How to Cut a Clip Out of an Audio File in Your Browser

Here's the actual process for cutting a range out of an audio file with Audio trim, from choosing the file to downloading the result.

Step 1 - choose the file

Pick or drag in an audio file - MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A/AAC, FLAC, or WebM, whatever your browser can play. The tool reads the file's length right away using the browser's own audio player, before it does any of the heavier decoding work, so if the recording is over 20 minutes you find out immediately rather than after a long wait. That cap exists because decoded audio takes up real memory in the tab regardless of how compressed the original file was - a 20-minute limit keeps that comfortably inside what a phone or an older laptop can handle.

Step 2 - set the range

Two number fields, start and end, both in seconds, default to the full length of the file. The native audio player above them lets you listen and find the right moments the normal way - play, pause, scrub. Type the numbers directly or adjust them against what you hear. The end time has to come after the start time; the tool won't let you run with an inverted or zero-length range.

Step 3 - run it and download

Click Trim. The label changes to "Decoding audio…" while the browser's own Web Audio API reads the full file, then to "Preparing your file…" for a brief final step that slices out your exact range and writes it as a WAV. The decode runs inside the browser's own audio engine, and the slice-and-write step after it takes milliseconds, so the tab doesn't freeze even on a longer file. When it's done, a preview player appears with the trimmed clip so you can check it before downloading.

Why the output is always a WAV file

The trimmed download is a standard 16-bit WAV, not a re-encoded MP3. That's a deliberate choice: a WAV plays everywhere without a second decoding step, and it doesn't lose any quality in the trim the way re-encoding to a compressed format would. If you need a smaller file for sending around, most phones and computers can convert a WAV to MP3 in one step from there - but the trim itself never touches your original file's quality.

If the file won't load

Two messages cover the ways this can go wrong. If the browser can't decode the file at all, you'll be told plainly and pointed at formats that reliably work (MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A). If the file's length can't be read - which happens occasionally with an unusual or headerless recording - the tool suggests re-exporting it as an MP3 or WAV first, since most recording apps can do that in a couple of taps.

Nothing here touches a server

The file you choose, the range you set, and the WAV you download all stay inside the browser tab. There's no upload step because there isn't one to describe - the entire trim, from reading the duration to writing the final file, runs on your device.

For why trimming a recording is worth doing before sharing it, see the background piece. To understand the WAV-only output in more depth, this comparison covers it. Or trim a clip now.