> ffmpeg

multimedia framework — convert, trim, filter, and process audio and video

basic conversion trimming audio video filters speed & reverse gif & images concatenation subtitles compression streaming inspection useful tips

// basic conversion

6 commands

Convert MP4 to WebM

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.webm

Convert MKV to MP4 without re-encoding

$ ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4

Remux container without transcoding

$ ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4

Convert to H.265 HEVC for smaller file size

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -c:a aac output.mp4

Convert AVI to MP4 with H.264

$ ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac output.mp4

Convert video to audio-only format

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 output.mp3

// trimming

4 commands

Trim video without re-encoding

$ ffmpeg -ss 00:01:00 -to 00:02:00 -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

Trim with re-encoding for frame accuracy

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -to 00:02:00 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

Split video into equal segments

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -map 0 -segment_time 00:10:00 -f segment -reset_timestamps 1 output_%03d.mp4

Extract a specific time range

$ ffmpeg -ss 00:05:00 -i input.mp4 -t 30 -c copy output.mp4

// audio

7 commands

Extract audio from video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -acodec copy audio.aac

Remove audio from video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -an -c:v copy output.mp4

Replace audio in a video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i audio.mp3 -c:v copy -c:a aac -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 output.mp4

Adjust volume level

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=2.0" output.mp4

Normalize audio loudness with EBU R128

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11 output.mp4

Convert audio sample rate

$ ffmpeg -i audio.mp3 -ar 44100 output.mp3

Mute a specific time range

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=enable='between(t,5,10)':volume=0" output.mp4

// video filters

7 commands

Resize video to 720p

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=-1:720" output.mp4

Crop video to square

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=ih:ih" output.mp4

Rotate video 90 degrees

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4

Add text overlay with timestamp

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "drawtext=text='%{pts\:hms}':x=10:y=10:fontsize=24:fontcolor=white" output.mp4

Deinterlace video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf yadif output.mp4

Add a watermark image overlay

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i watermark.png -filter_complex "overlay=W-w-10:H-h-10" output.mp4

Apply blur to a region of the video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "split[original][copy];[copy]crop=200:200:100:100,boxblur=10[blurred];[original][blurred]overlay=100:100" output.mp4

// speed & reverse

4 commands

Double the playback speed

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=0.5*PTS" -af "atempo=2.0" output.mp4

Slow down to half speed

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=2.0*PTS" -af "atempo=0.5" output.mp4

Reverse a video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf reverse -af areverse output.mp4

Create a boomerang loop

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v]reverse[r];[0:v][r]concat=n=2:v=1:a=0" output.mp4

// gif & images

6 commands

Convert video to GIF

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1" output.gif

Convert video to GIF with optimized palette

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos,palettegen" palette.png

Extract one frame per second as images

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=1 frame_%04d.png

Extract a single frame at a timestamp

$ ffmpeg -ss 00:00:05 -i input.mp4 -frames:v 1 thumbnail.jpg

Create slideshow from images

$ ffmpeg -framerate 1 -i frame_%04d.png -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p output.mp4

Create a video thumbnail grid

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "select='not(mod(n\,100))',scale=320:180,tile=4x4" -frames:v 1 thumbnail.jpg

// concatenation

4 commands

Concatenate videos from a file list

$ ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i filelist.txt -c copy output.mp4

Merge audio and video from separate files

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i audio.mp3 -c:v copy -c:a aac -shortest output.mp4

Join videos with different codecs using re-encoding

$ ffmpeg -i input1.mp4 -i input2.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v:0][0:a:0][1:v:0][1:a:0]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1[outv][outa]" -map "[outv]" -map "[outa]" output.mp4

Loop a video N times

$ ffmpeg -stream_loop 3 -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

// subtitles

4 commands

Burn subtitles permanently into video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "subtitles=subtitles.srt" output.mp4

Add a selectable subtitle track

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i subtitles.srt -c copy -c:s mov_text output.mp4

Extract subtitles from a video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map 0:s:0 subtitles.srt

Convert subtitle format from SRT to ASS

$ ffmpeg -i subtitles.srt subtitles.ass

// compression

5 commands

Compress video with CRF quality control

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac output.mp4

Two-pass encoding for target file size

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -b:v 1M -pass 1 -f null /dev/null

Hardware-accelerated encoding with VideoToolbox

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v h264_videotoolbox -b:v 5M output.mp4

Hardware-accelerated encoding with NVENC

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v h264_nvenc -preset p7 -cq 23 output.mp4

Reduce file size by limiting bitrate

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -b:v 1M -maxrate 1M -bufsize 2M -c:a aac output.mp4

// streaming

3 commands

Download an HLS stream to MP4

$ ffmpeg -i "https://example.com/stream.m3u8" -c copy output.mp4

Record an RTMP stream to file

$ ffmpeg -i "rtmp://example.com/live/stream" -c copy output.mp4

Stream a video file to an RTMP server

$ ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac -f flv "rtmp://example.com/live/stream"

// inspection

5 commands

Get video file information

$ ffprobe input.mp4

Get video stream details like codec and resolution

$ ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,r_frame_rate -of csv=p=0 input.mp4

Get audio stream details

$ ffprobe -v error -select_streams a:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,sample_rate,channels -of csv=p=0 input.mp4

Read and display all metadata tags

$ ffprobe -v error -show_entries format_tags -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.mp4

Check video duration

$ ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration -of csv=p=0 input.mp4

# useful tips

9 commands

Convert audio to Whisper-compatible format

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ar 16000 -ac 1 -c:a pcm_s16le output.wav

Move metadata to the beginning of the file

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -movflags +faststart output.mp4

Apply a retro VHS effect

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "curves=vintage,noise=alls=40:allf=t,hue=s=0.5,eq=contrast=1.3:brightness=-0.05:saturation=0.7" output.mp4

Reverse a video for boomerang effect

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v]split[fwd][rev];[rev]reverse[r];[fwd][r]concat=n=2:v=1:a=0,loop=3:size=999" output.mp4

Create a thermal camera look

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "eq=brightness=0.06:saturation=2,hue=h=180,lutrgb=r='if(gt(val,200),255,0)':g='clip(val*2,0,255)':b='if(lt(val,50),255,0)'" output.mp4

Generate Game of Life animation

$ ffmpeg -f lavfi -i life=s=320x240:mold=10:r=30:ratio=0.5:death_color=#C83232:life_color=#00ff00 -t 10 output.mp4

Turn a video into pixel art style

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=iw/10:ih/10:flags=neighbor,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor" output.mp4

Create a timelapse from a long video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=PTS/30" -an output.mp4

Add a logo watermark to a video

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i logo.png -filter_complex "[0:v]split[base][ref];[1:v][ref]scale=rw/10:-1[logo];[base][logo]overlay=W-w-W*0.02:H*0.02" output.mp4