Is there a loop button in iMovie?
On a Mac, yes for previewing: View → Loop Playback (Command-L). It only affects playback inside iMovie. iMovie for iPhone and iPad has no equivalent, and neither version can save a movie that loops by itself.
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How to loop a video in iMovie
iMovie can replay a clip while you edit, but it has no repeat setting for the movie you export. Here is how to do both on a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad.
To loop a video in iMovie on a Mac, choose View → Loop Playback and press the Space bar: the clip or the whole movie replays until you stop it. That only affects playback inside iMovie. To make a movie that repeats, place the same clip in the timeline several times and export it.
iMovie for iPhone and iPad has no Loop Playback command, but it can Duplicate a clip in a movie project, which is the same idea: copies of the clip back to back, saved as one video. Neither version has a field for “repeat this 20 times”, so every repeat is a clip you add.
The steps below follow Apple’s current iMovie guides. For long loops or a smoother join, there is also a browser option at the end, and if all you need is to watch a file on repeat on a Mac, see how to loop a video on Mac.
Repeat a clip in iMovie on Mac and export it
Preview the loop
In iMovie on your Mac, choose View → Loop Playback (Command-L) so it has a tick. Point at the clip in the browser and press the Space bar to watch it replay and judge whether the restart looks clean.
Choose the part to repeat
Click the clip in the browser to use all of it, or hold the R key and drag across the clip to select just the stretch that loops well.
Add it to the movie several times
Choose Edit → Add to Movie (or press E). Each time, the selection is added to the end of the timeline, so repeat the command once for every pass you want.
Keep the joins as plain cuts
If your project adds titles or transitions by itself, click Settings at the top right of the timeline and deselect Automatic content before adding the copies. Transitions already in the timeline stay, so delete any you do not want.
Export the movie
Select the movie in the browser, choose File → Share → File, pick the format, resolution and quality, click Next, name the file and click Save.
Loop Playback and Play Selection on a Mac
Loop Playback is a viewing aid. With it ticked in the View menu, pressing the Space bar over a clip in the browser plays that clip continuously; pressing it over the timeline plays the entire movie continuously. It is useful for checking how the end of a shot meets its beginning before you commit to repeating it.
To loop only a section, keep Loop Playback on, select part of a clip in the browser or timeline and choose View → Play Selection. That replays just the selected range, which is a quick way to find a stretch where the movement returns close to where it began.
None of this changes the exported file. A movie saved with File → Share → File plays once from start to end, however long Loop Playback ran in the editor. After exporting, iMovie opens the result in QuickTime Player, which can play it on repeat for you; the Mac looping guide covers that.
Repeat a clip in iMovie on iPhone and iPad
The iPhone and iPad versions build looped movies with the Duplicate action in a movie project, which gives you a timeline and full control over the transitions. Apple notes that a duplicate does not create another copy in your photo library or use extra storage.
Duplicate the clip
- Open iMovie, tap Start New Project, tap Movie, select your video and tap Create Movie.
- Tap the clip in the timeline to show the inspector at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the Actions button, then Duplicate. The copy lands straight after the original.
- Repeat until you have as many passes as you need. Each new duplicate appears after the clip you tapped.
Remove the transitions
iMovie on iPhone and iPad puts a transition between every pair of clips by default, which would add a fade at each repeat. Tap the transition icon between two clips and choose None for a straight cut, and do the same for each join.
Save the looped video
Tap Done, then the Share button at the bottom of the screen, then Share Video. Tap Options to choose the resolution and, where offered, the frame rate, then tap Save Video to put it in your photo library or Save to Files to keep it elsewhere.
Where iMovie falls short for loops
- No repeat count. Every pass is a clip you add by hand. Ten repeats is easy; enough repeats to fill an hour is a long, fragile timeline.
- The join is a hard cut. iMovie does not look for a matching start and end frame. If the shot drifts, you will see a jump each time, unless you trim each copy carefully or add a cross-dissolve, which makes every pass slightly shorter.
- Sound restarts abruptly. Background noise or music cuts off and starts again at every join, which is often more noticeable than the picture.
- Everything is re-encoded. Exporting builds a new file from the timeline, so even a plain repeat takes time and is never an exact copy of the original frames.
- No GIF output. iMovie saves video files and still images, not animated GIFs that loop by themselves.
For a few repeats of a clip you are already editing in iMovie, the methods above are the right tool. For long loops, a clean restart or a file that loops by itself, a dedicated looper is quicker.
Another option: loop the clip in your browser
loop.video works in Safari or Chrome on a Mac, iPhone or iPad. The video is never uploaded, there is no account and no watermark, and the result can go back into iMovie as an ordinary clip.
- Click Select video (on a phone, Choose video).
- Set the repeats with Number of times, or choose Length and pick a total such as 10 min or 1 hour, up to three hours.
- Press Find the best loop to choose a start and end that match, and choose Crossfade or Blend if the restart still shows a small jump.
- Leave Smooth the sound at the join on so the audio does not click at each repeat.
- Click Export video, then Download video, or Share or save to Photos on a phone.
Long files are quick because the loop is encoded once and written again for each repeat, and when the join is a plain Cut with the original shape and size, Standard quality and a loop that starts on a key frame, the original frames are copied without re-encoding. It cannot speed up, slow down or reverse a clip; do that in iMovie first. The seamless loop guide explains how to judge and fix the join.
Looping in iMovie: common questions
How do I repeat a clip in iMovie?
On a Mac, select the clip in the browser and choose Edit → Add to Movie once per repeat. On iPhone or iPad, tap the clip in the timeline, tap the Actions button and tap Duplicate.
Why does my exported iMovie video not loop?
Loop Playback is a preview setting. The exported file plays once in any player unless that player repeats it, so put the repeats in the timeline before you export.
How do I loop just part of a clip in iMovie?
On a Mac, hold the R key and drag across the part you want, then use View → Play Selection with Loop Playback on to preview it, or Edit → Add to Movie to repeat it. On iPhone, split or trim the clip in the timeline first, then duplicate the piece.
Why is there a fade between my repeated clips on iPhone?
iMovie adds a transition between every clip by default. Tap the transition icon between the clips and choose None for a straight cut.
Can iMovie loop a video for an hour?
Only by adding enough copies to fill an hour, which is slow to build and slow to export. A tool that takes a total length is easier; see how to loop a video for an hour.
Can I loop a video in iMovie for music practice or a background?
Yes, but the hard cut at each repeat can be distracting. Pick a section whose end looks and sounds close to its start, or use a crossfade so the end dissolves into the beginning.