Ffmpeg
FFmpeg provides libraries and tools for processing audio, video, subtitles, and related multimedia data and formats.
About Ffmpeg
This GitHub repository is a mirror of the FFmpeg source code, maintained at git.ffmpeg.org. FFmpeg is a collection of libraries and command-line tools for processing multimedia content, including audio, video, subtitles, and related metadata. The libraries cover codecs, container formats and streaming protocols, filters, device access, audio resampling, and color conversion and scaling. The tools include ffmpeg for converting, manipulating, and streaming media, ffplay for playback, and ffprobe for inspecting media files.
The repository includes offline documentation in its doc/ directory and coding examples in doc/examples. The online documentation is on the main FFmpeg website and in its wiki. The codebase is mainly licensed under LGPL, with some optional components under GPL, so the LICENSE file should be checked for specifics. Contributions are submitted to the ffmpeg-devel mailing list, not as GitHub pull requests, which the project states will be ignored.
Key features
- ffmpeg command-line tool to manipulate, convert, and stream multimedia content
- ffplay minimalistic multimedia player
- ffprobe analysis tool for inspecting multimedia content
- libavcodec library providing implementations of a wide range of codecs
- libavfilter alters decoded audio and video through connected filter graphs
- libavdevice abstraction for accessing capture and playback devices
Best for: Developers and technical users who need libraries or command-line tools for processing audio, video, and subtitles.
Good for
- Combines multimedia libraries and command-line tools in one codebase
- Includes offline documentation and coding examples in the repository
- Libraries cover a wide range of codecs, container formats, and streaming protocols
Watch out for
- GitHub pull requests are not part of the review process and will be ignored
- Codebase is mainly LGPL, with optional components under GPL
- This page is a mirror, and contributions must go through the ffmpeg-devel mailing list
Ffmpeg at a glance
- Website
- github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg
- Type
- Open-source project
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Open source
- Not stated
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 6, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
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Ffmpeg FAQ
Where can I find FFmpeg documentation?
Offline documentation is in the doc/ directory of the repository. Online documentation is on the main FFmpeg website and in the wiki.
How should I submit changes to FFmpeg?
Patches should be sent to the ffmpeg-devel mailing list using git format-patch or git send-email. GitHub pull requests are ignored.
What license does FFmpeg use?
The codebase is mainly LGPL-licensed, with optional components licensed under GPL. The LICENSE file has detailed information.
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