How do I install Ffmpeg?

Ffmpeg is a local plugin. Install it using npm package: @ash_j1997/ffmpeg-mcp-server and add the generated configuration snippet to your AI app's MCP config file. Then restart your AI app.

Is Ffmpeg safe to use?

Yes. Ffmpeg passed MCP Marketplace's automated security scan with a score of 10/10 (low risk). Every server on MCP Marketplace is security-scanned before it's listed; see the full security report on this page for the findings and permissions.

What AI apps work with Ffmpeg?

Ffmpeg uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and works with any MCP-compatible AI app, including Claude, ChatGPT / Codex, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, and more.

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Ffmpeg MCP Server

by Ashutos1997

Content & MediaLow Risk10.0MCP RegistryLocal

Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

FFmpeg & FFprobe media processing toolkit for video, audio, and social formats

About

FFmpeg & FFprobe media processing toolkit for video, audio, and social formats

Security Report

10.0

Low Risk10.0Low Risk

Valid MCP server (2 strong, 4 medium validity signals). No known CVEs in dependencies. Package registry verified. Imported from the Official MCP Registry.

5 files analyzed · 1 issue found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

file_system

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

Shell Command Execution

Runs commands on your machine. Be cautious — only use if you trust this plugin.

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-ashutos1997-ffmpeg-mcp-server": {
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ash_j1997/ffmpeg-mcp-server"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

ffmpeg-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI tools access to FFmpeg and FFprobe to process video and audio locally.

Supports cross-platform GPU hardware encoding (Apple Silicon, NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QuickSync, AMD AMF), live progress updates via MCP progress tokens, instant cancellation via AbortSignal, and inlines image previews directly for multimodal vision models.

Why This Exists

When AI agents process media, they often hallucinate invalid flags, syntax errors, or incompatible pixel formats.

This server provides 17 typed tools using Zod schemas. The AI passes parameters (such as { inputPath: "video.mov", preset: "web_mp4" }), and the server runs the valid FFmpeg command locally with proper error handling, hardware acceleration, and progress notifications.

Key Features

Universal Hardware Acceleration: Automatically detects and leverages hardware encoders across macOS (VideoToolbox), Linux/Windows GPUs (NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QuickSync, AMD AMF, and VA-API) for 5x–20x faster exports with low CPU usage.
Real-time Progress Reporting: Emits live percentage updates via standard MCP progress tokens (notifications/progress), enabling progress bars in modern AI clients.
Instant Cancellation: Listens to client AbortSignal events to immediately terminate child FFmpeg processes when a generation is stopped.
Multimodal Vision Previews: Inlines base64 image data for thumbnails, audio waveforms, and multi-frame contact sheets so vision models (Claude 3.7, GPT-4o, Gemini) can "see" media content.
Social Formats & Automation: Reformats landscape video to 9:16 vertical video with blurred backgrounds, burns customizable hardcoded subtitles, and stacks top/bottom split-screen reels for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Audio Engineering: Normalizes loudness to broadcast/streaming standards (EBU R128 / -16 LUFS), cleans vocal audio with 80Hz rumble removal, and trims dead air while preserving lip-sync.

Included Tools (17 Total)

Tool	Description	Key Parameters
`media_probe`	Inspects media files with ffprobe. Returns metadata, streams, codecs, resolution, and duration as JSON.	`inputPath`
`media_convert`	Converts video and audio formats. Includes presets for web MP4, WebM, and animated GIF with GPU acceleration.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `preset`, `crf`, `resolution`, `fps`, `hardwareAcceleration`
`trim_media`	Cuts a segment from a video or audio file using stream copy or re-encoding.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `startTime`, `endTime`, `duration`, `accurateReencode`
`extract_audio`	Rips audio tracks from video. Includes a 16kHz mono WAV preset for Whisper speech recognition.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `format`, `bitrate`
`extract_thumbnail`	Captures a still image at a timestamp or midpoint. Returns base64 image data for vision models.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `timestamp`, `resolution`, `includeBase64`
`compress_video`	Compresses video to fit target sizes (such as GitHub PRs under 10MB or Discord under 25MB).	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `targetSizeMB`, `preset`, `crf`, `maxWidth`, `hardwareAcceleration`
`reformat_aspect_ratio`	Changes video ratio to 9:16 vertical, 1:1 square, or 4:5 portrait with blurred borders or center crop.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `targetRatio`, `mode`, `blurAmount`, `padColor`, `hardwareAcceleration`
`create_split_screen`	Stacks two videos top-and-bottom (9:16 Reels/TikTok) or side-by-side with audio mixing and subtitles.	`firstVideoPath`, `secondVideoPath`, `outputPath`, `layout`, `audioSource`, `subtitlesPath`
`trim_silence`	Detects and removes silent pauses from recordings while preserving video & audio lip-sync.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `mode`, `thresholdDb`, `minDurationSeconds`
`concat_media`	Joins multiple video or audio files in order using stream copy or re-encoding.	`inputPaths`, `outputPath`, `mode`
`generate_waveform`	Generates a PNG waveform image. Returns base64 image data for vision models.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `width`, `height`, `color`, `scale`, `includeBase64`
`add_subtitles`	Embeds SRT or VTT subtitle tracks into MP4/MKV video files without re-encoding video.	`videoPath`, `subtitlesPath`, `outputPath`, `language`, `title`
`burn_subtitles` (New)	Hardcodes subtitles directly onto video frames with customizable font size, colors, and margins.	`videoPath`, `subtitlesPath`, `outputPath`, `fontSize`, `fontColor`, `outlineColor`, `marginV`
`extract_keyframes` (New)	Extracts multiple representative frames across the video and generates a contact sheet grid for vision AI.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `count`, `layout`, `includeBase64`
`normalize_audio` (New)	Normalizes audio loudness using EBU R128 (default -16 LUFS) with optional speech clarity high-pass filter.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `targetLufs`, `targetPeakDb`, `voiceClarity`
`add_overlay` (New)	Places a watermark image or logo PNG over video with customizable corner position, scale, and opacity.	`videoPath`, `overlayPath`, `outputPath`, `position`, `padding`, `scaleWidth`, `opacity`
`change_speed`	Adjusts playback speed (such as 2x fast forward or 0.5x slow motion) with pitch correction.	`inputPath`, `outputPath`, `speed`, `muteAudio`

MCP Resources & Prompts

Resources

media://capabilities: Inspects local FFmpeg installation, active version, detected hardware accelerators (VideoToolbox, NVENC, QSV, AMF, VAAPI), and supported video encoders.
media://presets: Standard reference table of social aspect ratios, platform upload file size limits, and broadcast audio loudness targets.

Prompts

social_clip_generator: Interactive workflow that turns raw landscape video into vertical shorts with blurred background padding, trimmed silence, and hardcoded captions.
whisper_audio_prep: Standard pipeline for extracting 16kHz mono WAV audio and normalizing loudness for speech-to-text models.

Requirements

Node.js >= 18.0.0
FFmpeg & FFprobe installed locally:
- macOS: brew install ffmpeg
- Linux (Ubuntu/Debian): sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg libass-dev
- Windows: winget install Gyan.FFmpeg or choco install ffmpeg

Installation

Quick Start (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity)

Run directly with npx (no manual cloning or building required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ffmpeg": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ash_j1997/ffmpeg-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration File Locations:

Claude Desktop (macOS): ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows): %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Antigravity IDE: ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json
Cursor / Windsurf: Add as a stdio server with command npx and args ["-y", "@ash_j1997/ffmpeg-mcp-server"]

Local Development & Testing

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```
Run build and automated test suite:
```
npm test
```

License

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