How to add sound effects in CapCut

1. Open your project. On desktop, start or open a project and click Import to bring in your video, or drag the files in. In the app, tap New project, choose your media and tap Add.
2. Find a sound in CapCut’s library. On desktop, open the Audio tab and choose Sound effects. Browse the categories or search, preview, then click + or drag the sound onto the timeline. In the app, the Audio menu lists Sounds, Sound FX, Text to audio, Record and Extract.
3. Or import your own file. To use a WAV or MP3 from elsewhere, such as a sound from a free library, click Import on desktop and drag the file onto the timeline under your video. Files you import stay in your project; CapCut notes that tracks from its licensed library can be removed later.
4. Line it up with the action. Move the playhead to the frame of the action (the arrow keys step one frame at a time) and use Add marker to mark it. With Auto Snapping on, drag the sound until its loudest point sits on that frame.
5. Trim it to the shot. Drag the clip’s edges to trim it, or put the playhead where it should end and split with Ctrl+B (Cmd+B on Mac), then use Delete left or Delete right to remove the part you do not need.
6. Set the volume and fades. Select the sound and open the Basic tab in the panel on the right. Use the Volume slider to sit it under the voice, and the Fade in and Fade out sliders so it starts and ends without a click. For a level that changes over time, add keyframes with the diamond icon.
7. Or generate one with CapCut’s AI. CapCut has its own AI tools for audio. On desktop, Audio > AI music generates music from a description. In the CapCut app, Audio > Sound FX > AI sound effects analyzes your video and suggests several sound effects for each scene.

CapCut makes audio with AI itself. Its AI music generator on desktop sits in the Audio tab: describe the music, click Generate, and the results appear in a history list you can add from. Its AI sound effects feature, documented for the CapCut app under Audio > Sound FX, reads the video and offers sound effect options scene by scene. CapCut also describes a Text to audio option in the app’s Audio menu. Availability depends on your platform, region and plan; CapCut’s help says some AI generation needs CapCut Pro.

Two things in CapCut’s own help are worth knowing before you publish:

• Check the license of each sound. CapCut’s sound effects page asks you to review the license terms for the specific asset before commercial use, and in the app a track should show “Commercial use allowed”. CapCut on desktop and the web cannot use TikTok’s licensed sound library.
• Library sounds can be removed. CapCut notes that tracks from its library can be taken down and then go missing from saved projects, while files you imported yourself stay.

If you need a sound you own a clear right to, a file you import is the steady option: sounds from the Sonilo library are free for personal and commercial use and stay in your project because they live on your drive.

Any WAV or MP3 works in CapCut. Three ways to get one from Sonilo:

• Download it free. The sound effects library has thousands of sounds by category, in MP3 and WAV, free for personal and commercial projects with no account and no credit needed. Take the WAV if you will edit or layer it.
• Describe it. If the library does not have the exact sound, describe it (the material, the action, how it ends) and the sound effects generator makes it in seconds. New accounts get free credits.
• Start from the video. Upload the clip and Sonilo generates sound effects timed to what happens on screen, so most of the placement in the steps above is done before the file reaches your timeline.

Commercial use of audio you generate on Sonilo needs Pro or above; library downloads are free for commercial use on any plan. See licensing for the details.