ffmpeg-video-editor

name	ffmpeg-video-editor
version	1.0.0
author	G-HunterAi
license	MIT
description	Generate FFmpeg commands from natural language video editing requests - cut, trim, convert, compress, change aspect ratio, extract audio, and more.
tags	["video","ffmpeg","editing","conversion","compression","media-processing"]
platforms	["macos","linux","windows"]
category	media
emoji	🎬
requires_bins	["ffmpeg"]

FFmpeg Video Editor

Generate FFmpeg commands from natural language video editing requests. Translate user requests into correct FFmpeg commands for trimming, converting, compressing, resizing, extracting audio, and more.

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Post-process videos: Trim, cut, and extract segments
• Convert formats: MP4, MKV, WebM, AVI, MOV, FLV, WMV
• Compress/optimize: Reduce file size while maintaining quality
• Resize and aspect ratio: Adapt for different platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.)
• Extract or manipulate audio: Extract audio tracks, remove audio, change speed
• Add overlays: Watermarks, logos, subtitles
• Rotate/flip: Correct orientation issues
• Create animations: GIFs from video segments
• Merge videos: Concatenate multiple clips

When NOT to Use

Do not use this skill for:

• Programmatic video creation from code: Use remotion-video-toolkit instead
• AI video generation: Use dedicated video generation tools
• Complex multi-track editing: Use Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, or similar desktop editors
• Real-time streaming: Use streaming-specific tools
• Adding effects beyond overlays/watermarks: Use dedicated effects tools

Prerequisites

macOS

brew install ffmpeg

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt install ffmpeg

Linux (RedHat/Fedora)

sudo dnf install ffmpeg

Windows

• Download from: https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
• Or use: choco install ffmpeg (via Chocolatey)

Verify Installation

ffmpeg -version

Quick Start

1. Trim/Cut a Video

Extract a 10-second segment starting at 1:21:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:21 -to 00:01:31 -c copy "video_trimmed.mp4"

2. Compress Video for Email

Reduce file size with balanced quality:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k "video_compressed.mp4"

3. Convert to MP4 Format

Convert any format to MP4:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "input.mkv" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "output.mp4"

Command Reference

Cut/Trim Video

Extract a portion of video between two timestamps.

User might say: "cut video.mp4 from 1:21 to 1:35", "trim first 30 seconds", "extract 0:05:00 to 0:10:30"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss START_TIME -to END_TIME -c copy "OUTPUT"

Examples:

• Cut from 1:21 to 1:35:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:21 -to 00:01:35 -c copy "video_trimmed.mp4"
  

• Extract first 2 minutes:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:00:00 -to 00:02:00 -c copy "video_clip.mp4"
  

---

Format Conversion

Convert between video formats: mp4, mkv, avi, webm, mov, flv, wmv.

User might say: "convert to mkv", "change format from avi to mp4", "make it a webm"

Commands by format:

# MP4 (most compatible)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "OUTPUT.mp4"

# MKV (lossless container change)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c copy "OUTPUT.mkv"

# WebM (web optimized)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libvpx-vp9 -c:a libopus "OUTPUT.webm"

# AVI
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v mpeg4 -c:a mp3 "OUTPUT.avi"

# MOV
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "OUTPUT.mov"

---

Change Aspect Ratio

Resize video to different aspect ratios with letterboxing (black bars).

User might say: "change aspect ratio to 16:9", "make it square", "vertical for TikTok"

Common aspect ratios:

Ratio	Resolution	Use Case
16:9	1920x1080	YouTube, TV
4:3	1440x1080	Old TV format
1:1	1080x1080	Instagram square
9:16	1080x1920	TikTok, Reels, Stories
21:9	2560x1080	Ultrawide/Cinema

Command (with letterboxing):

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "scale=WIDTH:HEIGHT:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=WIDTH:HEIGHT:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

Examples:

• 16:9 for YouTube:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1920:1080:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1920:1080:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_16x9.mp4"
  

• Square for Instagram:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1080:1080:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1080:1080:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_square.mp4"
  

• Vertical for TikTok:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_vertical.mp4"
  

---

Change Resolution

Resize video to standard resolutions.

User might say: "resize to 720p", "make it 4K", "downscale to 480p"

Resolutions:

Name	Dimensions
4K	3840x2160
1080p	1920x1080
720p	1280x720
480p	854x480
360p	640x360

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "scale=WIDTH:HEIGHT" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

Example - Resize to 720p:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1280:720" -c:a copy "video_720p.mp4"

---

Compress Video

Reduce file size. CRF controls quality: 18 (high quality) → 28 (low quality), 23 is balanced.

User might say: "compress video", "reduce file size", "make smaller for email"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -crf CRF_VALUE -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k "OUTPUT"

Examples:

• Balanced compression (CRF 23):

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k "video_compressed.mp4"
  

• High compression/smaller file (CRF 28):

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 28 -preset fast -c:a aac -b:a 96k "video_small.mp4"
  

• High quality (CRF 18):

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a aac -b:a 192k "video_hq.mp4"
  

---

Extract Audio

Extract audio track from video.

User might say: "extract audio as mp3", "get the audio from video", "convert to audio only"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vn -acodec CODEC "OUTPUT.FORMAT"

Codecs by format:

Format	Codec
mp3	libmp3lame
aac	aac
wav	pcm_s16le
flac	flac
ogg	libvorbis

Example - Extract as MP3:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vn -acodec libmp3lame "video.mp3"

---

Remove Audio

Create silent video (remove audio track).

User might say: "remove audio", "mute video", "make silent"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -an -c:v copy "OUTPUT"

Example:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -an -c:v copy "video_silent.mp4"

---

Change Speed

Speed up or slow down video.

User might say: "speed up 2x", "slow motion", "make 10x timelapse"

Command:

# Speed up (e.g., 2x speed)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=0.5*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=2.0[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "OUTPUT"

# Slow down (e.g., 0.5x speed / half speed)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=2.0*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=0.5[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "OUTPUT"

Formula:

• Video: setpts = (1/speed)*PTS (2x speed → 0.5*PTS)
• Audio: atempo = speed (must be 0.5-2.0, chain for extremes)

Examples:

• 2x speed:

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=0.5*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=2.0[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "video_2x.mp4"
  

• Half speed (slow motion):

  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=2.0*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=0.5[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "video_slowmo.mp4"
  

---

Convert to GIF

Create animated GIF from video.

User might say: "make a gif", "convert to gif", "gif from 0:10 to 0:15"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss START -t DURATION -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos" -loop 0 "OUTPUT.gif"

Example - GIF of 5 seconds starting at 0:10:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:00:10 -t 5 -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos" -loop 0 "video.gif"

---

Rotate/Flip Video

Rotate or flip video orientation.

User might say: "rotate 90 degrees", "flip horizontally", "rotate upside down"

Commands:

# Rotate 90° clockwise
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=1" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Rotate 90° counter-clockwise
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=2" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Rotate 180°
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=2,transpose=2" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Flip horizontal (mirror)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "hflip" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Flip vertical
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "vflip" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

---

Extract Screenshot/Frame

Capture a single frame from video.

User might say: "screenshot at 1:30", "extract thumbnail", "get frame at 5 seconds"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss TIMESTAMP -frames:v 1 "OUTPUT.jpg"

Example:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:30 -frames:v 1 "screenshot.jpg"

---

Add Watermark/Logo

Overlay image on video.

User might say: "add logo.png", "put watermark in corner", "overlay image"

Positions:

Position	Overlay Value
Top-left	overlay=10:10
Top-right	overlay=W-w-10:10
Bottom-left	overlay=10:H-h-10
Bottom-right	overlay=W-w-10:H-h-10
Center	overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "VIDEO" -i "LOGO" -filter_complex "overlay=POSITION" "OUTPUT"

Example - Logo in top-right:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -i "logo.png" -filter_complex "overlay=W-w-10:10" "video_watermarked.mp4"

---

Burn Subtitles

Permanently embed subtitles into video.

User might say: "add subtitles", "burn srt file", "embed captions"

Command:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "subtitles='SUBTITLE_FILE'" "OUTPUT"

Example:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "subtitles='subtitles.srt'" "video_subtitled.mp4"

---

Merge/Concatenate Videos

Join multiple videos together.

User might say: "merge video1 and video2", "combine clips", "join intro and main"

Method: First create a text file listing videos, then concatenate.

Step 1 - Create file list (files.txt):

file 'video1.mp4'
file 'video2.mp4'
file 'video3.mp4'

Step 2 - Concatenate:

ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -i files.txt -c copy "merged.mp4"

---

Time Format Reference

Use these formats for timestamps:

• HH:MM:SS → 01:30:45 (1 hour 30 min 45 sec)
• MM:SS → 05:30 (5 min 30 sec)
• SS → 90 (90 seconds)
• HH:MM:SS.mmm → 00:01:23.500 (with milliseconds)

---

Error Handling

Common FFmpeg errors and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
No such file or directory	Input file doesn't exist	Check file path exists and is readable
Unknown encoder	Codec not installed	Install missing codec or use alternative (e.g., libx264 instead of libx265)
Permission denied	Output directory not writable	Check output directory permissions or write to a different location
Disk space exhausted	Output larger than available space	Increase CRF (compress more), reduce resolution, or free up disk space
Frame size not multiple of 2	Resolution incompatible with codec	Use even dimensions (1920, 1080, not 1919)
Invalid data found	Corrupted input file	Try with -c copy first; if fails, file may be corrupt
Timeout/Hangs	Processing very large file	Add -progress pipe:1 to monitor, or reduce resolution first

---

Works Well With

• remotion-video-toolkit: For programmatic video generation from code
• youtube-factory-pro: For YouTube optimization and multi-format output
• podcast-creator: For audio extraction and podcast preparation
• upload-post: For final format conversion before upload

Response Format

When generating commands:

1. Show the FFmpeg command in a code block
2. Briefly explain what it does
3. Mention if output filename was assumed

Example response:

Here's the command to cut your video from 1:21 to 1:35:

​```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:21 -to 00:01:35 -c copy "video_trimmed.mp4"
​```

This extracts the segment without re-encoding (using `-c copy` for speed). Output saved as `video_trimmed.mp4`.