FFmpeg Media Info Skill#

Extract and analyze media file metadata using ffprobe and ffmpeg.

When to Use#

• Get video/audio file properties
• Check codec information
• Verify resolution and bitrate
• Analyze stream details
• Debug media file issues

Basic Info Commands#

bash

# Show all file info
ffmpeg -i input.mp4

# JSON format (detailed)
ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

# Simple format
ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format input.mp4

Duration#

bash

# Get duration in seconds
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

# Duration with timestamp format
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 -sexagesimal input.mp4

Resolution#

bash

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

# Get resolution as JSON
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=width,height \
  -of json input.mp4

Bitrate#

bash

# Get overall bitrate
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=bit_rate \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

# Get video bitrate
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=bit_rate \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Codec Information#

bash

# Video codec
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=codec_name,codec_long_name \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.mp4

# Audio codec
ffprobe -v error -select_streams a:0 \
  -show_entries stream=codec_name,codec_long_name \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.mp4

Sample Rate and Channels#

bash

# Audio sample rate
ffprobe -v error -select_streams a:0 \
  -show_entries stream=sample_rate \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

# Audio channels
ffprobe -v error -select_streams a:0 \
  -show_entries stream=channels \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Stream Count#

bash

# Count video streams
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v -show_entries stream=index \
  -of csv=p=0 input.mp4 | wc -l

# Count audio streams
ffprobe -v error -select_streams a -show_entries stream=index \
  -of csv=p=0 input.mp4 | wc -l

Frame Rate#

bash

# Get frame rate
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=r_frame_rate \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Notes#

• Use -v error to suppress warnings
• -of json for structured output
• -select_streams to target specific streams (v:0 for first video, a:0 for first audio)