Big clip in.
Piccolo clip out
Copy a video, switch to Clipiccolo, switch back and paste one a fraction of the size that still looks right. Into Slack, Jira, an email, wherever it was going.
Example names and sizes; yours will differ.
The clipboard, both ways.
Other converters give you a file to go and find. Clipiccolo gives you a paste. The whole trip is copy, switch, paste; everything else has a default that stays out of the way.
Copy
Copy a video in Explorer, or a link to one. Dropping the file on the window or on the Clipiccolo icon works too, and so does Browse.
Switch
Switch to Clipiccolo. It notices the new copy and starts. Pick Small, Balanced or Sharp if you want to, or leave it.
Paste
Switch back and paste. The small MP4 is already on the clipboard, with a toast to say so, and the file sits next to the original as <name> - piccolo.mp4.
Several videos queue up and run one after another; Cancel stops the current one. The clipboard part is two switches in Settings, both on by default: Convert copied videos and Copy converted videos.
One decision: how small.
Three presets, and Balanced is on by default. The row shows the real size before and after, so you can see what each one cost.
| Preset | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Long side, up to | 1280 px | 1920 px | 2560 px |
| Frame rate, up to | 30 fps | 30 fps | 60 fps |
| CRF (lower is sharper) | 30 | 26 | 22 |
| Audio (AAC) | 64 kb/s | 96 kb/s | 128 kb/s |
| Never upscales, never raises the frame rate, keeps portrait videos portrait. The result is always H.264 MP4 with faststart, so it plays in a browser straight from wherever it is uploaded. | |||
What goes in, what comes out.
In
- Drop one or more videos on the window, or on the Clipiccolo icon.
- Paste with Ctrl+V: files copied in Explorer, paths from Copy as path, or an http(s) link to a video.
- Links are downloaded with the system’s own curl. HLS streams (
.m3u8) go straight to ffmpeg. - Browse, if you prefer a file dialog.
- Any format ffmpeg reads: mov, mp4, mkv, avi, webm, wmv, gif and more.
Out
- One small MP4 per video, H.264 with faststart, named
<name> - piccolo.mp4. - Next to the original, or in a folder you choose under Settings → Save converted videos.
- On the clipboard when the batch is done, ready for Ctrl+V anywhere. Copy, Copy all and Ctrl+C work too.
- Dragged out of the list straight into a chat or an email.
- Shown in Explorer with the file selected, with one click.
Nothing leaves your computer.
Clipiccolo is a converter, not a service. There is no account to make and no server to trust.
Read the privacy notes- No account, no upload, no analytics. Your video is converted on your PC by a bundled copy of ffmpeg, which runs as a separate program.
- The only network use is the one you ask for. A pasted link is downloaded from that address. The installer fetches Microsoft’s WebView2 runtime if your Windows lacks it.
- The clipboard is read when you switch to Clipiccolo, only for copies made since it last looked, and only for things that look like a video file, a path or a link. Other text is ignored. Turn Convert copied videos off and it never looks.
- Settings stay on your disk, in
%APPDATA%\io.github.hubertmk.clipiccolo\settings.json. Nothing is stored anywhere else. - Open source under the MIT license. Read it, or build it yourself.
And the small things.
Queue
Drop several videos at once; they run one after another. Cancel stops the current one.
Your folder
Settings → Save converted videos puts every small MP4 in one place. The default is next to the original.
Show
Opens Explorer or Finder with the small file selected.
Light and dark
Follows your system theme, on Windows and on the Mac.
Portable
Clipiccolo.exe on the releases page is one file with no install. It unpacks once into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Clipiccolo (about 100 MB); later starts are instant.
For IT
Clipiccolo-Setup-<version>.exe /S installs silently, per user, with no admin rights.
Two switches
Convert copied videos and Copy converted videos, both on by default. Turn either off in Settings.
Honest numbers
Every row shows the real size before and after. Nothing is promised that the encoder did not deliver.
Download for Windows or Mac.
Windows 10 and 11, and macOS on Apple Silicon. No prerequisites, nothing to sign up for.
Windows
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
- Installer
Clipiccolo-Setup-<version>.exe, about 28 MB- Install
- Per user, into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Clipiccolo. No admin rights. - Needs
- Microsoft’s WebView2 runtime, installed for you if it is missing.
- Remove
- Settings → Apps, like any other app.
- Also
- A portable
Clipiccolo.exe: one file, no install.
Every version and the portable exe are on the releases page.
Mac
macOS 11 or newer, Apple Silicon (M1 and later)
- Disk image
Clipiccolo-<version>-mac-arm64.dmg- Install
- Drag Clipiccolo into Applications. ffmpeg is inside the app.
- Signed
- With the author’s Apple Developer ID, so macOS opens it like any other app.
- Clipboard
- macOS asks once whether Clipiccolo may read what you copied. Allow it; that is the whole trick.
- Remove
- Move the app to the Bin.
- Not yet
- Intel Macs.
Questions.
Does my video get uploaded anywhere?
No. Conversion runs on your computer with the bundled ffmpeg. The only network use is downloading a link you pasted, and the Windows installer fetching WebView2 if Windows lacks it.
Why does Windows warn me when I run the installer?
Clipiccolo is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen shows “Windows protected your PC” the first time. Choose More info, then Run anyway. The source is open if you would rather read it or build it yourself.
How small does it get?
It depends on the video. Screen recordings and phone videos usually shrink a lot; a video that was already compressed well shrinks less. The row shows the real numbers when it is done, and the sizes in the demo above are examples, not measurements.
Will it look worse?
Smaller means some loss, and the presets trade it off differently. Balanced is tuned for a screen recording or a phone video you watch on a screen; Sharp keeps more detail and up to 60 fps; Small is for when size matters most. None of them upscales or raises the frame rate.
Which formats work?
In: anything ffmpeg reads, so mov, mp4, mkv, avi, webm, wmv, gif and most things a phone, a screen recorder or a camera produces. Out: always an H.264 MP4 with faststart, which plays in every browser and chat app.
Where does the small file go?
Next to the original as <name> - piccolo.mp4, or in the folder you set under Settings → Save converted videos. Show opens Explorer or Finder with it selected.
Can I use it at work?
Yes. Clipiccolo is MIT-licensed, needs no account and no admin rights, and installs silently with /S. It bundles ffmpeg, which is GPL v3 and runs as a separate program; the third-party notices list everything.
I had Clip Shrinker. What now?
Clipiccolo is the same app with its new name. Uninstall Clip Shrinker under Settings → Apps first, since Windows treats Clipiccolo as a new app; your settings carry over on the first start.
Mac or Linux?
Mac, yes: Clipiccolo ships for macOS 11 and newer on Apple Silicon, with the same clipboard tricks (⌘V in, ⌘C and drag out). Intel Macs and Linux are not covered. If you would use it there, say so in an issue on GitHub.
Why “Clipiccolo”?
A clip, and piccolo, Italian for small. A big clip goes in and a piccolo one comes out; the two dots in the logo are that pair.
Free, and staying free.
Clipiccolo is free and open source, with no account, no upsell and no plan to add one. If it saved you a few minutes, a coffee says thanks and helps keep it going. Grazie.
Buy me a coffee