Why Lightworks Still Isn't Open Source: Inside the Codebase Cleanup
Lightworks, the pioneering 1989 non‑linear video editor used in blockbuster films, still hasn't been open‑sourced because its codebase remains messy; after years of cleanup efforts, the team acknowledges the challenge but offers no concrete timeline for a future release.
“We have always envisioned open‑sourcing Lightworks, but as we delved deeper into its codebase we realized it was not feasible at that time,” the team said.
Lightworks was first released in 1989 as the market’s first professional non‑linear video editor, capable of handling HD media, DPX and RED files, and interoperating with Final Cut Pro and Avid. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
The editor has been used in many films and TV shows, including *The Wolf of Wall Street*, *The Great Gatsby*, *Moulin Rouge!* and *Pulp Fiction*. Although it has not been open‑sourced, Lightworks remains one of the most powerful Linux‑native NLEs.
After years of silence on the open‑source plan, product manager Matt Sandford finally commented on the official forum, explaining that the main obstacle is a “messy” codebase. The team has spent many years cleaning the source to meet modern standards and continues this work, hoping to announce something in the future but without a concrete timeline.
Signed-in readers can open the original source through BestHub's protected redirect.
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Programmer DD
A tinkering programmer and author of "Spring Cloud Microservices in Action"
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