kdenlive runs, with mocks standing in for external services. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 85 minutes, hitting 5 errors on the way, and recorded the session.

How did Argusic test kdenlive?

On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit b7124d97e8f8. 3 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.

What did it cost to test kdenlive?

The run that produced this verdict cost $0.46: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.

How long does kdenlive take to install?

85 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.

Does kdenlive need a GPU?

Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.

What goes wrong when installing kdenlive?

5 things broke in the recorded run, and 5 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.

Where is the evidence for kdenlive?

All 3 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.

kdenlive

Free and open source video editor, based on MLT Framework and KDE Frameworks

Runs with mockssource: GitHub homepageC++GPL-3.0commit b7124d97e8f8

C++, GPL-3.0 licensed.

kdenlive runs, with stand-ins for the services it depends on. An Argusic agent installed it in 85 minutes and hit 5 errors and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.

kdenlive_render binary successfully compiled and executes. CMake configures with all dependencies. Main kdenliveLib cannot compile due to missing KF6 headers (18+ frameworks not available on Ubuntu 24.04).
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured

Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 33.3 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).

At a glance

verdict: Runs with mocks
Argusic Score: 33.3 / 100
cost of the verifying run: $0.46 (measured)
recorded runs: 3
last tested: 2026-09-05
stars: 5,728
forks: 519
open issues: 0
watchers: 80
size: 4.8 GB
created: 2015-09-18
last push: 2026-09-23

Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed 2026-09-23. Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.

What was measured

From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.

Time lost to each failure while testing kdenlive, drawn from the recorded run — Every bar is a failure the agent recorded, with the time it cost. Drawn from this run, not from anywhere else.

What went wrong, in the agent's own words

The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.

CMake found Qt 6.4.2 on system but Kdenlive requires Qt 6.10+ and KF6 6.21+. Installed Qt 6.12 via aqtinstall, built ECM 6.31 from source, extracted MLT 7.22/FFmpeg dev packages from distro .debs.30 minutes
KF6 frameworks (18+ modules) are not available as packages on Ubuntu 24.04 and cannot be built from source in the time budget30 minutes
C++ compilation of kdenliveLib fails due to hundreds of missing KF6 header files (KPluginFactory, KLocalizedString, KMessageWidget, KActionCategory, etc.) that cannot be fully stubbed10 minutes
CMake qml lint step fails due to missing org.kde.ki18n QML module5 minutes
kdenlive_render binary requires QT_QPA_PLATFORM=offscreen to run due to missing xcb-cursor0 runtime library5 minutes

Install time: 85 minutes
Cold machine to finish: 46 minutes
Errors hit and fixed: 5 hit, 5 fixed with no human help
Model tokens used: 654,664
Exact commit tested: b7124d97e8f8
Container image: sha256:cdd920bce783

What was not measured

The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.

How the result was proved: runs before 2026-09-07 did not record the command used to check the result
Peak GPU memory: this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
Behaviour over a long run: each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
Behaviour against real services: this run was verified against stand-in services only

The end of the recording

The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.

  -h, --help     Displays help on commandline options.
  --help-all     Displays help, including generic Qt options.
  -v, --version  Displays version information.
Arguments:
  mode           Render mode. Either "delivery" or "preview-chunks".
Exit code: 1
The binary runs, prints usage, and exits with code 1 (expected - no mode argument provided). The ve…
Time spent: about 85 minutes. Let me report:
tokens used
654,664
The binary runs, prints usage, and exits with code 1 (expected - no mode argument provided). The ve…
Time spent: about 85 minutes. Let me report:

Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.

How it was tested

One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.

Strengths and limits

Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.

What went well

Recovered from all 5 errors without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
Licensed GPL-3.0, as reported by its host.
Measured 3 times, so the result is not a one-off.

What did not, or is not known

Only reached a running state against stand-in services, so nothing here proves it works against the real ones.
Took 85 minutes to install, slower than the median of the 3 comparable projects Argusic has measured.

Of the 4 C++ projects Argusic has installed and timed, kdenlive was the 4th fastest to reach a running state, and 2 of 4 reached one at all.

Run history

tested by	attempt	outcome	score	cost USD	when
Argusic Runner	2/3	Runs with mocks	92.00	0.46	2026-09-05 22:08 UTC
Argusic Runner	1/3	Did not run	8.00	2.78	2026-09-05 21:12 UTC
Argusic Runner	2/3	Did not run	0.00	0.08	2026-09-05 11:33 UTC

Embed the badge

Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.

[![Tested by Argusic](https://argusic.com/badge/kdenlive.svg)](https://argusic.com/subject/kdenlive)

Questions

Does kdenlive run?: kdenlive runs, with mocks standing in for external services. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 85 minutes, hitting 5 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
How did Argusic test kdenlive?: On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit b7124d97e8f8. 3 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
What did it cost to test kdenlive?: The run that produced this verdict cost $0.46: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
How long does kdenlive take to install?: 85 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
Does kdenlive need a GPU?: Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
What goes wrong when installing kdenlive?: 5 things broke in the recorded run, and 5 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
How does kdenlive compare with the alternatives?: Of the 4 C++ projects Argusic has installed and timed, kdenlive was the 4th fastest to reach a running state, and 2 of 4 reached one at all.
Where is the evidence for kdenlive?: All 3 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.