Common Useful Video-Related Commands in Linux

Linux provides powerful command-line tools for working with videos. Whether you need to convert, edit, compress, or extract audio, these commands can be incredibly useful. Below is a list of common video-related commands that can help you manage and process videos efficiently.

Install Essential Video Tools on Linux

For Ubuntu / Debian

Before running any commands, you may need to install the necessary tools:

Copy sudo apt update
sudo apt install ffmpeg vlc mencoder mpv

For Fedora / CentOS / RHEL

Copy sudo dnf install ffmpeg vlc mencoder mpv

Working with Video Files Using FFmpeg

Convert Video Formats

Convert a video from MP4 to AVI:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi

Convert to WebM (VP9 codec):

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libvpx-vp9 -b:v 1M -c:a libopus output.webm

Extract Audio from a Video

Extract audio as an MP3 file:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a output.mp3

Extract audio as a WAV file:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -acodec pcm_s16le output.wav

Resize a Video

Resize a video to 1280x720 resolution:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 output.mp4

Compress a Video

Reduce file size while maintaining quality:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 28 output.mp4

Trim a Video (Without Re-encoding)

Trim the first 30 seconds:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:00 -to 00:00:30 -c copy output.mp4

Trim from 10 seconds to 50 seconds:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:10 -to 00:00:50 -c copy output.mp4

Add Subtitles to a Video

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf subtitles=subtitles.srt output.mp4

Loop a Video

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -stream_loop <loop_count> -c copy output.mp4

• -c copy: Copy the video stream without re-encoding
• -stream_loop <loop_count>: Number of times the video should be looped

Play Videos from the Terminal

Using VLC

Play a video:

Copy vlc input.mp4

Play a video in fullscreen:

Copy vlc --fullscreen input.mp4

Using MPV

Copy mpv input.mp4

Play a YouTube video directly:

Copy mpv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example

Using MPlayer

Copy mplayer input.mp4

Play in fullscreen:

Copy mplayer -fs input.mp4

Download Videos Using YouTube-DL (or yt-dlp)

Install yt-dlp

Copy sudo apt install yt-dlp

Download a YouTube Video

Copy yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example"

Download as MP3 (Audio Only)

Copy yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example"

Screen Recording with FFmpeg

Record the screen at 30fps:

Copy ffmpeg -video_size 1920x1080 -framerate 30 -f x11grab -i :0.0 output.mp4

Record with audio from the microphone:

Copy ffmpeg -f pulse -i default -f x11grab -r 30 -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 output.mp4

Extract Frames from a Video

Extract one frame per second:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=1 frame_%04d.png

Extract a single frame at 5 seconds:

Copy ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:05 -vframes 1 output.png

Merge Multiple Videos

Merge videos of the same format:

1. Create a text file listing videos:

Copy echo "file 'video1.mp4'" > list.txt
echo "file 'video2.mp4'" >> list.txt

2. Merge them:

Copy ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c copy output.mp4

Conclusion

These are some of the most useful video-related commands in Linux. By mastering ffmpeg, vlc, mplayer, and other tools, you can efficiently manipulate videos right from the command line. If you need more functionality, check each tool's documentation using:

Copy ffmpeg -h
man vlc
man mplayer

Happy video processing!