INDEPENDENT TEST7 min read · Checked October 11, 2026

FilmCraft review: v0.6.0 CLI test

FilmCraft is ArtCraft’s video editor. We ran a small, independent command-line test on October 11, 2026: import an original color-card PNG, put it on a one-second timeline, save and reopen, render a frame and export a video. Here is what completed and what that result can actually tell you.

The useful starting point

The tested path passed on FilmCraft CLI 0.6.0, macOS 27.0.1, arm64. Independent decoding confirmed a one-second, 320 × 180 H.264 video with 30 frames. This was not a GUI, camera-footage or production-readiness test.

The official macOS universal CLI archive matched its published SHA-256. We used a separate data directory and synthetic media we created, with no accounts, paid generation or personal files. Results and files are linked below.

The version and sample we used

The build was filmcraft-cli-0.6.0-macos-universal.zip from the official v0.6.0 release. Its archive SHA-256 was 7ede2aa3e8994ca8363618ef649526546cf951b11a8eaf895b9471101cf5bd32 and matched SHA256SUMS.txt. The CLI reported version 0.6.0.

Our input was a 320 × 180 RGB PNG with a red left half and blue right half. We made a 30 fps sequence, placed that still on V1 for one second and used no audio. CPU rendering was selected for the video export. A deliberately simple fixture makes dimensions, timing and gross image differences easy to inspect.

A red and blue color card rendered by FilmCraft CLI in our test — Actual FilmCraft-rendered frame from our original synthetic fixture. This is exported image output, not a screenshot of the app interface.

What completed successfully

Import, timeline placement and saving returned successful command results. We reopened the .fcproj file in a fresh CLI process; its sequence inspection reported 320 × 180, 30 fps and 30 frames. Rendering a frame at 0.5 seconds and exporting an H.264 MP4 both completed.

We checked the MP4 with ffprobe and decoded it using ffmpeg with error detection enabled. The result was exactly 1.000000 second and 30 decoded frames, with no reported decode errors. At one central pixel in each color region, the largest RGB channel difference from the input was one value on the 0–255 scale. That is a two-pixel sanity check, not a color-fidelity study.

We also probed a nonexistent media path. The CLI returned exit code 1 and a diagnostic. This confirms useful failure signaling for that case only; it does not establish recovery from a malformed project or damaged video.

Observed results for this single synthetic workflow
Operation	Result	Evidence
PNG import	Pass	Successful import, one media item
Timeline placement	Pass	One clip, one second on V1
Save and reopen	Pass	Fresh-process sequence inspection
PNG frame render	Pass	320 × 180 output at 0.5 s
H.264 MP4 export	Pass	30 frames, 30 fps, 1 s
Independent decode	Pass	ffmpeg exit 0, no errors
Missing-media probe	Expected failure	Exit 1 with a diagnostic

Reproduce the small check

Use the same CLI release if you want a version-matched comparison. Put the original PNG in a fresh working folder and create a local data directory. The imported fixture receives item 1 in this new project; use the actual returned item if you adapt the sequence.

The two commands in edit.jsonl create the sequence and place the still. FilmCraft uses 254016000000 ticks per second. Run the commands below from the working folder after adding the CLI to your PATH. Keep your own projects outside this test folder.

filmcraft-cli --data-dir ./data --save-as fixture.fcproj import fixture.png

# Save these two JSON lines as edit.jsonl:
{"id":"file.newSequence","params":{"name":"Color-card test","width":320,"height":180,"fps":30,"video":1,"audio":0}}
{"id":"timeline.place","params":{"item":1,"track":"V1","seconds":0,"duration":254016000000,"audio":false}}

filmcraft-cli --data-dir ./data --project fixture.fcproj --save run edit.jsonl
filmcraft-cli --data-dir ./data --project fixture.fcproj inspect sequence
filmcraft-cli --data-dir ./data --project fixture.fcproj render --seconds 0.5 --out rendered.png
filmcraft-cli --data-dir ./data --project fixture.fcproj export rendered.mp4 --format h264 --no-audio --gpu-rendering off
ffprobe -v error -count_frames -show_streams rendered.mp4
ffmpeg -v error -xerror -i rendered.mp4 -f null -

Version-matched CLI implementation and help

What this review does not establish

A one-second still-image sequence is much easier than a real edit. We did not test the graphical interface, camera or phone video import, scrubbing, keyboard interactions, sound, captions, transitions, multicam, HDR, GPU export or interchange with another editor. We did not compare export speed with Premiere.

The current project README labels FilmCraft alpha, says native .prproj import is unavailable, and lists plug-in and real-world-media gaps. Read the current status for your chosen build. Published codec conformance claims and our tiny output check answer different questions.

FilmCraft status and documented gaps

The next useful test is your media

Begin with a short copied clip from the camera or phone you use, plus the audio format you deliver. Try a cut, save and reopen the project, export to the required format and inspect sync, duration and picture in the receiving player. Increase complexity only after that small path works.

Retain source media, original projects and a reference output. Our result supports further evaluation of this release’s CLI path; it is not a reason to promise compatibility or move a deadline-sensitive project without its own check.

Sources & evidence

Checked October 11, 2026. Source pages, discussions and releases can change. GetPhotoCraft is independent of ArtCraft.