ffmpeg

What it is and what it does

This package provides a Python interface to FFmpeg and FFprobe, letting you programmatically perform video and image operations without writing raw command-line calls. It handles tasks like inserting static images or animated GIFs into videos at specific timestamps and coordinates, converting image sequences into video files, and overlaying text watermarks. The package offers both simple function calls for common operations and a fluent Stream API for chaining multiple transformations together.

The package depends entirely on external FFmpeg and FFprobe binaries installed on your system—it has no Python runtime dependencies. However, it has been unmaintained since October 2018, meaning it may not work reliably with current FFmpeg versions, modern Python releases, or GPU acceleration features without manual fixes.

Use it for:

• Insert multiple images or GIFs into a video at specific times and screen positions
• Convert a numbered sequence of image files into a video file with a specified duration
• Add text watermarks to videos with custom fonts, colors, and time ranges
• Chain multiple video transformations (images, animations, subtitles, watermarks) in one operation
• Enable GPU-accelerated video encoding on Mac or NVIDIA systems to speed up processing

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Wraps FFmpeg and FFprobe command-line tools to programmatically manipulate video and image files from Python, supporting operations like inserting images and GIFs into videos, converting image sequences to video, and adding text watermarks.

No. The package is abandoned (last release October 2018) and has no Python runtime dependencies to insulate it from FFmpeg API drift. Unless you are working with an old, fixed FFmpeg version and can patch the package yourself, you should use a maintained FFmpeg wrapper or call FFmpeg directly via subprocess. The high install friction combined with zero maintenance makes this a liability rather than a convenience.

Install

ffmpeg on PyPI

pip install ffmpeg

uv add ffmpeg

poetry add ffmpeg

Installing ffmpeg

Before you install

Installation requires FFmpeg 3.0+ and FFprobe 3.0+ as system dependencies before the package can be used. The package has been abandoned since October 2018 with no maintenance for an extended period, so expect no bug fixes or compatibility updates for modern Python or FFmpeg versions.

License in practice

Licensed under MIT Licence (permissive), allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

# Install: requires FFmpeg 3.0+ and FFprobe 3.0+ system binaries first
pip install ffmpeg

from ffmpeg import video

input_file = "demo.mp4"
out_file = "demo_out.mp4"
img_data = [{"img": "demo1.png", "x": "", "y": "", "str_time": "5", "end_time": "15"}]
video.ins_img(input_file, img_data, out_file)

FFmpeg 3.0+ and FFprobe 3.0+ must be installed as system binaries and available in PATH before this package can function.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package actually works with FFmpeg versions significantly newer than 3.0, given the long abandonment period
• Compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.0, since the fact sheet does not specify which modern versions are tested
• Whether GPU acceleration features (mentioned for Mac and NVIDIA) remain functional or require additional setup

Package facts

Evidence: ffmpeg-1.4.tar.gz

Keywords: python, ffmpeg

Tags

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