How to remove silence and auto cut in DaVinci Resolve

What are the ways to remove silence in DaVinci Resolve?

There are four practical ways:

• cut by hand on the edit page
• run a silence plugin inside Resolve (AutoCut or FireCut)
• cut in TimeBolt and import its XML
• run the public-domain command-line tool auto-editor

We checked every maker's page on 3 November 2026.

We make mouzeclick. It appears in the table only because it speeds up the by-hand method. It has no Resolve panel and removes no silence in Resolve.

Resolve itself comes in two versions:

• DaVinci Resolve is free.
• DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 is shown at $236 on Blackmagic's US page (was $295, save 20%). The page does not say whether that is a one-time purchase or a subscription.

Both run on Mac, Windows and Linux. Editing happens on the cut and edit pages, and audio on the Fairlight page.

Prices below are as shown on each maker's page, checked on 3 November 2026.

How do I remove silence in DaVinci Resolve by hand?

Split the clip at the start and end of each pause. Ripple delete the piece in between so the next clip moves up, then repeat. It is slow on a long talk, but it costs nothing, works in the free version and gives you control over every join.

1. Open your timeline on the edit page. The cut page also edits, but these steps use the edit page.
2. Zoom in on the dialogue track until the pauses show as flat stretches in the waveform.
3. Park the playhead a few frames after the last word before the pause, and split the clip.
4. Move to a few frames before the next word starts, and split again.
5. Select the short piece in the middle and ripple delete it. The gap closes and everything after it moves left.
6. Play across the join. If a breath or the end of a word is clipped, undo and split a frame or two wider.
7. If picture and sound are linked, check that both were cut, so they stay in sync.

The keys for split and ripple delete depend on your setup. Blackmagic says the edit page has fully customizable keyboard shortcuts, but its product page does not print the default list.

• Look the keys up in our DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts list.
• Change any you dislike with our guide to changing Resolve's keyboard shortcuts.
• Then put the two keys you press most on mouse buttons (see the mouzeclick section below).

Whether the result should look like a jump cut or a hidden edit is a style call. Our guide to when and how to use jump cuts covers it.

How do I autocut silences in DaVinci Resolve with AutoCut?

AutoCut runs as a plugin inside Resolve. Its silence tool, as shown in AutoCut's demo, has a noise threshold, a Calm, Paced or Energetic choice and a “Cut and Delete Silences” button. AutoCut says it works directly inside Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, with no bouncing files between apps. It also says every feature works on both Resolve Free and Studio.

• Resolve versions: 18.6, 19, 20 and 21, from the AutoCut download page.
• Systems: Windows and macOS.
• Silence controls in its demo:
  • a Noise Threshold, set to −26 dB in the mockup
  • a choice of Calm, Paced or Energetic
  • a “Cut and Delete Silences” button
• Prices as shown on 3 November 2026 (USD, with a EUR/USD toggle):
  • Basic: $6.6/month, $79 billed yearly (original price $9.9/month). Silence removal only.
  • AI Plan: $14.9/month, $178.8 billed yearly (original price $19.8/month). All of its 10+ features.
  • Enterprise: $19.9/month per licence, $238.8 billed yearly per licence.
• Licence: one licence can sit on two computers, used on one at a time. There is no time limit on project length.
• Trial: we could not confirm the trial length from AutoCut's pages. Check it before you start.

The pages we checked give no step-by-step menu path for Resolve.

Beyond silences, the AI Plan adds:

• word-by-word AutoCaptions
• AutoCut Podcast, which switches camera angles by speaker
• AutoZoom
• AutoCut Repeat, which keeps the best of repeated takes
• AutoChapters

On the Premiere side, our AutoCut alternative comparison sets it against other tools.

Best for: editors on Resolve 18.6 or later who want a silence-only plan with a published price.

How does FireCut remove silences in DaVinci Resolve?

Open FireCut in Resolve, pick a silence-cutting tightness (loose, default or tight) and click “Go!”. Advanced mode adds more control:

• a dB threshold
• a minimum duration
• padding
• J-cuts
• a review list where you exclude single silences before the cut

What FireCut needs and offers:

• Resolve version: 20 or newer, Free and Studio. It is the only add-on here that lists Linux for Resolve, next to Windows and Mac.
• Premiere Pro: FireCut for Premiere Pro needs Premiere Pro 2022 or newer, on Windows or macOS.
• Where it works: inside the timeline, with nothing to upload or export.
• Internet: required for features that call AI, transcription, B-roll, music, sound effect or voiceover services.
• Transcription allowance: features that need FireCut transcription use your plan allowance. Past the quota, you can keep working from an existing subtitle track.
• Filler words: go to Remove filler words and click Analyze audio. Left-click jumps to a word and right-click toggles its deletion. Then cut them all or add markers.
• Price: all plans include a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel any time. Plan names and prices were not on the pages we checked, so we list them as Not published.

Our FireCut alternative page compares it with captions made on your own computer.

Best for: Resolve 20 users, including on Linux, who want to approve each silence before it goes.

How do I bring a TimeBolt cut into DaVinci Resolve?

Cut the recording in TimeBolt and export an XML. Then, in Resolve, choose File › Import › Timeline with the source-clip import unticked.

TimeBolt is a desktop editor for Mac and Windows. It edits locally with no cloud upload, and it hands the cut to Resolve as an XML. Its Resolve export guide gives these steps:

1. Get the settings right:
   • dB level −30 to −40 dB
   • remove silences longer than 0.2 to 0.5 s
   • keep “ignore detections” at 0.75 s to cut random noise
   • left pad 0.01 to 0.15 s
   • right pad 0.12 to 0.15 s
2. Review the cut in TimeBolt. L starts or speeds up the playhead, O turns scenes on or off, and S splits the timeline. These are TimeBolt's keys, not Resolve's.
3. Select Export XML.
4. In Resolve, go to File › Import › Timeline.
5. Untick “Auto import source clips into media pool”.
6. Change “Mixed Frame Rate Format” to “Resolve”.
7. Add the raw source file, and check that its Clip Attributes FPS matches the project FPS.

Two extras:

• FastForward and Punch values export in the XML for Resolve. Press P in TimeBolt to punch in.
• The setting “Create Splits but don't delete detected silence” keeps each silence as a split, so you decide in Resolve.

TimeBolt says it finds silence at 0.01 second precision, and that an hour of footage takes 13 seconds.

Price. The free plan detects and removes silence, but it watermarks exports and has no XML/NLE export. The Resolve route therefore needs Pro. As shown on 3 November 2026:

• $17/month
• $97/year
• $347 once, with lifetime access

There is no free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. One licence works on up to 2 machines.

More in our TimeBolt alternative page.

Best for: long recordings you want trimmed before they reach Resolve.

Can I auto cut for DaVinci Resolve for free?

Yes. auto-editor is a public-domain command-line tool that exports a cut for Resolve with the --export resolve flag. The by-hand method is free too.

Licensing:

• The auto-editor repository is under the Unlicense, and everything in it is stated to be public domain.
• Binaries in its Releases section may be under various open source licences.
• The online and downloadable apps use a separate proprietary licence for their own assets.

The repository page shows the pattern auto-editor example.mp4 --export premiere. Swap the flag for --export resolve to target Resolve. Other targets:

• --export final-cut-pro
• --export shotcut
• --export kdenlive
• --export clip-sequence, for individual media clips

The repository page does not publish:

• supported systems
• which Resolve versions the export suits
• the exported file type
• import steps for Resolve

Run it on a copy of your footage first.

Best for: editors happy in a terminal who want free, repeatable cuts.

Why is remove silence greyed out in DaVinci Resolve?

Usually the tool you are reaching for is not available in your setup. It may be a Studio-only feature in the free version, a plugin that needs a newer Resolve, or an export your plan does not include. Blackmagic's pages we checked name no silence-removal menu item, so work through these checks in order.

1. Free or Studio? Blackmagic lists these among Studio's additions:
   • text based editing
   • the DaVinci Neural Engine
   • AI voice isolation and the dialogue separator
   If the option sits in one of those, the free version does not run it. See DaVinci Resolve free vs Studio.
2. Plugin against version. AutoCut needs Resolve 18.6 or later, and FireCut needs Resolve 20 or later. On an older Resolve, update it or use another method.
3. TimeBolt plan. On the free plan there is no XML export, so nothing can reach Resolve.
4. Import settings. If an imported TimeBolt timeline looks wrong, import it again with TimeBolt's settings: “Mixed Frame Rate Format” set to “Resolve” and “Auto import source clips into media pool” unticked. Then check that the source clip's Clip Attributes FPS matches the project.
5. FireCut quota or connection. Features that call transcription need the internet and use your plan allowance. Past the quota, work from an existing subtitle track.
6. Still stuck? The Blackmagic support center has the latest updates, support notes, manuals and a community forum.

What threshold and padding should I use to cut silence?

Start with the numbers from TimeBolt's Resolve guide:

• a threshold of −30 to −40 dB
• cut only pauses longer than 0.2 to 0.5 s
• a left pad of 0.01 to 0.15 s and a right pad of 0.12 to 0.15 s

Anything quieter than the threshold counts as silence. In a noisy room, start at the −30 dB end. In a quiet booth you can go to −40 dB. The other tools publish different starting points, shown below.

Test on one minute of the noisiest part of the recording, then listen to every join before you run the whole timeline.

If you would rather clean the audio in a DAW first, see removing silence from audio in any DAW.

Where mouzeclick fits (we make it)

mouzeclick does not remove silence in DaVinci Resolve: there is no Resolve panel. What it does is make the by-hand method quicker. It puts your Resolve split and ripple-delete keys on the mouse you already own.

The mouse app runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS 12 or newer (Apple Silicon and Intel). It works with any mouse your computer sees, using up to five standard buttons plus scroll and tilt, with no driver.

1. Install the app, paste the key and press each mouse button once. On a Mac, follow the four Mac install steps. Apple has not notarized the app yet, so macOS asks you to allow it the first time.
2. Give Resolve its own profile. Buttons work per app, so Mouse 4 can send your split key in Resolve and do something else in Chrome. It changes the moment you switch windows.
3. Put split on one button and ripple delete on another.
   • On Windows, the shortcut library holds 309 shortcuts, 41 of them for Resolve.
   • On a Mac, don't count on Resolve entries in the library: record the keys yourself.
   • Either way, record the key your own Resolve setup uses.
4. Use the other slots. Each button has eleven: tap, hold, a move in four directions, a chord with another button, or hold and scroll. “Add editing gestures” fills empty directions: up plays, down splits, left undoes, right moves one frame forward. Check each one in Resolve before you rely on it.
5. Put less frequent actions on the Options wheel (F8). It holds 48 favourites per app on rings of 12, 16 and 20. The beta apps also include ready-made wheels for Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop and CapCut. A wheel you have set up yourself is never changed.

Some things to know:

• The Tool wheel (F10) works only in Premiere Pro and After Effects, not in Resolve.
• A macro can chain keys, clicks and waits. Test any chain on a copy of your timeline.
• mouzeclick needs an internet connection while it runs. If the connection drops, the shortcuts pause and the mouse acts normally.
• Captions, Retakes, the two workspaces, cloud sync and in-app updates are Windows-only. None of them run inside Resolve.

If you also edit in Premiere Pro, Studio's Silence tab does this job for you on Windows and Mac. See the Premiere Pro silence remover.

There is a free 3-day trial with no card. Prices are on the pricing section.

Which way should I use to remove silence in Resolve?

Pick by the length of the recording, your Resolve version and whether you want to approve each cut.

• Pick by hand for short clips, music-driven edits or when every join matters. It works in the free version.
• Pick AutoCut if you are on Resolve 18.6 to 21, on Windows or macOS, and want a published silence-only price.
• Pick FireCut if you run Linux, or want to review and exclude single silences, and you are on Resolve 20 or later.
• Pick TimeBolt for long recordings you would rather cut before Resolve. It also exports to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and Camtasia, so one cut can feed several editors.
• Pick auto-editor if you want it free and scriptable, and you are comfortable in a terminal.

For more options across editors, see our roundup of video silence removers. For speed beyond silence, see how to edit faster in DaVinci Resolve.

Questions people ask

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03. Prices and features change: each link goes to the maker's own page.

1. Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve (price, platforms, free vs Studio, pages, shortcuts)
2. Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve Studio
3. Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve and Fusion support center
4. AutoCut: home page (features, Resolve Free and Studio, licence)
5. AutoCut: pricing
6. AutoCut: download and compatibility
7. FireCut: home page and FAQ
8. FireCut: remove silences in DaVinci Resolve
9. FireCut: remove filler words in DaVinci Resolve
10. TimeBolt: home page
11. TimeBolt: pricing
12. TimeBolt: jump cut export to DaVinci Resolve
13. TimeBolt: remove silence from video
14. auto-editor on GitHub

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