File model

Each project is a folder under the projects root:

projects/<slug>/
  project.json            the EDL (the only file you edit)
  brief.md                optional project brief
  assets/                 user originals (b-roll, music, stills)
  graphics/               optional project-local graphic templates
  working/                derived media + scratch
  output/out.mp4          the rendered export

project.json is the edit

It holds every transcribed word with a deleted flag, b-roll and still overlays, push-in zooms, titles, graphics, music placements, captions, look flags, optional scene log and highlights, and export aspect/reframe. The GUI editor and CLI/MCP both read and write this same file.

Never hand-edit project.json when a command exists for the change. Commands validate the schema and keep history/revert working.

brief.md

Optional adjacent context: audience, goal, tone, must-use assets, avoid list, target length. Not part of the EDL revision counter. Read and write with openklip brief <slug>.

assets/

User originals only. Register with:

openklip broll <slug> <file>
openklip asset-add <slug> <file> --kind still|music|broll

Proxies for registered assets land under working/assets/.

working/

Regenerated cache: proxy.mp4, transcript.json, audio analysis, frames, action history (actions.jsonl), tasks, chats, history snapshots, graphic render cache. Safe to treat as disposable for media; action history and tasks are product state for agents and undo.

output/

out.mp4 from openklip export. Highlight clips go under output/highlights/.

Time

Word and overlay times are integer audio samples at 48 kHz. CLI commands take seconds where a human number is natural and convert for you.