- [ ] [#015] **Word text correction** — allow editing the transcript text of a word without affecting its timing. Whisper gets homophones/proper nouns wrong constantly. Pure frontend state change; no backend needed.
- [ ] [#013] **Re-transcribe selection** — if Whisper gets a section wrong, let the user select a word range and re-run transcription on just that segment (optionally with a different model or language).
- [ ] [#012] **Low-confidence word highlighting** — WhisperX already returns `confidence` per word. Words below a threshold (e.g. <0.6)shouldbevisuallyunderlinedortintedsotheuserknowswheretodouble-check.
- [ ] [#018] **Audio normalization / loudness targeting** — single "Normalize" button that targets a LUFS level (-14 for YouTube, -16 for Spotify). Backend: `ffmpeg -af loudnorm`. Very high value for podcasters, ~2–3 hours of work.
- [ ] [#024] **Export to transcript text / SRT only** — some users just want a clean `.txt` or `.srt` of the edited transcript without rendering video.
- [ ] [#023] **Batch silence removal** — full-file scan + remove all pauses above threshold in one click. Distinct from the manual trimmer above; this is a "fix the whole file" operation.
- [ ] [#016] **Named timeline markers** — drop named marker pins on the waveform (like Resolve markers). Store as `{ id, time, label, color }` in the project. Rendered as colored triangles on the timeline canvas.
- [ ] [#017] **Chapters** — group markers into named chapter ranges. Useful for podcasts and lectures. Exportable as YouTube chapter timestamps in the description.
- [ ] [#041] **Customizable hotkeys / keymap editor (left-hand focused)** — allow users to view, remap, and reset keyboard shortcuts (transport, edit, save/export, zone tools), with a default preset optimized for left-hand reach (Q/W/E/R/A/S/D/F/Z/X/C/V + modifiers). Include conflict detection, an alternate standard preset, and one-click "restore defaults".
- [ ] [#022] **Clip thumbnail strip** — video frame thumbnails along the timeline so users can navigate visually, not only by waveform. Backend: `ffmpeg` thumbnail extraction at regular intervals.
- [ ] [#020] **Video zoom / punch-in** — scale and position the video (crop, zoom, pan). Used constantly on talking-head videos for emphasis. Backend: `ffmpeg -vf crop/scale/zoompan`.
- [ ] [#021] **Multi-clip / append** — load a second video and append it to the timeline. Even without a full multi-track timeline, "append clip" is a heavily used workflow.
- [ ] [#019] **Background music track** — a second audio track for background music with volume ducking. Major gap in Descript that TalkEdit could own. Backend: `ffmpeg` amix + `asendcmd` for auto-ducking.
- [ ] [#014] **Optional VibeVoice-ASR-HF transcription backend (future)** — evaluate as an alternate transcription mode for long-form, speaker-attributed transcripts. Keep WhisperX as the default for word-level timestamp editing.
These aren't features to build — they're things to make more visible in the UI and README:
- **100% offline / no account required** — CapCut requires login and sends data to servers. Descript is cloud-first. TalkEdit never leaves the machine.
- **Local AI models** — Ollama support means no API costs and no data leaving the device.
- **Word-level precision** — editing by deleting words (not dragging razor cuts) is faster for talking-head content than any timeline-based editor.
- **Works on long files** — virtualized transcript + chunked waveform handles 1hr+ content that bogs down CapCut.
