A cross-platform solution to record, convert and stream audio and video. Download from ffmpeg.org or BtbN (Windows Builds).
Syntax
ffmpeg [global_options] {[infile_options] -i infile}... {[outfile_options] outfile}...
Installation:
Download ffmpeg and copy it to /usr/local/bin/
On Windows just place it somewhere on the PATH.
On Unix/macOS apply permissions:
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/ffmpegOn macOS, right-click and Open to allow it to be run.
Global options:
-y Overwrite output files
-n Never overwrite output files
-stats Print progress report during encoding
-nostdin Ignore data from stdin / pipeline.
-formats Show available formats
-codecs Show available codecs
-crf High-quality encoding (Constant Rate Factor) scale is 0–51
The lower crf, the higher the quality.
Lossless = 0, default = 23, visually lossless = 18.
-Preset Values for encoding speed to compression ratio. Slower = better compression.
{ultrafast | superfast | veryfast | faster | fast |medium | slow | slower | veryslow }
infile_options: -c codec Codec name -codec codec Codec name -c:a codec Audio codec -c:v codec Video codec Video options: -vframes number Set the number of video frames to output -r rate Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation) -s size Set frame size (WxH or abbreviation) -aspect aspect Set aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9 or 1.3333, 1.7777) -vn Disable video -c:v codec Force video codec ('copy' to copy stream) -timecode hh:mm:ss[:;.]ff set initial TimeCode value. -b:v Video bitrate Audio options: -an Disable audio -c:a codec Force audio codec ('copy' to copy stream) -b:a bitrate Audio bitrate -vol volume Change audio volume (256=normal) -af filter_graph Set audio filters
Most media files consist of a container file with one or more streams of content. For example an .mp3 audio file may contain channels for the left and right channels or a .mpg video file may contain a video stream plus left and right channels, but it might also include 5+1 audio channels plus a channel for subtitles.
Do not mix input and output files – first specify all input files, then all output files. Also do not mix options which belong to different files.
All options apply ONLY to the next input or output file and are reset between files.
This page is not a complete document of all the options and switches, ffmpeg is updated several times a year, so check the official website for the latest full documentation.
Most of the time ffmpeg will automatically select the correct settings from the requested file extension without any complex configuration.
You can specify the codecs you want to use, ffmpeg -codecs will print all the codecs that your version of FFmpeg can handle, typically including at least the following:
==Video== binkvideo Bink video h264 H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC/ MPEG-4 part 10 (decoders: h264 h264_vda ) (encoders: libx264 libx264rgb ) mpeg4 MPEG-4 part 2 (encoders: mpeg4 libxvid ) vp9 Google VP9 webp WebP wmv3 Windows Media Video 9 rawvideo raw video ==Audio== aac AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) (encoders: aac libvo_aacenc ) alac ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) flac FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) mp3 MP3 (MPEG audio layer 3) vorbis Vorbis (decoders: vorbis, libvorbis ) (encoders: vorbis, libvorbis ) wmalossless Windows Media Audio Lossless wmapro Windows Media Audio 9 Professional ==Images== bmp BMP (Windows bitmap) dvvideo DV (Digital Video) gif GIF png PNG image vc1image Windows Media Video 9 Image v2 wmv3image Windows Media Video 9 Image ==Text== bintext Binary text dvb_subtitle DVB subtitles dvb_teletext DVB teletext dvd_subtitle DVD subtitles
The codec to be used can be specified with the -c codec option
To specify the audio codec -codec:a codec
or abbreviate to -acodec codec or just -c:a codec
To specify the video codec -codec:v codec
or abbreviate to -vcodec codec or just -c:v codec
To copy a stream without re-encoding it, just specify the codec as 'copy'
If 'copy' is applied to both the audio and video (-c:av) then ffmpeg will convert from one container format to another without any re-encoding: ffmpeg -i input.webm -c:av copy output.mkv
The name ffmpeg is short for 'Fast Forward MPEG' files although the utility now does far more than that.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 output.ogg
Recursively convert all .FLAC files in the current directory and subdirectories to 320k .MP3:
find . -iname '*.flac' -exec bash -c 'D=$(dirname "{}"); B=$(basename "{}"); mkdir "$D/mp3/"; ffmpeg -i "{}" -ab 320k -map_metadata 0 -id3v2_version 3 -acodec libmp3lame "$D/mp3/${B%.*}.mp3"' \;
Remux from MKV (a container format) into MP4 (another container format), lossless copy without re-encoding.
':av' is the default so this could also be specified with just -c copy:ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:av copy output.mp4
Similarly remux from .webm (a container format) to .mkv (another container format):
ffmpeg -i input.webm -c:av copy output.mkv
Specify the codecs for both video (-c:v) and audio (-c:a)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v vp9 -c:a mp3 output.mkv
Encode the audio as mp3 and copy the video stream unchanged:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -c:a mp3 output.mkvHigh-quality encoding using -crf (Constant Rate Factor) and -preset:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -preset slower -crf 18 output.mp4
Convert a .webm file to .mp3 specifying a high bitrate (-b) audio for best quality sound.
ffmpeg -i ~/input.webm -b:a 192k ~/output.mp3
Convert a .webm file to .mp4 specifying a high bitrate (-b) audio for best quality sound.
ffmpeg -i ~/input.webm -c:v libx264 -c:a aac -strict experimental -b:a 192k output.mp4
interlaced video is generated for TV/broadcasting with even lines are captured for one half frame followed by the odd lines in the next half frame. This can give a jagged appearance on a computer monitor.
Deinterlace a file using "yet another deinterlacing filter".
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf yadif output.mp4
To Trim a file, add the options -ss [StartTime] -t [duration] or -to [EndTime]
Times and duration can be given as hh:mm:ss.msec or a simple number of seconds.
Trimming can be done with or without -c copy, if you leave out -c copy, ffmpeg will re-encode the output file.Copy only the first 60 seconds of a video:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -t 60 -c copy output.mp4
Copy 2.5 minutes from the middle of a video without re-encoding it:
ffmpeg -ss "00:00:59.59" -i "input.mp4" -c copy -map 0 -to "00:03:30.00" "output.mp4"
To copy the video from invid0.mp4 and the audio from inaudio1.mp4 and mux together matching the duration of the -shortest input stream:
ffmpeg -i invid0.mp4 -i inaudio1.mp4 -c copy -map 0:0 -map 1:1 -shortest output.mp4
To copy the video from invideo0.mp4 and the audio from inaudio1.mp3 and mux together with the audio starting from 15.5 seconds and cutting after a duration of 30 seconds and the video keeping just the first 40 seconds (so the last 10 seconds of the output will be silent):
ffmpeg -ss 00:00:00 -t 40 -i "invid0.mp4" -ss 0:00:15.5 -t 30 -i "inaudio1.mp3" -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 -y out.mp4
Delay video by 0.2 seconds:
ffmpeg -i inaudio1.mp3 -itsoffset 0.2 -i invid0.mp4 -map 1:v -map 0:a -vcodec copy -acodec copy out.mp4
Delay audio by 0.2 seconds:
ffmpeg -i invid0.mp4 -itsoffset 0.2 -i inaudio1.mp3 -map 0:v -map 1:a -vcodec copy -acodec copy out.mp4
Transpose parameter values:
0 = 90CounterClockwise + Vertical Flip (default)
1 = 90Clockwise
2 = 90CounterClockwise
3 = 90Clockwise + Vertical FlipRotate 90 clockwise:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4
Rotate 180 degrees clockwise:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=2,transpose=2" output.mp4
Changing the resolution will always requires re-encoding.
Change the Sample Aspect Ratio to be half that of the input file, this will create a significantly smaller (but lower quality) file:
ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf "scale=trunc(iw/4)*2:trunc(ih/4)*2" ~/output.mp4
In this example, the size is divided by twice the value required and then multiplied by two to ensure the pixel size is a multiple of two, which is required for some codecs.Change the Sample Aspect Ratio (SAR) of a video from 720p to 540 (4:3):
ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf scale=720:540 -c:v [Video_Codec] "output.mp4"
Change the Display Aspect Ratio (DAR) of a video from 720p to 540 (4:3) [x] this sets a metadata flag at the container level:
ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -aspect 720:540 -c copy "output.mp4"
Batch convert a folder of .mp4 files to .mp3 (Windows CMD, see stackoverflow for bash and PowerShell versions.)
for %i in (*.mp4) do ffmpeg -i "%i" "%~ni.mp3"
Merge together 2 or more files of the same type/dimensions/codec, create a file with the filenames (one file per line) prefixing each line with 'file' to indicate that they are file inputs:
input.txt
file 'ex1.aiff'
file 'ex2.aiff'
Then run: ffmpeg -f concat -i input.txt -c copy output.aiffAlternatively, on one line:
ffmpeg -i "concat:vid1.mp4|vid2.mp4" -c copy output.mp4Batch convert a set of .jpg images into a video with a frame rate of 1 per 2 seconds:
ffmpeg -framerate 1/2 -pattern_type glob -i '*.jpg' output.mp4
“Television and the media are everywhere and they are taking over so powerfully. They don't shut up for a second. So you are unable to think. It is very difficult to think independently when you are surrounded by all that noise. What I most aspire to is to be alone. Not lonely, but alone. To stop all this noise. That is what I do when I go to Umbria. There is no television there, no telephone” ~ Terry Gilliam
Related
ffmprovisr - helpful information about how to perform a wide variety of tasks using FFmpeg.
ffmpeg - Full documentation.
youtube-dl - Download Video.
A simple PowerShell GUI front end for ffmpeg (compression only).