Turn Google Drive videos into short clips

Clyper takes the link to one video file in Drive, shared with anyone who has it: the drive.google.com/file/d/... link Copy link gives you, and older drive.google.com/open?id=... links too. The file can be an MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV with sound, from a minute long and up to 10 GB.

• A folder's link: open the folder, select the video in it and copy that file's link. Clyper tells you when you've pasted a folder.
• Restricted, or Your organization: Clyper says it couldn't open the file. Change General access to Anyone with the link and paste the link again.
• Downloads off for viewers: Clyper downloads the file, so viewers have to be allowed to.
• A screen recording with no one talking: Clyper picks moments from what's said, so a silent demo gives it little to clip. One with a voice over it works.

From a link, Clyper takes files up to 10 GB, against 4 GB for an upload, and clips 4 hours at a time. It downloads the whole file before it starts, so a big one takes longer to get going; you can leave the page while it does. For a longer video, turn on Clip part of the video and clip it a part at a time: each part uses a credit a minute of itself, not of the whole file.

Drive's warning that a big file is too large to scan for viruses doesn't stop Clyper: it confirms the download, as you would. What can stop it is Drive's limit on busy files. When a file is viewed or downloaded a lot in a short time, Google shows “Too many users have viewed or downloaded this file recently,” and says the restriction typically resets within 24 hours. Clyper then tells you the host is limiting downloads: try again later, or upload the file instead.

Over 10 GB? Make it smaller with the free video compressor, or cut it into parts with the video splitter, which copies them without re-encoding. Both run in your browser, so the file isn't uploaded anywhere.

Google Meet saves recordings to the organizer's Drive, in the Google Meet folder. Share the recording itself, not the meeting's folder, with anyone who has the link, and paste it: no download. Where your Workspace doesn't allow links outside the organization, download the MP4 and upload it. The rest is in Google Meet recordings to clips.

A Drive link also saves passing big files around: a client or a colleague shares the file, you paste the link, and nobody downloads and uploads a few GB. It suits clipping agencies working from client footage, and marketing teams clipping webinars and talks someone else recorded. Clip only footage you own or have permission to use; see is clipping legal?

Once your clips are made, you can set General access back to Restricted. Clyper deletes its copy of the file when the job is done, and each clip keeps the stretch of video it needs, so your edits keep working.