FFmpeg Cheatsheet
A quick reference for common FFmpeg commands for video and audio manipulation.
Audio Manipulation
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -ab 192k output.mp3 |
Extract the audio track from a video and save as MP3. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af 'volume=0.5' output.mp3 |
Change the volume of an audio file (0.5 is half, 2.0 is double). |
Basic Conversion
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi |
Convert a video from one format to another. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.gif |
Convert a video into an animated GIF. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 output.wav |
Convert an audio file from one format to another. |
Subtitles
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i subtitles.srt -c copy -c:s mov_text output.mp4 |
Add a subtitle track to a video. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf subtitles=subtitles.srt output.mp4 |
Burn subtitles directly onto the video (hardsubs). |
Video Manipulation
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:01:30 -t 00:00:10 output.mp4 |
Cut a 10-second clip starting from 1 minute 30 seconds. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=640:480 output.mp4 |
Resize a video to 640x480 pixels. |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 28 output.mp4 |
Change video quality (CRF). Lower is better quality (18-28 is a good range). |
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -an output.mp4 |
Remove the audio track from a video. |