Upload Video to Claude: Files Up to 4 GB, Right in the Chat
To upload video to Claude for editing, connect Cut Express and ask Claude to open the Cut Express upload panel. It appears right in the chat in Claude.ai and Claude Desktop, and you drop your files into it. In Claude Code, Claude uploads files from your computer itself. Either way the files go straight to Cut Express’s storage and are ready a few seconds later, so Claude can look at them and edit.
Why not attach the video to the chat?
A chat attachment gives Claude a file to read, not footage to cut. Cut Express needs the original file to render at full quality. Claude needs a way to see inside it: contact sheets of frames with their times, and transcripts of what’s said. Uploading to Cut Express gives both. If you haven’t connected it yet, start with connecting Cut Express to Claude.
How do you upload in Claude.ai or Claude Desktop?
- Ask: “Open the Cut Express upload panel.”
- Drag your files onto the panel, or click it to choose them. Several at once is fine.
- Watch each file’s progress bar. When the panel says “Done”, tell Claude you’re ready.
Claude then lists your media to get each file’s id, and you can describe the edit. The panel only appears in apps that show interactive panels; Claude Code in a terminal doesn’t.
How do you upload from Claude Code?
Ask Claude to upload the files: “Upload the clips in ./footage to Cut Express.” Claude asks Cut Express for an upload link per file, sends each file with a single command, and confirms them. Nothing passes through the chat, so large files are fine.
Which formats and sizes work?
| Kind | Formats | Largest file (Pro / Ultra) |
|---|---|---|
| Video | MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, M4V | 2 GB / 4 GB |
| Photo | JPG, PNG, WebP | 2 GB / 4 GB |
| Audio | MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, OGG, FLAC | 2 GB / 4 GB |
Your media library holds up to 25 GB on Pro and 100 GB on Ultra, counting uploads and rendered videos (pricing). Phone footage in MP4 or MOV uploads as it is; you don’t need to convert it.
How should you prepare your files?
Send the originals. A re-export from another app loses quality and gains nothing, because Claude trims and crops at render time. Two habits help:
- Name files by what’s in them. “beach-sunset.mp4” or “interview-take-2.mov” lets you say “use the beach clip” and be understood.
- Upload once, reuse often. Logos, intro music and your outro clip stay in your library, so the next video can use them without a new upload.
What if a file is too big?
Long 4K recordings fill a 2 GB limit fast. Export the part you need, or a 1080p version of the whole recording, from your camera app or computer. A 1080p source is plenty for a 1080p video, and Ultra’s 4 GB limit leaves more room for long 2K work.
Can you send music and photos too?
Yes, the same way as video. Music files become sound tracks Claude can loop, trim and duck under a voice. Photos become scenes with a slow zoom or pan, or overlays like a logo in the corner. A PNG with a transparent background works well for a logo or a sticker. Send them in the same batch as your clips so everything for one video arrives together.
What happens after a file arrives?
Cut Express reads it: its length, size and frame rate, plus a thumbnail and contact sheets of frames labelled with their times. That takes a few seconds for most files. Claude uses the sheets to choose in and out points. On request it also gets a transcript with the timing of every word, which is how it cuts on a sentence. For long videos it can ask for the stretches where something happens; see gameplay highlights and YouTube Shorts from long videos.
Can Claude use files I already have in Cut Express?
Yes. Everything you upload stays in your media library until you remove it, and so does every stock clip you add and every voice or sound effect you make. Ask “list my Cut Express media” in any new chat and Claude sees it all. You can also browse it on the Media page of your account.
How do you remove files?
Ask Claude (“remove beach-take-2.mp4 from Cut Express”), or use Remove on the Media page. The file is deleted from storage right away. Videos you already rendered keep working; they don’t depend on the source file anymore.
FAQ
Is there a limit on how many files I upload at once? Up to 20 per batch. Drop more after the first batch finishes.
Are my files private? Yes. They’re stored for your account and used only to render your videos. See the privacy policy.
Can I upload a whole folder? In Claude Code, yes: ask Claude to upload every file in it.
What if an upload fails? Drop the file again. A file that never finishes uploading is cleaned up automatically after two hours.
More in the FAQ and how it works.
Start editing with Cut Express
Cut Express is the video editor you drive from Claude: upload in the chat, describe the edit, get the MP4. See the plans or read how to edit videos with Claude.