Guide for using FFmpeg - a comprehensive multimedia framework for video/audio encoding, conversion, streaming, and filtering. Use when processing media files, converting formats, extracting audio, creating streams, applying filters, or optimizing video/audio quality.
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FFmpeg is a comprehensive open-source multimedia framework that handles video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams. It provides command-line tools and libraries for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video.
Use this skill when:
ffmpeg: Primary tool for transcoding, conversion, and streaming ffprobe: Media analysis and inspection tool ffplay: Minimalist multimedia player for testing
H.264 (libx264): Most widely supported, excellent compression/quality balance
H.265/HEVC (libx265): 25-50% better compression than H.264
VP9: Royalty-free, WebM format
AV1 (libaom-av1, libsvtav1): Next-generation codec, best compression
AAC: Industry standard, excellent quality MP3: Universal compatibility, good quality Opus: Best quality at low bitrates, ideal for voice/streaming FLAC: Lossless compression, archival quality Vorbis: Open-source, good quality AC-3/DTS: Surround sound formats
MP4: Universal compatibility, streaming-friendly MKV (Matroska): Feature-rich, supports multiple tracks/subtitles WebM: Web-optimized (VP8/VP9 + Vorbis/Opus) AVI: Legacy format, broad compatibility MOV: Apple QuickTime format TS: Transport stream for broadcasting FLV: Flash video (legacy streaming)
Simple format conversion without re-encoding:
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4
Convert with specific codecs:
ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4
Constant Rate Factor - best for quality-focused encoding:
# H.264 encoding (CRF 23 = default, 17-28 recommended range) ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 -c:a copy output.mp4 # H.265 encoding (higher compression) ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx265 -preset medium -crf 24 -c:a copy output.mp4 # VP9 encoding (WebM) ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libvpx-vp9 -crf 30 -b:v 0 -c:a libopus output.webm
CRF Scale:
Presets (speed vs compression):
For targeting specific file sizes:
# Pass 1 (analysis) ffmpeg -y -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -b:v 2600k -pass 1 -an -f null /dev/null # Pass 2 (encoding) ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -b:v 2600k -pass 2 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4
Extract audio without re-encoding:
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a copy audio.m4a
Extract and convert to MP3:
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -q:a 0 audio.mp3
Extract with specific bitrate:
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 192k audio.mp3
Scale to specific dimensions:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 output.mp4
Scale maintaining aspect ratio:
# Width 1280, height auto-calculated ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:-1 output.mp4 # Height 720, width auto-calculated ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=-1:720 output.mp4
Scale to half resolution:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=iw/2:ih/2 output.mp4
Cut without re-encoding (fast but less precise):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:30 -to 00:03:00 -c copy output.mp4
Cut with re-encoding (precise):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:30 -t 00:01:30 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4
Parameters:
-ss-to-tMethod 1: Concat demuxer (same codec/format)
Create
concat.txtfile 'input1.mp4' file 'input2.mp4' file 'input3.mp4'
Run:
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i concat.txt -c copy output.mp4
Method 2: Concat filter (different formats)
ffmpeg -i input1.mp4 -i input2.mp4 -i input3.mp4 \ -filter_complex "[0:v][0:a][1:v][1:a][2:v][2:a]concat=n=3:v=1:a=1[v][a]" \ -map "[v]" -map "[a]" output.mp4
Multiple filters (chain with comma):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=1280:720,hqdn3d" output.mp4
Denoise:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf hqdn3d output.mp4
Deinterlace:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf yadif output.mp4
Crop:
# Crop to 1280x720 from top-left (0,0) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=1280:720:0:0" output.mp4 # Auto-detect and remove black borders ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "cropdetect" output.mp4
Rotate:
# Rotate 90 degrees clockwise ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4 # Rotate 180 degrees ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1,transpose=1" output.mp4
Watermark/Logo:
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i logo.png \ -filter_complex "overlay=10:10" output.mp4
Speed adjustment:
# 2x speed ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=0.5*PTS" -af "atempo=2.0" output.mp4 # 0.5x speed (slow motion) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=2.0*PTS" -af "atempo=0.5" output.mp4
Volume adjustment:
# Increase volume by 10dB ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=10dB" output.mp4 # Set to 50% volume ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=0.5" output.mp4
Normalize audio:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af loudnorm output.mp4
Crossfade between audio:
ffmpeg -i audio1.mp3 -i audio2.mp3 \ -filter_complex "[0][1]acrossfade=d=5" output.mp3
Mix multiple audio tracks:
ffmpeg -i input1.mp3 -i input2.mp3 \ -filter_complex "[0:a][1:a]amix=inputs=2:duration=longest" output.mp3
Basic stream:
ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast \ -maxrate 3000k -bufsize 6000k -pix_fmt yuv420p -g 50 \ -c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 44100 \ -f flv rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/YOUR_STREAM_KEY
Screen capture + stream (Linux):
ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -framerate 30 -i :0.0 \ -f pulse -ac 2 -i default \ -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -tune zerolatency \ -maxrate 2500k -bufsize 5000k -pix_fmt yuv420p \ -c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 44100 \ -f flv rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/YOUR_STREAM_KEY
Screen capture (Windows DirectShow):
ffmpeg -f dshow -i video="screen-capture-recorder":audio="Stereo Mix" \ -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -tune zerolatency \ -maxrate 750k -bufsize 3000k \ -f flv rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/YOUR_STREAM_KEY
Important streaming parameters:
-re-tune zerolatency-g 50-maxrate-bufsizeGenerate adaptive HLS stream:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \ -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 22 -g 48 -sc_threshold 0 \ -c:a aac -b:a 128k \ -f hls -hls_time 6 -hls_playlist_type vod \ -hls_segment_filename "segment_%03d.ts" \ playlist.m3u8
Multi-bitrate HLS:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \ -map 0:v -map 0:a -map 0:v -map 0:a \ -c:v libx264 -crf 22 -c:a aac -b:a 128k \ -b:v:0 2000k -s:v:0 1280x720 -b:v:1 5000k -s:v:1 1920x1080 \ -var_stream_map "v:0,a:0 v:1,a:1" \ -master_pl_name master.m3u8 \ -f hls -hls_time 6 -hls_list_size 0 \ stream_%v/index.m3u8
UDP stream:
ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c copy -f mpegts udp://192.168.1.100:1234
RTP audio stream:
ffmpeg -re -i audio.mp3 -c:a libopus -f rtp rtp://192.168.1.100:5004
# H.264 with NVENC ffmpeg -hwaccel cuda -i input.mp4 -c:v h264_nvenc -preset fast -crf 22 output.mp4 # H.265 with NVENC ffmpeg -hwaccel cuda -i input.mp4 -c:v hevc_nvenc -preset fast -crf 24 output.mp4
ffmpeg -hwaccel qsv -c:v h264_qsv -i input.mp4 \ -c:v h264_qsv -preset fast -global_quality 22 output.mp4
ffmpeg -hwaccel auto -i input.mp4 \ -c:v h264_amf -quality balanced -rc cqp -qp 22 output.mp4
# Detailed information ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4 # Human-readable format ffprobe input.mp4 # Get duration ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration \ -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4 # Get resolution ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \ -show_entries stream=width,height \ -of csv=s=x:p=0 input.mp4 # Get bitrate ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=bit_rate \ -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4
# Convert all MKV files to MP4 for file in *.mkv; do ffmpeg -i "$file" -c:v libx264 -crf 22 -c:a aac "${file%.mkv}.mp4" done # Resize all videos to 720p for file in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$file" -vf scale=-1:720 "720p_${file}" done
# Install: sudo apt-get install parallel # Process multiple files in parallel ls *.mkv | parallel ffmpeg -i {} -c:v libx264 -crf 22 -c:a aac {.}.mp4
# High quality GIF ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=640:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" output.gif # Simple GIF ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1" output.gif
# Extract all frames ffmpeg -i input.mp4 frame_%04d.png # Extract 1 frame per second ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=1 frame_%04d.png # Extract single frame at 5 seconds ffmpeg -ss 00:00:05 -i input.mp4 -frames:v 1 frame.png
# From numbered images ffmpeg -framerate 30 -i frame_%04d.png -c:v libx264 -crf 22 -pix_fmt yuv420p output.mp4 # From pattern ffmpeg -framerate 24 -pattern_type glob -i '*.png' -c:v libx264 output.mp4
# Burn subtitles into video ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vf subtitles=subtitles.srt output.mp4 # Embed subtitle track (soft subtitles) ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i subtitles.srt -c copy -c:s mov_text output.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -an -c:v copy output.mp4
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.mp3 -c:v copy -c:a aac -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 output.mp4
# Single thumbnail at 5 seconds ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:05 -vframes 1 -vf scale=320:-1 thumb.jpg # Multiple thumbnails (one per minute) ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=1/60,scale=320:-1 thumb_%03d.jpg
Fast encoding (real-time processing):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -crf 23 output.mp4
Balanced (default):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 22 output.mp4
High quality (archival):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryslow -crf 18 output.mp4
FFmpeg automatically uses multiple CPU cores. Override with:
ffmpeg -threads 8 -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 output.mp4
-c copy-c:v-vcodec-b:v2M2500k-crf-preset-tune-pix_fmt-r3060-g-c:a-acodec-b:a128k192k-ar4410048000-ac-q:a-i-y-n-t-ss-to-vf-af-map-metadata-fInstall codec libraries:
# Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libx264-dev libx265-dev libvpx-dev # Check available encoders ffmpeg -encoders
Use safe defaults for maximum compatibility:
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -level 4.0 \ -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4
-hwaccel-preset fast-preset slowWhen using FFmpeg:
ffmpeg -version