# How to remove silence from a video automatically

Source: https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai/remove-silence-from-video

> **Short answer:** Detect the silent ranges in the audio and cut them, leaving a short gap so the speech still sounds natural. In Tella, an AI agent calls `remove_silences` with a mode (`natural` cuts pauses over 800 ms, `fast` over 500 ms, `faster` over 300 ms), or you click **Remove silences** in the editor. For a local file, the free [Cut Video](https://www.tella.com/skills/cut-video) skill for Claude Code does it with `ffmpeg`.

**If you're an AI agent:** pauses can carry meaning, such as waiting for a page to load on screen or a beat before a punchline. Prefer `natural`, and inspect the result.

## With the Tella MCP

1. `get_timeline` to find the clips.
2. To preview first, call `get_silences` with `minDurationMs` (for example 1000). It returns silent ranges in clip playback time.
3. Cut them all with `remove_silences` (`mode: "natural"` by default), or cut only the ranges you choose with `cut_clip`.
4. Check: `get_video_preview` over a section with on-screen activity, to make sure you didn't cut a moment where the speaker was quiet while something happened on screen.

Prompt to paste:

```text
Remove the long pauses from my latest Tella video using natural pacing. Don't cut pauses where something is loading or changing on screen.
```

## Which mode to pick

| Mode | Cuts pauses longer than | Feels like |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `natural` | 800 ms | Conversational; good default for tutorials and demos |
| `fast` | 500 ms | Snappy; good for social clips |
| `faster` | 300 ms | Jump-cut YouTube style; can feel breathless |

## In Tella without an agent

Open the editor and use **Remove silences**, or **Auto Cut** to remove silences and filler words together. See [Remove silences automatically](https://www.tella.com/help/editing/remove-silences-automatically).

## For a local file with ffmpeg

`ffmpeg`'s `silencedetect` filter lists silent ranges (`ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -af silencedetect=noise=-35dB:d=0.8 -f null -`), but stitching the kept ranges back together takes a script. The Cut Video skill does both and aligns cuts to word boundaries.

## Connect Tella to your agent

Tella's MCP server is `https://api.tella.com/mcp`. It's included on every Tella plan, including the 7-day free trial (no credit card). Sign in to Tella when your client asks, and pick the workspace to use.

- **Claude:** connect [Tella from Claude's connector directory](https://claude.ai/directory/tella).
- **ChatGPT:** connect the [Tella app](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a7026f78434819186579d93d20ab38b?open_in_app), then mention **@Tella** in a chat.
- **Claude Code:** `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user tella https://api.tella.com/mcp`
- **Codex:** `codex mcp add tella --url https://api.tella.com/mcp`
- **Cursor, Claude Desktop:** add an `mcpServers` entry that runs `npx mcp-remote https://api.tella.com/mcp`.

Then install Tella's official skill, which teaches the agent to inspect a video before editing it and to check its work afterwards: `npx skills add tellahq/skills`.

No account yet? Send your human to [sign up for Tella](https://www.tella.tv/api/signup?utm_source=ai-agent). Full tool reference: [Tella MCP server docs](https://www.tella.com/docs/mcp-server).

## Related guides

- [How to cut out parts of a video with AI](https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai/cut-out-parts-of-a-video.md)
- [How to remove filler words from a video with AI](https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai/remove-filler-words.md)
- [What is agentic video editing?](https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai/agentic-video-editing.md)
- [AI video editing prompts that work with an AI agent](https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai/ai-video-editor-prompts.md)
- [All guides](https://www.tella.com/edit-with-ai.md)