Terminal.skills
Skills/ffmpeg-video-editing
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ffmpeg-video-editing

Edit, convert, trim, merge, and process video files using ffmpeg. Use when the user wants to cut video clips, change format, resize, add watermarks, create GIFs, extract audio, adjust speed, concatenate videos, or compress video files from the command line.

#video#audio#ffmpeg#multimedia#conversion
terminal-skillsv1.0.0
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
Source

Usage

$
✓ Installed ffmpeg-video-editing v1.0.0

Getting Started

  1. Install the skill using the command above
  2. Open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or Cursor)
  3. Reference the skill in your prompt
  4. The AI will use the skill's capabilities automatically

Example Prompts

  • "Write a blog post about the benefits of AI-assisted development"
  • "Create social media copy for the product launch announcement"

Documentation

Edit, convert, and process video/audio files using ffmpeg command-line tools.

Overview

FFmpeg is a cross-platform tool for video/audio transcoding, filtering, and streaming. This skill covers common editing operations: trimming, scaling, format conversion, concatenation, watermarks, GIFs, and compression.

Instructions

1. Inspect the source file

bash
ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

Get specific properties:

bash
# Duration
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

# Resolution
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=width,height -of csv=s=x:p=0 input.mp4

2. Choose the operation

Format conversion:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c copy output.mp4  # No re-encoding (fast)

Trim/cut:

bash
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:30 -to 00:02:45 -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

Place -ss before -i for fast seek, after -i for frame-accurate cuts (requires re-encoding).

Scale/resize:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=1280:720" output.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=1280:-1" output.mp4  # Maintain aspect ratio

Crop:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=640:480:100:50" output.mp4  # width:height:x:y
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=ih*16/9:ih" output.mp4      # 16:9 aspect

Speed change:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=0.5*PTS" -af "atempo=2.0" output.mp4  # 2x
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "setpts=2.0*PTS" -af "atempo=0.5" output.mp4  # 0.5x

Note: atempo accepts 0.5-2.0. Chain for greater changes: atempo=2.0,atempo=2.0 for 4x.

Watermark/overlay:

bash
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i logo.png -filter_complex "overlay=W-w-10:H-h-10" output.mp4

Text overlay:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "drawtext=text='Hello':fontsize=48:fontcolor=white:x=50:y=50" output.mp4

Fade in/out:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fade=t=in:st=0:d=2,fade=t=out:st=58:d=2" output.mp4

Concatenate videos: Create filelist.txt:

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

Then:

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

Extract/replace audio:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a copy output.aac           # Extract
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -an -c:v copy output.mp4           # Remove
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.mp3 -c:v copy -c:a aac -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 output.mp4  # Replace

Create GIF:

bash
ffmpeg -ss 5 -t 3 -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" output.gif

Extract frames:

bash
ffmpeg -ss 00:00:10 -i input.mp4 -frames:v 1 frame.png
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=1" frames/frame_%04d.png

Compress:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4

CRF: 0-51, lower=better quality. Presets: ultrafast, fast, medium, slow, veryslow.

Rotate:

bash
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4  # 90° clockwise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=2" output.mp4  # 90° counter-clockwise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hflip" output.mp4        # Horizontal flip

3. Common options reference

OptionDescription
-c:v libx264H.264 video codec
-c:a aacAAC audio codec
-c copyCopy without re-encoding
-crf 23Quality (0-51, lower=better)
-ss / -to / -tStart / end / duration
-vf / -afVideo / audio filter
-vn / -anDisable video / audio
-yOverwrite without asking

Examples

<example> User: Trim video from 1:30 to 2:45 Command: ffmpeg -ss 00:01:30 -to 00:02:45 -i input.mp4 -c copy trimmed.mp4 </example> <example> User: Convert to 720p and compress Command: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=-1:720" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4 </example> <example> User: Create GIF from seconds 5-8 Command: ffmpeg -ss 5 -t 3 -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" output.gif </example> <example> User: Add watermark to bottom-right Command: ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i logo.png -filter_complex "overlay=W-w-10:H-h-10" output.mp4 </example> <example> User: Merge two videos Steps: 1. Create filelist.txt: file 'video1.mp4'\nfile 'video2.mp4' 2. ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i filelist.txt -c copy merged.mp4 </example>

Guidelines

  • Always run ffprobe first to understand source format, resolution, and duration
  • Use -c copy when possible for speed; re-encode only when applying filters or changing format
  • Place -ss before -i for fast seeking; after -i for frame-accurate cuts
  • Add -pix_fmt yuv420p for maximum player compatibility
  • For precise file size, use two-pass encoding with -b:v bitrate
  • Chain atempo filters for speed changes beyond 2x (e.g., atempo=2.0,atempo=2.0 for 4x)
  • Common errors: "codec not supported" → change container; green frames → add -pix_fmt yuv420p

Information

Version
1.0.0
Author
terminal-skills
Category
Content
License
Apache-2.0

Use Cases

→Produce Video Content with Programmatic Editing and Waveform Visualization