Installation¶

Kdenlive is released about every three month. See the Kdenlive news page to get the latest information and release notes. And check out What’s New for the most recent feature additions.

You can install Kdenlive in two different ways:

Using an installer
As a self-contained executable (Windows: standalone; Linux: appimage).

On macOS you can only use the installer version.

Visit the download page of the Kdenlive web site for up to date information on installing Kdenlive.

You will find all previous Kdenlive versions in the attic.

Minimum System Requirements¶

Operating system:

64-bit Windows 10 (1809 or later)[2] or newer
Apple macOS 12 (Monterey)[1] or newer and on Silicon M-Series
64-bit Linux

Please see the details below

CPU: x86 Intel or AMD; at least one 2 GHz core for SD video, 4 cores for HD video, and 8 cores for 4K video. Please see the details below.

GPU: OpenGL 2.0 that works correctly and is compatible. On Windows, you can also use a card with good, compatible DirectX 9 or 11 drivers.

RAM: At least 4 GB for SD video, 8 GB for HD video, and 16 GB for 4K video.

Tip

If your computer is at the lower end of CPU and RAM requirements, you should use the Preview Resolution, Proxy and Timeline Preview Rendering features to help reduce preview lag.

Note

Video editing is in general relying heavily on CPU power. While Kdenlive has render profiles with GPU support, timeline playback uses the CPU. Therefore, the more powerful your CPU the better the playback performance of Kdenlive. More and better GPU support is on the near-term roadmap.

Kdenlive on Linux¶

Kdenlive can be installed on non-KDE Desktops without any issues.

Packages: Minimum Ubuntu 22.04 for PPA. AppImage, Snap or Flatpak have no such minimal requirements.

Kdenlive on Windows¶

Kdenlive runs only on 64bit version of Windows. Kdenlive runs on Windows 10 (1809 or later) and newer. We cannot guarantee that Kdenlive runs on server or embedded Windows version.

Last version for Windows 7 (Kdenlive 23.08.5) can be downloaded from the attic.

Kdenlive is available as an install and as a standalone version.

Install version: Needs administrator rights and gets installed on your local machine. It is also listed as a program.
- It is available for all users on your computer.
- The Kdenlive files are always located in the same folder.
Standalone version: Doesn’t need administrator rights and isn’t installed. It is not listed as a program. Is only accessible for the user who has downloaded the file.
- If you work with a normal user on your computer, you can use Kdenlive.
- You can copy the Kdenlive folder on any external drive and run it on a different computer without installing it. However, your personal settings and downloads within Kdenlive are stored on the computer you work on.

Double click the downloaded file.

Kdenlive self-extracting archive¶

Point to the folder you like to store the Kdenlive folder

Kdenlive bin folder¶

To start Kdenlive navigate to the bin folder and double-click kdenlive.exe. You can also create a shortcut to your Desktop for easy access. Right-click on kdenlive.exe and select Send to … and then Desktop (create shortcut).

Kdenlive in a Windows Domain¶

If you want to use Kdenlive with domain users using Windows Active Directory and/or Group Policies (GPOs), make sure all users have read/write access to the following folders:

%AppData%\kdenlive

%LocalAppData%\kdenlive

%LocalAppData%\kdenliverc

%LocalAppData%\kdenlive-layoutsrc

%LocalAppData%\kxmlgui5\kdenlivekdenliveui.rc

%AppData%\kdenlive\.backup

%LocalAppData%\knewstuff3

Also make sure no GPO is blocking the access to these folders.

Kdenlive on macOS¶

Kdenlive runs with Intel-based Macs on macOS 12 (Monterey)[1] or newer and on Silicon M-Series (available on the download page).

Last version for macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) (Kdenlive 23.08.5) can be downloaded from the attic.

Last version for macOS 11 (Big Sur) (Kdenlive 24.08.1) can be downloaded from the attic.

Installation Procedure¶

macos_download_option — MacOS download option¶

Choose the option Open with DiskImageMounter (Default).

macos_diskimagemounter — MacOS DiskImageMounter¶

When the dmg file is downloaded, the DiskImageMounter will open. Drag the Kdenlive Logo into the Applications Folder.

The files get copied.

MacOS will try to check the files for malware.

The message “kdenlive” cannot be opened, because Apple cannot search for malware in it will appear. Here you have to click Show in Finder.

The Finder opens. Now right click on Kdenlive and choose Open.

The message that Apple can’t search for malware will appear again. Just click on Open and Kdenlive will open up.

Automatically Check for Updates¶

Kdenlive automatically checks at startup for updates based on the app version (no network connection needed)

You can disable this function in Menu ‣ Settings ‣ Configure Kdenlive ‣ Environment by un-checking Check for updates.