How to Add to a TikTok Draft

That moment of creative genius hit, you filmed the perfect clips for a TikTok, saved it as a draft, and walked away feeling accomplished. But now you're back, and you've realized it needs a little something extra - another clip, a different angle, or a quick reaction shot. This article will show you exactly how to add to and edit your TikTok drafts without losing your progress, turning that nearly-finished idea into your next viral video.

What Are TikTok Drafts, Anyway?

Before we get into the specifics, let's quickly touch on why drafts are one of a creator's best friends. A TikTok draft is a video you've started creating but haven’t published yet. It’s saved privately within the app on your device, ready for you to revisit and finish later. This feature is a game-changer for a few key reasons:

• Content Batching: You can shoot multiple videos in one session, save them all as drafts, and then edit and publish them over the next few days or weeks. This is a massive time-saver for anyone managing a consistent content schedule.
• Saving Ideas: Have a great idea but not the perfect audio or location yet? Film what you can, save it as a draft, and come back when you're ready to complete it.
• Avoiding Mistakes: Saving a video as a draft gives you a chance to review it with fresh eyes before it goes live. You can catch errors, rethink your caption, or add trending sounds without the pressure of posting immediately.

Essentially, drafts are your personal workshop for creating content, giving you the freedom to experiment and perfect your videos offstage.

The Million-Dollar Question: Can You Add *New* Clips to an Existing Draft?

This is the most common point of confusion, so let's clear it up. The answer is yes, but with a specific workflow. You can't just drop a new, pre-recorded video from your camera roll into the *middle* of an existing draft's timeline. TikTok’s editor is designed to be more linear than a traditional video editing program like Adobe Premiere Pro.

However, you absolutely can add to your draft in several powerful ways:

1. You can film new clips and add them to the end of your draft.
2. You can use the "Adjust clips" feature to re-record, replace, trim, and reorder existing clips.
3. You can add text, stickers, effects, and voice-overs to enhance the story.

So, while you can't seamlessly insert a clip between two existing ones, you have plenty of tools to modify and expand your video. Let's walk through how to do it.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Edit and Add To a TikTok Draft

Ready to jump back into your masterpiece? The process is the same whether you're on an iPhone or an Android device. Here’s exactly how to get back into the editor and start adding new content.

1. Find Your Drafts Folder

First things first, you need to locate your saved drafts. They're tucked away on your profile page.

• Open the TikTok app and tap on the Profile icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
• You’ll see your published videos in a grid. The very first box in the top-left, usually displaying your most recent video, will have a "Drafts" label on it with a number indicating how many you have saved.
• Tap on this Drafts box to see all your saved videos.

2. Select Your Draft and Enter the Editor

Once you’re in your drafts gallery, tap the video you want to edit. This is where many people get stuck. Tapping the draft will open it in the final "Post" screen, where you can add a caption, hashtags, and select a cover. It *looks* like you can’t edit it anymore.

Here’s the trick: To get back to the main editing workspace, simply tap the Back arrow in the top-left corner of the Post screen. This will take you right back into the video editor, where all the tools are.

3. Adding New Content to Your Video

Now that you're back in the editor, you have a few options for adding to your project.

Option 1: Record New Clips and Add Them to the End

If you just want to add more footage to the end of your video, the process is straightforward.

1. From the main editing screen (where you see tools like "Text," "Stickers," etc., on the side), look again for the Back arrow in the top-left corner.
2. Tapping it will take you back to the camera recording screen, but your existing filmed clips will still be loaded.
3. Now, you can simply record a new clip as you normally would. Once you're done, this new clip will be appended to the very end of your existing draft footage.
4. Tap the red checkmark to return to the editor and see your newly added clip at the end of the timeline.

Option 2: Use the "Adjust Clips" Tool to Rework Your Timeline

This is where the real power lies. The "Adjust clips" feature is your key to trimming, reordering, and replacing clips to fundamentally change your video.

On the right-hand side of the editing screen, tap the icon that looks like a film strip with scissors, often located under "Effects" and above "Voice." This opens the Adjust clips editor.

Inside, you can perform several key actions:

• Trim Clips: Tap on any clip in the timeline at the bottom. You can drag the white handles at either end to shorten it from the beginning or end. This is perfect for tightening up a shot.
• Reorder Clips: Long-press on any clip until it lifts slightly, then drag it left or right to change its position in the sequence.
• Split Clips: Move the white playhead (the vertical line) to the spot in a clip where you want to make a cut. Tap the clip, and then tap the Split button. Now you have two separate clips that can be reordered independently or have other clips moved between them. While you still cannot drop in an *uploaded* video here, splitting a clip allows you to...
• Replace or Re-Record a Clip: Tap a clip you want to change. You'll see an option to Replace. Tapping this takes you to your phone's camera roll to choose a new video. You can also re-record a specific clip by noting its length, deleting it from the timeline, and then recording a new one of a similar length to take its place.

Option 3: Add Overlays, Effects, and Audio

Remember, "adding" to a draft isn't just about video footage. You can completely transform a draft by layering other elements on top.

• Add text: Use the "Text" tool to add titles, captions, or call-outs. You can set the duration for each text box to appear at just the right moment.
• Add a Voiceover: Tap the "Voice" icon to record audio over your video. This is great for tutorials, explainers, or adding funny commentary.
• Add new stickers or effects: Maybe the draft just needs a trending "Green Screen" effect or a funny sticker to make it complete. You can add these at any time before posting.

4. Saving Your Changes

Once you’ve made your edits, you don't want to lose them! To save your project as a draft again:

1. From the editor, tap Next in the bottom right.
2. This takes you back to the "Post" screen.
3. Tap the Drafts button on the bottom left.

Your video, with all its new changes, will be saved, overwriting the old version. You can now come back to it again later or publish it when you're ready.

Pro-Tips for Better Draft Management

To really get the most out of the drafts feature, here are a few best practices from experienced creators:

Tip 1: Remember Drafts Are Stored on Your Device

This is extremely important. TikTok drafts are not saved to your account or to the cloud. They live on the internal storage of your physical phone. This means if you delete the app, get a new phone, or your phone breaks, your drafts will be lost forever. Always save the raw footage to your camera roll as a backup if it’s an important project.

Tip 2: Label Your Drafts to Stay Organized

If you're batching content, your drafts folder can get crowded quickly. A great hack is to add a quick text overlay before you save a draft that describes the video (e.g., "Part 1 of tutorial" or "unboxing video - hook 2"). This text will show up on the draft's thumbnail in your gallery, making it easy to see which video is which at a glance without having to open each one.

Tip 3: Clear Your Cache, Not Your Drafts

If the TikTok app is feeling slow or buggy, you might be tempted to clear your data or reinstall it. Be careful! Clearing your cache (which can be done within the app's settings) is safe and won't delete your drafts. However, clearing the app’s main data from your phone’s settings menu will delete them. Always choose to clear the cache first.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the drafts feature is a rite of passage for any serious TikTok creator. While you can't simply drop in new clips wherever you want, the "Adjust Clips" tool combined with the ability to add footage to the end gives you more than enough power to refine and perfect your videos. Use drafts to build an efficient workflow and give yourself the space to be creative without the pressure of immediately posting.

Thinking about a single post is great, but building a brand requires looking at the bigger picture. After we finish editing our videos, our work as creators shifts to planning what comes next. That's why we built Postbase with a visual calendar that lets you map out your entire content strategy. Being able to see your scheduled TikToks, Reels, and Shorts for the weeks ahead in one place helps you stay consistent, spot gaps, and turn a folder full of random drafts into a thoughtful content plan that drives real growth.