On the Edit page, select the clip you want to copy, hold Alt on Windows or Linux or Option on Mac, and drag it to its new spot. Let go of the mouse button first and the key second. The original stays exactly where it was.
If the copy has to start on an exact frame, I'd copy the clip and paste it at the playhead. Paste Insert is the command for making room between existing clips. Duplicate Clip in the Media Pool is a different tool altogether: it adds another project source entry with its own metadata and markers. None of these operations writes another media file to disk.
Every shortcut below assumes Resolve's default keyboard mapping. If you run a different preset, go by the menu command. The steps follow the DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual.
Duplicate a timeline clip with Alt/Option-drag
- Select the clip, or select several clips to copy them in one go.
- Hold Alt on Windows/Linux or Option on Mac.
- Drag the selection to an empty destination in the timeline.
- Release the mouse first, then release Alt or Option.
Keep the modifier held until the drop is finished. If the original disappears from where it started, you've moved it; undo and try again in the right order. Look at the destination before you let go, because a copy dropped onto a shot you meant to keep will replace it.
The same modifier-drag works on a selected transition too: drop it on another edit point and you get a second copy there.
Once a shot appears more than once, turn on View > Show Duplicate Frames. Resolve then draws colored bars along the top of any clip whose frames are used more than once in the timeline, so every copy you made is easy to spot. I switch it on before export, since it's the quickest way to confirm that each repeat is one you meant. Our guide to finding duplicate frames explains what the bar colors mean.
Copy only the video or audio
Turn off Linked Selection, select just the component you need, then duplicate it. The default toggle is Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows/Linux or Command+Shift+L on Mac. Switch Linked Selection back on afterward so your next click grabs linked picture and sound together. There's no need to unlink the clip for good; if permanent separation is the actual task, the audio splitting guide covers it.
When you copy linked video and audio to other tracks, check both parts before you drop. Timeline > Linked Move Across Tracks decides whether dragging the picture up or down also carries its linked audio to another track. The horizontal timing between them holds either way.
Duplicate a whole track
On the Edit page, you copy a track by copying its clips. Park the playhead on the first clip and press Y, which is Timeline > Select Clips Forward > On This Track. That selects the clip and every clip to its right on the same track. Dragging a bounding box from an empty part of the timeline works too. Then Alt/Option-drag the selection straight up to an empty track. On a long track I'd use Y, because it grabs everything to the end without scrolling.
Audio gets its own command on the Fairlight page. Right-click an audio track's header and choose Duplicate Track, or select several tracks first and choose Duplicate Tracks. The manual's Fairlight track setup chapter notes that each new track gets "copy" added to its name, which helps once you start changing levels on one version and not the other.
Copy and paste at the playhead
Select the timeline clip and press Ctrl+C / Command+C. Choose the destination track with the controls described below, park the playhead where the copy should begin, then press Ctrl+V / Command+V. A normal paste overwrites whatever media sits in that track's destination range, so aim for empty space unless a replacement is what you want.
To stack the duplicate directly above its original, park the playhead on the original's first frame and pick the higher video destination before you paste. If you copied audio as well, set its destination separately.
Paste onto a different track
In the current Edit interface, you pick the paste track with the red Destination Track Selector buttons in the track headers. Older tutorials call this Auto Select or Auto Track Selector. Since Resolve 20.2, the old standalone Auto Select icon is gone and the red timeline buttons do that job. The blue column next to them patches source-viewer components.
- Copy the clip and position the playhead.
- Alt/Option-click the red destination button for the video track you want. That leaves only that video destination enabled and disables the other video destinations.
- If the copy includes audio, choose the audio destination the same way. Video and audio selection are set separately.
- Paste, inspect both components, then put the destination selection back the way you need it for the next edits.
Blackmagic's current reference manual describes these controls under Editing Basics. Selecting a destination is its own setting. Locking a track and controlling its ripple behavior live on different controls.
With a multi-track selection, the lowest copied track sets the base, the clips above keep their arrangement relative to it, and Resolve can create any missing tracks. That matters when you copy between timelines with different layouts, so check the whole pasted stack along with its first video clip.
If pasted audio loses a channel, look at the destination track's format. When a clip contains more channels than the track supports, the extra channels are muted. Right-click that track's header and use Change Track Type To to choose a suitable channel configuration.
Copy only part of a clip
Clear any manually selected clips, mark the timeline range you need with I and O, and enable the destination selectors for the tracks you want to copy. Copy, clear the range with Alt+X / Option+X, move the playhead and paste. Clearing the marks keeps the old range from interfering with the destination.
If you want the destination In/Out range to limit a paste, enable Preferences > User > Editing > Prioritize pasting to the in and out range. For an ordinary whole-clip copy I'd leave that behavior off unless a range-limited result is exactly what you're after.
Paste Insert without overwriting the next shot
Copy the selection, set the playhead and choose Edit > Paste Insert. Its default shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+V / Command+Shift+V. The selection is inserted at the playhead and everything after it moves later to make room.
Before you insert, check Sync Lock on the other tracks that must follow the edit. Sync Lock decides which tracks take part in ripple operations, and it works independently of the red destination selectors. Blackmagic explains that separation in its track-control walkthrough.
Say you switch off Sync Lock on a music track. It won't follow an insertion on a video track. It will also drift out of alignment with any picture that does move. Leave Sync Lock on wherever those moments have to stay together, then check the first sync point after the insertion. A track's padlock is something else again: it blocks edits to that track altogether.
Use Copy when the original has to stay put; Cut takes it off the timeline. After inserting, look over titles, sound effects and dialogue on the neighboring tracks before you move on.
Duplicate on the Cut and Fairlight pages
The Cut page keeps duplication to copy and paste. Select the clips, press Ctrl+C / Command+C, move the playhead and press Ctrl+V / Command+V. Blackmagic's Cut page chapter is specific about where the paste goes: to the frame at the playhead, on the same track the clips came from, overwriting whatever is there. Ctrl+X / Command+X is the move version. It lifts the clips and ripples the timeline to close the gap.
That's fine for repeating a shot later on its own track. When I need the copy on a different track, I switch to the Edit page and use the destination selectors described above. Transitions still take the modifier on the Cut page: select one and Alt/Option-drag it to another edit point to add a matching transition.
On the Fairlight page, Alt/Option-drag drops a duplicate of an audio clip wherever you release it, just as on the Edit page. The Edit menu adds Duplicate Selection, which places the copy right after the Out point of the selected clips or region. Check what sits to the right first. If another clip sits there, the duplicate overwrites it for the length of the copy, so I'd clear the space or use the drag when the next clip matters.
Duplicate a Media Pool source
In the Media Pool, select the clip and choose Edit > Duplicate Clip, or right-click it and choose Duplicate Clip. You can also Alt/Option-drag a selected clip into another bin to create a duplicate there.
The new entry can carry its own metadata and markers while still pointing to the same underlying media file. Renaming that project entry doesn't create a new recording, and it doesn't put a second copy on storage either.
You can also build the duplicate from the timeline side. Drag one or more clips from the timeline into the Media Pool and each becomes a new source clip with its own metadata and markers. The Media Pool chapter of the manual points out a side effect. The timeline clip stays conformed to the original Media Pool entry, so deleting that original leaves the timeline clip non-conformed while the duplicate stays linked. Turning off Conform Lock Enabled on the timeline clip lets you reconform it to the duplicate, but I'd keep the original entry and skip that extra step.
Blackmagic doesn't list a default shortcut for Duplicate Clip. If you use it often, assign one in DaVinci Resolve > Keyboard Customization. Ctrl+D / Command+D is the usual suggestion, but by default it already opens Change Clip Duration on the Cut and Edit pages, and on the Color page it enables or disables the selected nodes. I'd pick a free combination instead of overwriting it. Our guide to customizing shortcuts shows how to spot a conflict before you save the new map.
To copy the whole edit rather than one clip, select its timeline in the Media Pool and choose Edit > Duplicate Timeline, or right-click it and choose Duplicate Timeline. The copy lands in the same bin. I make one before any big recut, so the approved version stays untouched as a fallback. Our guide to creating a new timeline covers when a fresh timeline is the better start.
Make an independent compound copy
Copying a compound clip on the timeline gives you another instance of the same nested source. Edit the clips inside that compound and every other instance can change with it. Trimming one outer timeline instance or adding an effect to it is a different matter; that stays local.
For a separate nested version, duplicate the compound in the Media Pool, give the new entry a name you'll recognize and insert that new source into the timeline. Make sure you've opened the new compound before you change anything inside it. The compound-clips guide covers opening, editing and decomposing compounds when you need their individual clips back.
If it lands as separate clips, switch off Edit > Edit Options > Decompose Compound Clips on Edit and insert the new source again.
Copy the settings instead of the clip
When you want another shot to pick up the same adjustments, copy the source clip, select the target and choose Edit > Paste Attributes with Alt+V / Option+V. Select only the attributes you want to carry over. This applies settings to the selected shot; it doesn't add another clip.
If you're transferring a speed change, look at the Ripple Sequence checkbox in the dialog before you apply it. Use the clip-speed guide for retiming decisions. On the Color page, = applies the grade from one clip prior; the copy-a-color-grade workflow explains the other ways to copy a grade.
For the next editing step, shape the copy with the split-and-trim guide or change its titles with the text guide. The DaVinci Resolve Tutorial hub keeps those beginner tasks in one place.
Duplicate clip FAQ
What is the shortcut to duplicate a clip in DaVinci Resolve?
On the Edit page, Alt/Option-drag the clip, or copy with Ctrl/Command+C and paste with Ctrl/Command+V. The Media Pool's Duplicate Clip command creates a separate source entry. Keyboard presets can change the assigned shortcuts, so if your mapping differs, check the command in the menu.
Why does Alt-drag move the clip instead of copying it?
Check the release order first: keep Alt or Option held until after you release the mouse. Select the timeline clip before you drag, and confirm that its destination track is unlocked. If the original moved, undo before you try again.
How do I duplicate a clip onto another track at the same time?
Copy it, place the playhead on its original start frame, Alt/Option-click the red destination selector for the new video track, then paste. If audio came along, set the audio destination separately. Check both components after the paste.
Does duplicating a clip create another media file?
No. Timeline copies reuse their source media. Duplicate Clip in the Media Pool creates another project source entry with separate metadata and markers. It does not copy the physical media file.
How do I duplicate without overwriting existing clips?
Use Edit > Paste Insert, or Ctrl/Command+Shift+V. It inserts at the playhead and makes room for the copied selection. Check Sync Lock on the neighboring tracks so the ones that must follow the edit take part in the ripple.
Why does changing a copied compound affect the original?
Timeline instances can share the same compound contents. For a nested version you can edit independently, use Duplicate Clip on the compound in the Media Pool, rename it and insert that new source before you open its contents. Then confirm that you're editing the new compound; the original source should stay untouched.
