Edits, the video editor from Instagram, is now available as a free download for Mac. You need a Mac with an Apple silicon chip, M1 or later, and an Instagram account to sign in.
The Mac app includes an MCP for all of its tools, so you can connect an AI agent such as the Muse AI agent to build a rough cut of your video and then finish the edit by hand. Matthew Simari, Instagram’s head of product management for Edits, said in an interview that you can use any agent you want.
Edits for Mac Connects to Any AI Agent Through MCP
Simari said Meta would like you to try Muse, but the MCP works with any agent you choose. His example is asking Muse to make a rough cut from a video in your downloads folder, then opening the project file in Edits to keep editing. You can move back and forth between agent and manual editing, and you turn the MCP on in settings.
Muse runs on the Mac as a native app with file access, so it can work with files already on your Mac. Simari said Meta’s AI plans were a factor in bringing Edits to the Mac, alongside heavy creator demand for a desktop version.
Instagram says 50 million people have used Edits in just over a year. The phone app already has an AI creative assistant that rolled out to people in the United States on September 30. It uses your Instagram views and retention to suggest video ideas.
Color Grading, Keyframes and Audio Waveforms Are Built In
Instagram built the video editor around a multi-track timeline for longer projects with layered audio, inside the same Edits interface you may already use on your phone.
Editing and color
- You can split, cut and trim clips on the timeline.
- You can build transitions with keyframes directly on the timeline.
- You can cut clips to the beat using the audio waveforms on the timeline.
- You can grade color with color wheels, curves and log conversions.
- You can set custom keyboard shortcuts or carry them over from another editor.
Audio, captions and formats
- Instagram’s licensed and royalty-free audio libraries are built into the app.
- You can import your own LUTs and font files.
- Hundreds of sound and video effects are included.
- Automatic captions are unlimited and work in multiple languages.
- You can create in horizontal and vertical aspect ratios, and exports go up to 4K with no watermark.
- Finished videos publish directly to Instagram with tagging, location and trial reels built in, without a download and re-upload.
Edits for iPhone and Android stay available alongside the Mac app, so you can keep editing on your phone.
Edits for Mac Needs an M1 Chip or Newer
The app runs only on Apple silicon, starting with the M1, so Intel Macs cannot use it. Windows and Linux have no version yet, because Edits on desktop is available only on macOS.
You download Edits for Mac from the Edits website and sign in with your Instagram account. Signing in lets you share to Instagram without leaving the app, and audio and text styles that you saved in the phone app also show up on the Mac.
Projects do not move between devices yet, so you cannot edit the same project on your phone and your Mac. Meta is working on cross-platform editing and plans to update the Mac app every week.
