FFMPEG Commands

FFMPEG is a powerful multimedia framework for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video.

Installation

Linux

bash

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# RHEL/CentOS
sudo yum install ffmpeg

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg

macOS

bash

# Using Homebrew
brew install ffmpeg

Windows

Download from ffmpeg.org or use:

powershell

# Using Chocolatey
choco install ffmpeg

# Using Scoop
scoop install ffmpeg

Joining Videos

Concatenate Videos (Same Format)

Method 1: Using concat demuxer (from README)

Create input file listing all videos:

input.txt:

text

file '01.mp4'
file '02.mp4'
file '03.mp4'

bash

# Join videos
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i input.txt -c copy output.mp4

Method 2: Using concat filter

bash

# Join two videos
ffmpeg -i video1.mp4 -i video2.mp4 \
  -filter_complex "[0:v][0:a][1:v][1:a]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1[v][a]" \
  -map "[v]" -map "[a]" output.mp4

Method 3: Using concat protocol (for similar files)

bash

ffmpeg -i "concat:video1.mp4|video2.mp4|video3.mp4" -c copy output.mp4

Join Videos of Different Formats

bash

# Re-encode to common format
ffmpeg -i video1.avi -i video2.mp4 \
  -filter_complex "[0:v][0:a][1:v][1:a]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1[v][a]" \
  -map "[v]" -map "[a]" output.mp4

Adding Audio to Video

Replace Video Audio with Music (from README)

bash

# Take video from first input, audio from second
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i music.mp4 \
  -map 0:v -map 1:a \
  -c:v copy -c:a copy \
  -shortest \
  video_with_music.mp4

Explanation:

-map 0:v: Use video stream from first input (video.mp4)
-map 1:a: Use audio stream from second input (music.mp4)
-c:v copy: Copy video without re-encoding
-c:a copy: Copy audio without re-encoding
-shortest: End output when shortest input ends

Add Audio to Video Without Audio

bash

# Add music to silent video
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i music.mp3 \
  -c:v copy -c:a aac -shortest \
  output.mp4

Mix Audio Tracks

bash

# Mix original audio with background music
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i music.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "[0:a][1:a]amerge=inputs=2[a]" \
  -map 0:v -map "[a]" -c:v copy -c:a aac -shortest \
  output.mp4

Video Conversion

Change Format

bash

# MP4 to AVI
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi

# AVI to MP4
ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

# MOV to MP4
ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

# MKV to MP4
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4

Change Codec

bash

# Change video codec to H.264
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

# Change audio codec to AAC
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -c:a aac output.mp4

# Change both codecs
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

Change Resolution

bash

# Scale to 720p
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 output.mp4

# Scale to 1080p
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 output.mp4

# Scale maintaining aspect ratio
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:-1 output.mp4

# Scale to half size
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=iw/2:ih/2 output.mp4

Video Trimming and Cutting

Cut Video Segment

bash

# Cut from 00:01:00 for 30 seconds
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -t 00:00:30 -c copy output.mp4

# Cut from start to specific time
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -t 00:01:00 -c copy output.mp4

# Cut from specific time to end
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -c copy output.mp4

# Fast seeking (less accurate but faster)
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:00 -i input.mp4 -t 00:00:30 -c copy output.mp4

Remove Audio or Video

bash

# Remove audio, keep video
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -an output.mp4

# Remove video, keep audio
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:a copy -vn output.mp3

# Extract audio as MP3
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 output.mp3

Video Effects

Rotate Video

bash

# Rotate 90 degrees clockwise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4

# Rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=2" output.mp4

# Rotate 180 degrees
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=2,transpose=2" output.mp4

Flip Video

bash

# Flip horizontally
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hflip" output.mp4

# Flip vertically
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "vflip" output.mp4

Add Watermark

bash

# Add image watermark
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i logo.png \
  -filter_complex "overlay=10:10" \
  output.mp4

# Add text watermark
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "drawtext=text='Copyright':fontsize=24:fontcolor=white:x=10:y=10" \
  output.mp4

Crop Video

bash

# Crop to specific dimensions
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=640:480:0:0" output.mp4

# Crop center
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=640:480" output.mp4

Video Compression

Reduce File Size

bash

# Reduce quality (lower CRF = higher quality, 18-28 is good range)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 28 output.mp4

# Reduce resolution and quality
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:-1 -c:v libx264 -crf 28 output.mp4

# Two-pass encoding (better quality)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -b:v 1M -pass 1 -f mp4 /dev/null
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -b:v 1M -pass 2 output.mp4

Reduce Bitrate

bash

# Set video bitrate
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -b:v 1M output.mp4

# Set audio bitrate
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -b:a 128k output.mp4

Video Speed

Change Speed

bash

# Speed up 2x
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter:v "setpts=0.5*PTS" output.mp4

# Slow down 0.5x
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter:v "setpts=2*PTS" output.mp4

# Speed up video and audio
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=0.5*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=2.0[a]" \
  -map "[v]" -map "[a]" output.mp4

Audio Manipulation

Extract Audio

bash

# Extract as MP3
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 audio.mp3

# Extract as WAV
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le audio.wav

# Extract as AAC
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a aac -b:a 192k audio.aac

Change Volume

bash

# Increase volume by 50%
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=1.5" output.mp4

# Decrease volume by 50%
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=0.5" output.mp4

# Increase volume in dB
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "volume=10dB" output.mp4

Normalize Audio

bash

# Normalize audio levels
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "loudnorm" output.mp4

Creating GIFs

Convert Video to GIF

bash

# Basic conversion
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.gif

# High quality GIF
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos" output.gif

# Optimized GIF with palette
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos,palettegen" palette.png
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i palette.png -filter_complex "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos[x];[x][1:v]paletteuse" output.gif

Screen Recording

Record Screen (Linux with X11)

bash

# Record full screen
ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 output.mp4

# Record specific area
ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1280x720 -i :0.0+100,200 output.mp4

Record Screen (macOS)

bash

# Record screen
ffmpeg -f avfoundation -i "1" output.mp4

# Record screen with audio
ffmpeg -f avfoundation -i "1:0" output.mp4

Record Screen (Windows)

bash

# Record using gdigrab
ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 30 -i desktop output.mp4

# Record with specific size
ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 30 -offset_x 0 -offset_y 0 -video_size 1920x1080 -i desktop output.mp4

Information Commands

Get Video Information

bash

# Basic information
ffmpeg -i input.mp4

# Detailed information
ffprobe -i input.mp4

# Show only video stream info
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.mp4

# Show duration
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Batch Processing

Convert Multiple Files

bash

# Convert all AVI files to MP4
for f in *.avi; do
    ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "${f%.avi}.mp4"
done

# Convert all videos to specific resolution
for f in *.mp4; do
    ffmpeg -i "$f" -vf scale=1280:-1 "resized_$f"
done

Common Options

Quality Settings

bash

# High quality
-c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 18

# Medium quality (default)
-c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 23

# Low quality (small file)
-c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 28

Presets

Available presets (speed vs compression):

ultrafast
superfast
veryfast
faster
fast
medium (default)
slow
slower
veryslow

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Codec not found:

bash

# Check available codecs
ffmpeg -codecs

# Check specific codec
ffmpeg -codecs | grep h264

Audio sync issues:

bash

# Re-sync audio
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -itsoffset 0.5 -i input.mp4 -map 0:v -map 1:a -c copy output.mp4

File size too large:

bash

# Reduce with CRF
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 28 output.mp4

# Or set bitrate
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -b:v 1M -b:a 128k output.mp4

FFMPEG Commands ​

Installation ​

Linux ​

macOS ​

Windows ​

Joining Videos ​

Concatenate Videos (Same Format) ​

Join Videos of Different Formats ​

Adding Audio to Video ​

Replace Video Audio with Music (from README) ​

Add Audio to Video Without Audio ​

Mix Audio Tracks ​

Video Conversion ​

Change Format ​

Change Codec ​

Change Resolution ​

Video Trimming and Cutting ​

Cut Video Segment ​

Remove Audio or Video ​

Video Effects ​

Rotate Video ​

Flip Video ​

Add Watermark ​

Crop Video ​

Video Compression ​

Reduce File Size ​

Reduce Bitrate ​

Video Speed ​

Change Speed ​

Audio Manipulation ​

Extract Audio ​

Change Volume ​

Normalize Audio ​

Creating GIFs ​

Convert Video to GIF ​

Screen Recording ​

Record Screen (Linux with X11) ​

Record Screen (macOS) ​

Record Screen (Windows) ​

Information Commands ​

Get Video Information ​

Batch Processing ​

Convert Multiple Files ​

Common Options ​

Quality Settings ​

Presets ​

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

See Also ​

External Resources ​

FFMPEG Commands

Installation

Linux

macOS

Windows

Joining Videos

Concatenate Videos (Same Format)

Join Videos of Different Formats

Adding Audio to Video

Replace Video Audio with Music (from README)

Add Audio to Video Without Audio

Mix Audio Tracks

Video Conversion

Change Format

Change Codec

Change Resolution

Video Trimming and Cutting

Cut Video Segment

Remove Audio or Video

Video Effects

Rotate Video

Flip Video

Add Watermark

Crop Video

Video Compression

Reduce File Size

Reduce Bitrate

Video Speed

Change Speed

Audio Manipulation

Extract Audio

Change Volume

Normalize Audio

Creating GIFs

Convert Video to GIF

Screen Recording

Record Screen (Linux with X11)

Record Screen (macOS)

Record Screen (Windows)

Information Commands

Get Video Information

Batch Processing

Convert Multiple Files

Common Options

Quality Settings

Presets

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

See Also

External Resources