tool: schema_version: 1.0 id: ffmpeg type: local name: FFmpeg version: 1.0.0 description: Complete, cross-platform solution for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video knowledge_strategy: declarative capabilities: - Video format conversion - Audio extraction and conversion - Video compression and optimization - Image sequence to video conversion - Video trimming and concatenation - Resolution and aspect ratio changes - Subtitles and overlay addition - Streaming and recording - Codec transcoding - Metadata manipulation use_cases: - format_conversion: "Convert between video/audio formats" - compression: "Reduce file sizes while maintaining quality" - extraction: "Extract audio from video files" - editing: "Trim, concat, and edit media files" - optimization: "Optimize media for web delivery" - streaming: "Stream video content" - thumbnail_generation: "Extract frames as images" installation: windows: - method: "Chocolatey" command: "choco install ffmpeg" - method: "Scoop" command: "scoop install ffmpeg" - method: "Manual" url: "https://ffmpeg.org/download.html#build-windows" notes: "Download, extract, add to PATH" macos: - method: "Homebrew" command: "brew install ffmpeg" linux: - method: "APT (Ubuntu/Debian)" command: "apt install ffmpeg" - method: "YUM (CentOS/RHEL)" command: "yum install ffmpeg" local_specific: executables: - name: "ffmpeg" purpose: "Main conversion tool" - name: "ffprobe" purpose: "Media analysis and metadata extraction" - name: "ffplay" purpose: "Media player for testing" verification: check_install: "ffmpeg -version" check_codecs: "ffmpeg -codecs" check_formats: "ffmpeg -formats" common_operations: format_conversion: - operation: "Video conversion" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi" notes: "Auto-detects format from extension" - operation: "Audio conversion" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp3 output.wav" quality_control: - operation: "Set video quality (CRF)" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -crf 23 output.mp4" notes: "CRF: 0 (best) to 51 (worst), 23 is default" - operation: "Set bitrate" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -b:v 1M output.mp4" notes: "1M = 1 megabit/second" resolution_changes: - operation: "Resize video" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 output.mp4" - operation: "Resize maintaining aspect ratio" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:-1 output.mp4" notes: "-1 auto-calculates to maintain aspect" audio_extraction: - operation: "Extract audio" command: "ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -acodec copy audio.mp3" flags: - "-vn: no video" - "-acodec copy: copy audio codec" video_trimming: - operation: "Trim video by time" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -to 00:02:00 -c copy output.mp4" flags: - "-ss: start time" - "-to: end time" - "-c copy: copy codecs (fast)" - operation: "Trim with re-encoding" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -t 00:01:00 output.mp4" flags: - "-t: duration instead of end time" concatenation: - operation: "Concat videos (same codec)" command: "ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i filelist.txt -c copy output.mp4" requires: "filelist.txt with format: file 'video1.mp4'\\nfile 'video2.mp4'" thumbnail_extraction: - operation: "Extract single frame" command: "ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -ss 00:00:10 -vframes 1 thumb.jpg" - operation: "Extract frame every N seconds" command: "ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vf fps=1/60 thumb%03d.jpg" notes: "fps=1/60 means 1 frame per 60 seconds" codec_transcoding: - operation: "H.264 encoding" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset medium output.mp4" presets: "ultrafast, superfast, veryfast, faster, fast, medium, slow, slower, veryslow" - operation: "H.265/HEVC encoding" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -preset medium output.mp4" streaming: - operation: "Stream to RTMP" command: "ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c copy -f flv rtmp://server/live/stream" - operation: "Stream to HLS" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -codec: copy -start_number 0 -hls_time 10 -hls_list_size 0 -f hls output.m3u8" advanced_features: filters: - name: "scale" purpose: "Resize video" example: "-vf scale=1280:720" - name: "crop" purpose: "Crop video" example: "-vf crop=640:480:0:0" - name: "overlay" purpose: "Add watermark/logo" example: "-i logo.png -filter_complex overlay=10:10" - name: "subtitles" purpose: "Burn subtitles" example: "-vf subtitles=subs.srt" metadata: - operation: "View metadata" command: "ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4" - operation: "Set metadata" command: "ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -metadata title=\"My Video\" output.mp4" common_flags: input_output: - flag: "-i" purpose: "Input file" required: true - flag: "-y" purpose: "Overwrite output without asking" - flag: "-n" purpose: "Never overwrite output" video: - flag: "-vcodec / -c:v" purpose: "Video codec" values: "libx264, libx265, copy" - flag: "-b:v" purpose: "Video bitrate" example: "1M, 2500k" - flag: "-r" purpose: "Frame rate" example: "24, 30, 60" - flag: "-vf" purpose: "Video filters" audio: - flag: "-acodec / -c:a" purpose: "Audio codec" values: "aac, mp3, copy" - flag: "-b:a" purpose: "Audio bitrate" example: "128k, 192k" - flag: "-ar" purpose: "Audio sample rate" example: "44100, 48000" - flag: "-ac" purpose: "Audio channels" values: "1 (mono), 2 (stereo)" speed: - flag: "-preset" purpose: "Encoding speed vs quality" values: "ultrafast, fast, medium, slow" - flag: "-crf" purpose: "Constant Rate Factor (quality)" range: "0-51 (lower is better)" best_practices: - "Use -c copy when no re-encoding needed (faster)" - "Test with short clips before processing large files" - "Use -crf for quality, -b:v for size control" - "Check codec support: ffmpeg -codecs" - "Use presets: slower = better quality but longer processing" - "Always specify output format explicitly" - "Use ffprobe to analyze before processing" performance_tips: - "Hardware acceleration: -hwaccel auto" - "Multi-threading: -threads N (auto by default)" - "Two-pass encoding for better quality" - "Use appropriate presets for speed/quality balance" common_issues: codec_not_found: error: "Unknown encoder 'libx264'" solution: "Install FFmpeg with required codecs or use different codec" audio_video_sync: error: "Audio and video out of sync" solution: "Use -async 1 flag or re-encode with constant frame rate" file_size_large: issue: "Output file too large" solutions: - "Increase CRF value (lower quality)" - "Reduce resolution with scale filter" - "Use more efficient codec (H.265 instead of H.264)" - "Reduce bitrate with -b:v flag" slow_processing: issue: "Encoding takes too long" solutions: - "Use faster preset (fast, veryfast, ultrafast)" - "Enable hardware acceleration" - "Use -c copy if no re-encoding needed" limitations: - "Processing can be CPU/GPU intensive" - "Some codecs require additional libraries" - "Patent restrictions on certain codecs in some regions" - "Quality loss with repeated re-encoding"