Save a draft vs Apply & render EN

One costs nothing and changes nothing; the other rebuilds the video.

Your edits in the editor are saved automatically as a draft, which changes nothing. Apply & render is the step that rebuilds the video with your edits. There's no separate Save button.

Drafts: saved automatically

Every change you make in the editor is saved a moment later. The status at the top of the page shows "Saving…" and then "Saved".

A draft:

Doesn't change the video. Viewers keep watching the current video, and the recording itself is untouched.
Doesn't clear anything. Your captions, summary and chapters stay as they are.
Costs nothing. You can leave an unfinished edit as a draft for as long as you like.
Is waiting for you when you come back. Close the editor and open it again later, and your edits are still there.

If the status shows "Something went wrong. Please try again." instead of "Saved", make another change or reload the page and check that your edits are still there.

Apply & render: rebuild the video

Rendering builds a new video with your cuts, reordering, muted sections and overlays baked in. Viewers see your edits only after this step.

Open the recording in the editor and make your edits.
Select Apply & render at the top of the page.
Read the confirmation. It says: "Apply edits? This will re-render the video and clear its transcript, summary and chapters."
Select Apply & render again to confirm.
Wait while the status shows "Rendering…". The Apply & render and Restore original buttons are locked until it finishes.
When the status shows "Done — reloading", the page reloads with the new video.

Rendering usually finishes in under 3 minutes, though it can take longer for longer recordings.

What a render changes

The video changes for everyone. Once the render finishes, viewers see the edited version.
The transcript, summary and chapters are cleared. They matched the old timeline, so they no longer line up. See Why rendering clears captions, summary and chapters.
Captions come back if you had them. If the recording had captions before you rendered, Rekorder generates them again for the edited video. It uses the language you'd set, or detects it. The summary and chapters aren't regenerated, so create them again if you want them.
The noise filter is reset to Off. Apply it again if you still want it. See Remove background noise from a recording.
Your original is kept. The first time you render, Rekorder saves an untouched copy first, so you can go back with Restore original. See Editing is non-destructive: getting the original back.
The draft is used up. After a render, the editor starts fresh from the rendered video. Your edits are now part of the video, not a list of changes you can adjust.

Which one should you use?

Still working on it? Do nothing. The draft is already saved.
Happy with the result? Use Apply & render, because it's the only way viewers see your edits.
Changed your mind before rendering? Use Undo in the Edit tab, or Restore original to discard the draft. Nothing has been rebuilt, so this happens straight away.

If a render fails

The editor shows "Something went wrong. Please try again." and unlocks its buttons. Your video stays as it was. See A render failed or never finished.