I just wanted to convert an image to WebP and cut a few seconds from a video

Sagi h — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:06:00 +0000

I just wanted to convert an PNG to WebP and cut a few seconds from a video! so I built FastEdit

This started with a very stupid problem.

I had a simple media task:

convert PNG to WebP
trim a short video
compress a file enough so I have good light house score
crop something before uploading

The kind of thing that should take 30 seconds.
Instead, every option was bad in a different way.
One site wanted me to upload the file.
Another had ads everywhere.
Another let me edit the file, then asked me to pay when I tried to export.
Another added a watermark.
Another technically worked, but the UX felt like it had not changed since 2009.

And then there are the "proper" tools.
Install a desktop app. Open a full editor. Figure out export settings. Or use ffmpeg and start searching for the right flags again.

All of that is fine when you are doing serious editing.
But most of the time, I was not doing serious editing.
I just wanted to fix the file and move on.

So I built FastEdit:
https://fastedit.net

FastEdit is a free browser-based image, GIF, and video editor/converter.

The goal is simple:

Local
no account
no watermarks
no random export limits
no "subscribe to download"
no bloated editor for tiny file chores

It runs locally in the browser using WebAssembly, so the file stays on your device.

What it does

FastEdit is for the small media tasks that show up right before you post, ship, send, or publish something.

Things like:

Converting images
MP4 to GIF
GIF compression
image compression to a target size
crop and resize
trim video
add text or logo overlays
blur or redact parts of a clip
create favicons
resize thumbnails and social images

Basically, the annoying "last-mile" file chores.
I do not want to open Photoshop for this.
I do not want to install another app for this.
I do not want to upload private screenshots, client assets, or product recordings to a random converter site just to change a format or cut three seconds from a clip.

I want:

Open the page
Drop the file
Fix the thing
Export
Leave

That is the whole product philosophy.

Why local-first matters

A lot of online converters and editors are somewhat convenient for one task, but they usually require uploading the file.

For many files, that is probably fine.
But sometimes the file is:

a client screenshot
a private screen recording
a product demo before launch
a bug report with user data
an internal image
something you simply do not want copied to another server

FastEdit loads the app, then processes the file in your browser.
That means the actual media work happens on your machine.

No upload queue.
No remote worker.
No server copy to delete later.
Just your browser doing the work.

What I am not trying to build

I am not trying to replace professional creative tools.
If you need advanced video editing, use a real video editor.
If you need serious image manipulation, use a real image editor.

FastEdit is intentionally for the boring stuff.
The little tasks that interrupt actual work.
The file is too big.
The format is wrong.
The GIF needs a caption.
The clip has dead air.
The screenshot has something private in it.
The platform wants a weird size.
The avatar needs to be under 256KB.
Those tasks should not require a full editing workflow.

Current features

Right now FastEdit supports:

image, GIF, and video conversion
basic video effects
compression
crop and resize
video trimming
text overlays
image and logo overlays
blur and redaction
batch processing
target file size exports
platform presets for things like Discord, Telegram, YouTube, Instagram, GitHub, favicons, and more
local browser-based processing

It is completely free right now.
No account.
No watermark.
No paid export button hiding at the end.

Tech side

The core idea is to push as much processing as possible into the browser.

The app uses browser APIs and WebAssembly-based processing so common conversion and editing workflows can run locally.

That gives a few benefits:

fewer privacy concerns
no upload wait
no server-side processing queue
no per-file cloud processing cost
works well for quick edits
easier to offer for free

The tradeoff is that performance depends on the user's device.
Big files are limited by browser memory and local CPU power.
But for the kind of small, annoying file tasks I built this for, that tradeoff feels worth it.

Feedback wanted

I would love feedback from other developers and indie hackers.

Especially on:

Is the positioning clear?
Would you use this for README GIFs, product screenshots, demo clips, favicons, or launch assets?
What small media task still annoys you?
Does the no-upload angle matter to you?
Is anything confusing in the first 30 seconds?

You can try it here:

https://fastedit.net

I built it because I was tired of needing five different sketchy websites or one giant overpowered app for basic media chores.

Trying to make the boring file-fixing part of shipping things suck a little less.

DEV Community: Sagi h