ffmpeg-core

plugin: video-editing
updated: 2026-01-20

# FFmpeg Core Operations

Production-ready patterns for video and audio manipulation using FFmpeg.

## System Requirements

- **FFmpeg** (5.0+ recommended)
- Verify installation: `ffmpeg -version`
- For hardware acceleration: check `ffmpeg -hwaccels`

### Cross-Platform Installation

**macOS:**
```bash
brew install ffmpeg
```

**Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):**
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg
```

**Linux (Fedora/RHEL):**
```bash
sudo dnf install ffmpeg
```

**Windows:**
```bash
# Using Chocolatey
choco install ffmpeg

# Or download from https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
```

## Common Operations Reference

### 1. Video Information

Extract metadata and stream information:

```bash
# Get full metadata
ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams "input.mp4"

# Get duration only
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"
```

### 2. Trimming and Cutting

```bash
# Trim by time (fast, no re-encoding)
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:30 -i input.mp4 -to 00:02:45 -c copy output.mp4

# Trim with re-encoding (frame-accurate)
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:30 -i input.mp4 -to 00:02:45 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

# Extract specific segment by frames
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "select=between(n\,100\,500)" -vsync vfr output.mp4
```

### 3. Concatenation

```bash
# Using concat demuxer (same codecs required)
# First create file list:
# file 'clip1.mp4'
# file 'clip2.mp4'
# file 'clip3.mp4'

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

# Using concat filter (different codecs, re-encodes)
ffmpeg -i clip1.mp4 -i clip2.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v][0:a][1:v][1:a]concat=n=2:v=1:a=1" output.mp4
```

### 4. Format Conversion

```bash
# MP4 to MOV (ProRes for FCP)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 3 -c:a pcm_s16le output.mov

# Any to H.264 MP4 (w