How to send clips on Discord without Nitro

Why your clip is too big for Discord

Clip size depends on length, resolution, frame rate and bitrate. A recorder set to high quality makes clips that look great and weigh a lot. That is the right setting for recording, because you can always make a copy smaller later, but you can never add detail back.

So leave your recording quality alone and deal with size when you send. The steps below go from simplest to most flexible.

Step 1: trim the clip first

Every second you cut is size you do not have to squeeze out of the picture. Most clips have dead time at the start and a few seconds after the payoff. In Clippy's editor, trim to the moment itself before you think about anything else. A shorter clip also simply plays better in a chat.

If you save a lot of quick moments, the second save key helps from the start: it keeps only the last 15, 30 or 60 seconds instead of the full replay.

Step 2: export with Fit under N MB

Clippy's "Fit under N MB" export takes a size limit and makes the clip fit it. It lowers the bitrate, and the resolution when needed, so the file lands under the number you set. Set it to Discord's limit and you get a file you can drag into a channel.

1. Open the clip in Clippy's editor.
2. Trim it to the part you want to send.
3. Choose the "Fit under N MB" export and set the size, for example 10 MB.
4. Export, then drag the file into Discord.

Step 3: share a link instead

A long clip squeezed into a small file loses detail. For anything longer than a quick moment, a link is the better answer. Press Share on a clip in Clippy and it uploads that clip to clippy.gg and copies a link. Paste it into Discord and it shows as a clean embed. Anyone with the link can watch, no account needed.

Your clip keeps its quality because it was never shrunk to fit a chat upload. You choose whether it is public, unlisted or private, and you can change that later. Free accounts get 5 GB of storage for shared clips, and only shared clips count towards it. The sharing guide goes further.

Post clips to your Discord server automatically

If your group has a clips channel, Clippy can post to it for you through a Discord webhook. Every clip you share goes to the channel without you copying and pasting the link. And if a share fails because your internet dropped, Clippy sends it once you are back online.

Other ways to make a clip smaller

Trimming, fitting and linking cover nearly every case. A few smaller tricks help with the rest.

• GIF export for a short reaction loop without sound.
• Lower recording settings if you only ever send clips to Discord. Resolution goes from 720p to 4K or native, and frame rate from 30 to 144 fps, so a lower setting makes smaller files from the start.
• Speed up the boring part at 1.5x or 2x so the clip is shorter overall.

Questions

Read next