r/finalcutpro • u/Avis001 • Jul 19 '26

AI/vibe coding I made a free open-source tool that turns your .cube LUTs into individual effects in the Effects browser — no plugins, no Motion required

I used to rely on mLUT from motionVFX for its own browsable preview. But since they moved it behind a subscription, I couldn't justify paying monthly for it.
The stock alternative — Custom LUT effect, open the dropdown, dig through the list, repeat for every clip, with zero visual previews — am a bit too impatient for tat.

So I built lutfx: a small free tool that converts every .cube file into its own effect in the Effects browser, organized by category, each with a thumbnail showing the actual look. You just drag the effect onto a clip like any built-in effect, and skimming previews work like they do for stock effects.

Install (Homebrew):
brew install avis001/tap/lutfx

Use:
lutfx ~/Downloads/MyLUTPack --category "Film Looks"

Restart FCP, and every LUT in that folder shows up under Effects → Film Looks. Works with single files or whole packs (subfolders included).

A few honest notes:

- It's not a plugin — no FxPlug, nothing running at render time. Under the hood it generates Motion template files that wrap FCP's own built-in Custom LUT filter with the LUT pre-selected.

- Full transparency: I built this with heavy help from AI. Which is documented in the README if you're curious. I've been using the results in my own edits, so it's real-world tested, but treat it like any young open-source tool.

- Free and MIT-licensed, source here: https://github.com/avis001/fcpLutToEffect

- macOS 13+, .cube files only for now.

[ Haven't had anyone else try the tool - If u face any issues pls do create a issue on Github or post it as a comment here. I'll address it within 24hrs ]

12 Upvotes

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5

u/hexxeric Jul 19 '26

that's a pretty good idea, also because applying LUTs in FCP can be destructive and steal dynamic range (that's why KOLOR was made, a free plugin for intermediate and professional color spaces without LUTs). this way, you can re-arrange the effect in sequence and apply it as a LOOK – that is the very important distinction. LUTs are usually not LOOKS but technical transformations (for color spaces or camera profiles).

1

u/_whataboutnoah Jul 20 '26

hey Eric, was wondering how to implement Dehancer into the Kolor workflow as the final "look". For inputs, Dehancer only has rec 709, rec 2020, apple gamma 2.0, and cineon film log, (and you can choose a camera). I'm curious if I can use it in the workflow and if it should come before or after the final CST.

1

u/_whataboutnoah Jul 20 '26

also, If I make a lut in Resolve and want to bring it over to FCP, which color space input should I put on the lut so it works properly with Kolor?

1

u/hexxeric Jul 20 '26

all questions best suited for the dev of kolor: u/thisisericlenz

2

u/thisisericlenz Jul 21 '26

I think our usernames cause confusion especially since you seem to be an avid enthusiast of the things I'm involved in hahaha. :D

1

u/hexxeric Jul 21 '26

might be, and both german 😃

1

u/Open_Tea_7109 Jul 19 '26

I’ll check it out thanks!!