled CutPilot: <action> — clips, gaps and marker shifts all revert together. If a plan fails midway, CutPilot stops cleanly and reports exactly which operations were applied so you're never guessing.

Product questions

What do AI features cost me?

You pay your provider directly, at cost, no markup: typically $0.01–$0.10 per chat edit session and about $0.006 per audio minute for Whisper transcription. Silence cutting and filler removal are free — they never call a paid API. Set a spending cap on your provider account for a hard ceiling. Details per provider: API keys & costs.

How does the trial work, exactly?

First run starts a 14-day full-Pro trial — no card, no account. When it ends, the panel drops to the free tier by itself: chat 20 messages/day, unlimited silence cut, captions for 1 language on sequences up to 10 minutes, 5 starter presets. Nothing is charged and no project data is affected.

How do the 2 seats work?

A Pro license activates on up to 2 machines. Activation binds the license to an anonymous machine fingerprint. Moving to a new computer? Deactivate the old machine from Settings (or from the new machine if the old one is gone) and activate the new one.

What happens when I'm offline?

Local features (silence cut, timeline tools, presets) work with no internet. Chat and transcription need to reach your AI provider. Your Pro license revalidates in the background and tolerates 14 days offline; past that it temporarily falls back to the free tier until the next successful check — nothing is lost, and it restores automatically.

What data leaves my machine?

Exactly two flows, both under your control:

  • To your AI provider (your account): your prompts, a compact metadata snapshot of the sequence (clip names, timings, markers — not media), transcript text, and — only when transcribing — extracted audio. This goes straight from your machine to OpenAI, Anthropic or Google, governed by your agreement with them.
  • To the CutPilot license server: your license key and an anonymous machine fingerprint during activation/validation. That's all.

Our servers never receive media, prompts, transcripts or API keys. The helper never talks to the internet at all — it's bound to 127.0.0.1 and authenticated with a per-install token.

What do "12 months of updates" mean?

Your one-time Pro purchase includes every CutPilot update released in the 12 months after purchase. After that, the versions you have keep working forever; renewing the update window is optional. See pricing.

Which Premiere Pro versions are supported?

Premiere Pro 25.6 and later (the 2026 release line) — CutPilot is built on Adobe's modern UXP plugin platform, not the deprecated CEP framework. Native-transcript features (filler removal without a key) need 26.3+.

Which AI models can I use?

Any of the three providers' current chat models — OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini — selectable in Settings. Model lists update with the plugin so new releases appear without waiting for a new CutPilot version.