Reverse a video online, without uploading it
This reverse video tool plays any clip backwards — or makes a boomerang that runs forwards and then rewinds — and saves the result as an MP4. Choose the part of the video to use, decide whether the sound should be reversed, muted or left playing forwards, and download. Everything is done in your browser on your own device.
Reversed footage is a simple way to make something ordinary look magical: water jumping back into a glass, a diver flying out of the pool, smoke flowing into a candle, a mess tidying itself up. Boomerangs — a short moment that loops forward and back — are a favourite for stories and chats, and work best with clips of one to three seconds.
Reversing video is harder than it sounds, because compressed video can only be decoded forwards from a key frame. This tool reads the key-frame index first, then decodes the clip in chunks from the end, keeping only a compact copy of one chunk in memory at a time. That is why it can reverse long recordings that would crash simpler browser tools.
How to use the Reverse Video
- Drop a video onto the box or click to choose one. You will see its duration, resolution, frame rate and how many key frames it has.
- Choose Reverse or Boomerang (forward + back).
- To use only part of the clip, play the Before video and press Set beside From and To, or type the times in seconds.
- Pick what happens to the Audio and, optionally, a smaller Output size for a quicker export.
- Press Reverse video, watch the looping preview in the After player and press Download MP4.
Reverse Video features
Reverse or boomerang
Play the whole clip or a selected range backwards, or forwards-then-backwards without a repeated frame at the turn.
Three audio choices
Reverse the sound with the picture, mute it, or keep it playing forwards for a surreal effect.
Memory-safe for long clips
Frames are decoded in key-frame-aligned chunks from the end and stored as compact YUV copies within a 256 MB budget.
Exact timing
Every frame keeps its original duration, so variable-frame-rate phone videos stay in sync.
Before and after preview
Compare the original and the looping result side by side before you download.
Private
No upload, no account, no watermark. Decoding and encoding run locally with WebCodecs and the open-source Mediabunny library (MPL-2.0).
How reversing works (and why it can take a moment)
Formats such as H.264, HEVC, VP9 and AV1 store a full picture only every second or two — a key frame — and describe the frames in between as changes. To show frame 59 you must first decode frames 0 to 58. Playing backwards therefore means decoding forwards in pieces: the tool takes the last group of frames, decodes it, writes it out in reverse, then moves one group earlier.
For a 1080p clip each frame needs about 3 MB in YUV form, so a 256 MB budget holds roughly 80 frames. If a group between key frames is longer than that, it is split and that group is decoded more than once. The note above the button tells you how many chunks your clip needs.
Ideas for reversed clips
- Liquids and powders: pouring, splashing, throwing flour or confetti — all look spectacular in reverse.
- Jumps and dives: people appear to fly up onto a wall or out of the water.
- Unboxing and tidying: film the mess being made, then reverse it so everything packs itself away.
- Boomerangs: a 1–3 second toast, high-five or hair flip, looped forward and back; slow it down first with Slow Motion Video for extra drama.
- Loops: turn a boomerang into an endlessly looping animation with Video to GIF, or speed it up with the Video Speed Changer.
Reverse Video FAQ
How do I reverse a video?
Open the clip, leave the effect on Reverse, choose the audio option and press Reverse video. When the progress bar finishes, preview the result and press Download MP4.
How do I make a boomerang video?
Choose Boomerang (forward + back), set From and To around a short moment of one to three seconds, and press Reverse video. The clip plays forwards and then backwards, and the preview loops so you can judge the effect.
Can I reverse the audio too?
Yes. “Reversed” plays the sound backwards in step with the picture, “Muted” removes it, and “Kept forward” leaves the original sound playing normally while the picture runs backwards.
Why is reversing a long video slower than playing it?
Video can only be decoded forwards from key frames, so the tool decodes the clip in chunks from the end and may decode some sections twice. It keeps memory use low instead of trying to hold every frame at once.
Is there a length limit?
Files up to 2 GB are accepted and the result can be up to 20 minutes long. For very long 4K clips choose a 1080p output size to make the export faster.
Is my video uploaded to a server?
No. The file never leaves your device; it is decoded and encoded by your browser. Only the open-source Mediabunny library is downloaded when you first open a video.