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FFmpeg Cheatsheet

A comprehensive FFmpeg cheat sheet covering essential commands, options, and use cases for audio and video manipulation.

Basic Commands and Options

Basic Information

ffmpeg -version

Display FFmpeg version information.

ffmpeg -formats

List all available formats (containers, codecs, protocols).

ffmpeg -codecs

List all available codecs.

ffmpeg -decoders

List all available decoders.

ffmpeg -encoders

List all available encoders.

ffmpeg -devices

List available devices (e.g., cameras, microphones).

Basic Syntax

ffmpeg [global_options] {[input_file_options] -i input_url} ... {[output_file_options] output_url} ...

Example: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 output.avi

Global Options

-y

Overwrite output files without asking.

-n

Do not overwrite output files. Exit if specified output file exists.

-i input_url

Specify input file.

-c[:stream_specifier] codec

Specify codec. -c:v for video, -c:a for audio, -c:s for subtitles.

-vn

Disable video recording.

-an

Disable audio recording.

Video Processing

Basic Video Encoding

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 output.mp4

Encode video to H.264 (libx264).

ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libvpx-vp9 -c:a libopus output.webm

Encode video to VP9 (libvpx-vp9) with Opus audio.

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v copy -c:a copy output.mp4

Copy video and audio streams (re-mux).

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx265 -preset slow -crf 28 output.mp4

Encode video to H.265 (libx265) with CRF (Constant Rate Factor) for quality.

Video Resizing and Cropping

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf scale=640:480 output.mp4

Resize video to 640x480.

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf scale=hd720 output.mp4

Resize video to 720p (1280x720).

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf crop=w=320:h=240:x=100:y=50 output.mp4

Crop video to 320x240 starting at coordinates (100, 50).

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf "scale=iw*0.5:ih*0.5" output.mp4

Scale the video to half of the original width and height.

Frame Rate and Aspect Ratio

ffmpeg -i input.mov -r 30 output.mp4

Set frame rate to 30 fps.

ffmpeg -i input.mov -aspect 16:9 output.mp4

Set aspect ratio to 16:9.

ffmpeg -i input.mov -r 24 -aspect 4:3 output.mp4

Change both frame rate and aspect ratio.

Audio Processing

Basic Audio Encoding

ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libmp3lame output.mp3

Encode audio to MP3 (libmp3lame).

ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.aac

Encode audio to AAC with a bitrate of 128kbps.

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -c:a copy output.mp3

Copy audio stream (re-mux).

Audio Conversion and Manipulation

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -ar 44100 output.wav

Change audio sample rate to 44100 Hz.

ffmpeg -i input.wav -ac 2 output.wav

Change audio channels to stereo.

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af volume=0.5 output.mp3

Reduce audio volume to 50%.

ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -ss 00:00:10 -to 00:00:20 output.mp3

Extract audio snippet from 10 to 20 seconds.

Extracting Audio from Video

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -acodec copy output.aac

Extract audio as AAC.

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vn -acodec libmp3lame output.mp3

Extract audio as MP3.

Advanced Techniques

Concatenating Media Files

Create a text file mylist.txt with the following content:

file 'input1.mp4'
file 'input2.mp4'
file 'input3.mp4'

Then run:

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

Note: The files must have the same encoding and properties for seamless concatenation.

Adding Subtitles

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

Add subtitles to a video file.

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

Another way to add subtitles (may require specific codecs).

Creating GIFs

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -t 3 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" output.gif

Create a GIF from a video, limiting to the first 3 seconds, setting frame rate, scaling and using palette optimization.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -t 00:00:05 -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" output.gif

Convert specific part of the video to gif.
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