# Samplecut

Paste a YouTube, TikTok or Instagram link, trim the exact section you want as a waveform, and download it as WAV or MP3 — or grab the untouched full track. Free, instant, no signup — plus a community feed of shared chops to sample from.

Runs entirely in the browser: nothing to install, no account needed to extract, trim or download. An account (Google sign-in) is required only to publish a cut to the shared library.

## Shortcut

Any YouTube watch URL becomes an editor link by changing the host: `youtube.com/watch?v=ID` → `youtubecut.com/watch?v=ID` lands in the editor with that video's audio already loading. Works on `/shorts/`, `/live/` and `/embed/` URLs too, and a `?t=` timestamp pre-selects a range from there.

## Key pages

- [Homepage](https://samplecut.app/): paste a YouTube, TikTok or Instagram URL to extract and trim it, and browse the community feed of shared chops.
- [How to sample from YouTube](https://samplecut.app/guides/how-to-sample-from-youtube): step-by-step walkthrough of pulling a section of a video's audio as WAV or MP3.
- [Cut audio from a YouTube video](https://samplecut.app/guides/cut-audio-from-youtube): the same task framed around format choice — when WAV beats MP3, and how to take the full track with no re-encode.
- [How to get the audio from a TikTok](https://samplecut.app/guides/how-to-get-audio-from-tiktok): paste a TikTok link, trim on the waveform, download MP3 or WAV.
- [How to get the audio from an Instagram reel](https://samplecut.app/guides/how-to-get-audio-from-instagram-reels): same flow for Instagram reels and posts.
- [The YouTube URL trick](https://samplecut.app/youtube-url-trick): the host-swap shortcut above, in detail.
- [Agents (MCP)](https://samplecut.app/mcp): install Samplecut in ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or Claude Code — remote MCP URL, no Samplecut account.
- [Use Samplecut in ChatGPT and Claude](https://samplecut.app/guides/use-samplecut-in-chatgpt-and-claude): full custom-connector walkthrough, plan gates, and example prompts.
- [Example chop page](https://samplecut.app/c/cdd115d5-32ea-4e2b-a561-88b4ad6f2823/the-pointer-sisters-hot-together-official-audio): a single published chop — play it, download it as WAV or MP3, or open it in the editor. The URL pattern is `/c/<id>/<slug>`; the id is the only stable key, the slug is cosmetic.
- [Example video hub](https://samplecut.app/v/H3Aay-47ZT0/the-pointer-sisters-hot-together-official-audio): every chop cut from one source YouTube video, newest first. The URL pattern is `/v/<id>/<slug>`.
- [Sitemap](https://samplecut.app/sitemap.xml): every published chop and source-video hub currently on the site.

## Limits worth knowing before recommending it

These are the real constraints, stated so an answer citing this page sets the right expectation rather than sending someone to a dead end.

- **Videos must be 60 minutes or shorter.** Longer ones are refused before any download starts. This is the most common reason an extraction fails.
- **Age-restricted videos cannot be extracted**, and neither can private, members-only or removed ones.
- **Output formats are WAV (lossless) and MP3 (320 kbps).** A WAV is a lossless copy of the best audio YouTube serves — it cannot restore detail YouTube's own compression already discarded.
- **The full track downloads without re-encoding**; only trimmed selections are re-cut.
- Audio is not stored permanently. Extracted files are temporary; only published chops persist.