---
id: ffmpy
version: "1.0.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# ffmpy — A simple Python wrapper for FFmpeg

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 4.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

ffmpy provides a Pythonic interface to FFmpeg, the widely-used command-line media toolkit. Instead of constructing FFmpeg shell commands as strings, you instantiate an FFmpeg object with input and output file specifications, then call run() to execute the compiled command through Python's subprocess module. The package handles the details of building the correct command-line syntax, making it easier to integrate FFmpeg operations into Python workflows for tasks like video transcoding, format conversion, and media processing.

The package requires Python 3.9 or greater and has no external Python dependencies—it relies on FFmpeg being available on the system. It supports multiple operating systems (macOS, Windows, Linux, BSD) and Python implementations (CPython and PyPy), making it portable across common development and deployment environments.

Use it for:

- Convert video files between formats (e.g., MP4 to AVI) without manually writing FFmpeg command strings
- Build automated media processing pipelines that transcode audio or video in batch operations
- Integrate FFmpeg operations into larger Python applications for media manipulation
- Programmatically extract metadata or probe media files using ffprobe through a Python interface
- Create command-line tools or web services that need to process media files dynamically

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

ffmpy is a Python wrapper around FFmpeg that lets you build and execute FFmpeg command lines programmatically without writing shell commands directly.

Yes, if you need to work with FFmpeg from Python and want to avoid shell command construction. The package is stable, has no dependencies, installs easily, and supports modern Python versions. The aging maintenance status is a minor concern but not a blocker for a mature wrapper around a stable external tool. Verify that FFmpeg is available on your target system before relying on it.

## Install

pip install ffmpy
uv add ffmpy
poetry add ffmpy

## Installing ffmpy

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. The package is marked aging (276 days since last release), but it is classified as Production/Stable and supports current Python versions including 3.9 through 3.14.

License in practice: ffmpy is licensed under MIT, a permissive license that allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it safe to adopt in most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install ffmpy

from ffmpy import FFmpeg
ff = FFmpeg(
    inputs={'input.mp4': None},
    outputs={'output.avi': None}
)
ff.run()

FFmpeg must be installed and available on the system PATH for ffmpy to execute commands.

Verify before relying:

- Whether FFmpeg itself must be installed separately on the system before ffmpy can be used
- Whether ffprobe, ffplay, or ffserver support is fully implemented or partial
- Current state of the repository and maintainer responsiveness given the aging status

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 4.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ffmpeg python wrapper, video transcoding python, audio conversion library, media format conversion, ffmpeg command builder, video processing automation, ffprobe python interface, ffmpeg-wrapper, media-processing, subprocess-automation

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/ffmpy) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpy/)