ffprobe - FFmpeg

Overview

ffprobe is a command-line tool for analyzing and inspecting multimedia streams. It can extract detailed information about media containers, codecs, streams, and metadata without performing any decoding or transcoding.

ffprobe is described as a “simple media prober based on the FFmpeg libraries” and was first released in 2007.

Basic Syntax

ffprobe [options] input_url

Common Options

input_url

string

required

Input file or URL to analyze

-v

string

Set logging levelValues: quiet, panic, fatal, error, warning, info, verbose, debug, traceCommon: -v quiet to suppress FFmpeg banner

-hide_banner

boolean

Hide FFmpeg banner (cleaner output)

Information Display Options

-show_format

boolean

Show container format informationDisplays container details like duration, bitrate, format name, and tags

-show_streams

boolean

Show stream informationDisplays details about each stream including codec, resolution, framerate, and bitrate

-show_programs

boolean

Show program informationDisplays information about programs in the container

-show_chapters

boolean

Show chapter informationLists chapters with their timestamps and metadata

-show_packets

boolean

Show packet informationDisplays detailed information about each packet (can be verbose)

-show_frames

boolean

Show frame informationDisplays information about each decoded frame

-show_stream_groups

boolean

Show stream group information

-show_data

boolean

Show packet/frame data payload

-show_error

boolean

Show probing error information

Output Format Options

ffprobe supports multiple output formats for easy parsing and integration:

-of

string

Set output format (alias: -print_format)Values:

default - Default format
compact - Compact output
csv - CSV format
flat - Flat format
ini - INI format
json - JSON format
xml - XML format

JSON Output

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

{
  "format": {
    "filename": "input.mp4",
    "nb_streams": 2,
    "format_name": "mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2",
    "duration": "120.000000",
    "size": "5242880",
    "bit_rate": "349525"
  },
  "streams": [
    {
      "index": 0,
      "codec_name": "h264",
      "codec_type": "video",
      "width": 1920,
      "height": 1080,
      "r_frame_rate": "30/1",
      "avg_frame_rate": "30/1"
    },
    {
      "index": 1,
      "codec_name": "aac",
      "codec_type": "audio",
      "sample_rate": "48000",
      "channels": 2,
      "channel_layout": "stereo"
    }
  ]
}

XML Output

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format xml -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

CSV Output

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format csv -show_streams input.mp4

Stream Selection

-select_streams

string

Select specific streams to analyzeExamples:

v:0 - First video stream
a:0 - First audio stream
v - All video streams
a - All audio streams

Frame/Packet Analysis

-read_intervals

string

Read only specified intervalsFormat: [START][%[END]]Example: -read_intervals "%+30" (first 30 seconds)

-count_frames

boolean

Count the number of frames per stream

-count_packets

boolean

Count the number of packets per stream

-show_entries

string

Show only specified entriesExample: -show_entries stream=width,height,codec_name

Real-World Examples

Basic Media Information

ffprobe -v quiet -hide_banner -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

JSON Output for Parsing

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams input.mp4

Get Video Duration

ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

This returns just the duration value in seconds, perfect for scripting.

Get Video Resolution

ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=width,height -of csv=p=0 input.mp4

Get Audio Information

ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams a:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,sample_rate,channels -of json input.mp4

Get Video Bitrate

ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=bit_rate -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Get Framerate

ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=r_frame_rate -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Count Total Frames

ffprobe -v quiet -count_frames -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=nb_read_frames -of default=nokey=1:noprint_wrappers=1 input.mp4

Check for Specific Codec

ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name -of default=nw=1:nk=1 input.mp4

Analyze Packets (First 100)

ffprobe -v quiet -read_intervals "%+#100" -show_packets input.mp4

Get All Metadata

ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format_tags -of json input.mp4

Pretty Print Stream Info

ffprobe -v quiet -show_streams -of flat input.mp4

Advanced Usage

Custom Entry Selection

ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries \
  stream=index,codec_name,codec_type,width,height,duration \
  -of json input.mp4

Multiple Formats

ffprobe -v quiet \
  -show_format \
  -show_streams \
  -show_chapters \
  -of json input.mp4

Stream Groups Analysis

ffprobe -v quiet -show_stream_groups -of json input.mp4

Detailed Frame Analysis

ffprobe -v quiet \
  -show_frames \
  -select_streams v:0 \
  -read_intervals "%+10" \
  -of json input.mp4

Output Format Customization

You can customize the output format with additional options:

noprint_wrappers

boolean

Don’t print wrapper elementsExample: -of default=noprint_wrappers=1

nokey

boolean

Don’t print key namesExample: -of default=nokey=1

Example: Clean Duration Output

ffprobe -v quiet \
  -show_entries format=duration \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 \
  input.mp4

Output: 120.000000

Scripting Examples

Bash Script: Get Video Info

#!/bin/bash

FILE="$1"

# Get duration
DURATION=$(ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format=duration \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 "$FILE")

# Get resolution
RESOLUTION=$(ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=width,height -of csv=p=0 "$FILE")

# Get codec
CODEC=$(ffprobe -v quiet -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=codec_name -of default=nw=1:nk=1 "$FILE")

echo "File: $FILE"
echo "Duration: $DURATION seconds"
echo "Resolution: $RESOLUTION"
echo "Codec: $CODEC"

Python Script: Parse JSON Output

import json
import subprocess

def get_media_info(filename):
    cmd = [
        'ffprobe',
        '-v', 'quiet',
        '-print_format', 'json',
        '-show_format',
        '-show_streams',
        filename
    ]
    
    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
    return json.loads(result.stdout)

info = get_media_info('input.mp4')
print(f"Duration: {info['format']['duration']}")
print(f"Video codec: {info['streams'][0]['codec_name']}")

Use Cases

Media Validation

Verify media files meet specific requirements (codec, resolution, bitrate)

Metadata Extraction

Extract tags, duration, and other metadata for cataloging

Quality Assurance

Analyze encoded files for quality control

Automation

Integrate into scripts for batch processing and validation

Source Code Reference

Key implementation details from the source code:

Program Birth Year: 2007 (fftools/ffprobe.c:93)
Section IDs: Comprehensive section structure for different output elements (fftools/ffprobe.c:164-231)
Output Formats: Support for JSON, XML, CSV, INI, and custom formats (fftools/ffprobe.c:256-326)
Stream Analysis: Detailed stream, packet, and frame analysis capabilities

Performance Tips

Fast Probing: Use -show_format -show_streams without frame/packet analysis for quick metadata extraction.

Using -show_packets or -show_frames can be very slow on large files as it requires reading and analyzing the entire file.

Common Options Summary

Option	Purpose	Example
`-show_format`	Container info	Basic file info
`-show_streams`	Stream details	Codec, resolution
`-show_chapters`	Chapter list	DVD/Blu-ray chapters
`-of json`	JSON output	Machine parsing
`-select_streams v:0`	First video	Target specific stream
`-count_frames`	Frame count	Total frames
`-v quiet`	Suppress logs	Clean output

Get Started

Command-Line Tools

Guides

Configuration

​Overview

​Basic Syntax

​Common Options

​Information Display Options

​Output Format Options

​JSON Output

​XML Output

​CSV Output

​Stream Selection

​Frame/Packet Analysis

​Real-World Examples

​Basic Media Information

​JSON Output for Parsing

​Get Video Duration

​Get Video Resolution

​Get Audio Information

​Get Video Bitrate

​Get Framerate

​Count Total Frames

​Check for Specific Codec

​Analyze Packets (First 100)

​Get All Metadata

​Pretty Print Stream Info

​Advanced Usage

​Custom Entry Selection

​Multiple Formats

​Stream Groups Analysis

​Detailed Frame Analysis

​Output Format Customization

​Example: Clean Duration Output

​Scripting Examples

​Bash Script: Get Video Info

​Python Script: Parse JSON Output

​Use Cases

Media Validation

Metadata Extraction

Quality Assurance

Automation

​Source Code Reference

​Performance Tips

​Common Options Summary

​See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Basic Syntax

Common Options

Information Display Options

Output Format Options

JSON Output

XML Output

CSV Output

Stream Selection

Frame/Packet Analysis

Real-World Examples

Basic Media Information

JSON Output for Parsing

Get Video Duration

Get Video Resolution

Get Audio Information

Get Video Bitrate

Get Framerate

Count Total Frames

Check for Specific Codec

Analyze Packets (First 100)

Get All Metadata

Pretty Print Stream Info

Advanced Usage

Custom Entry Selection

Multiple Formats

Stream Groups Analysis

Detailed Frame Analysis

Output Format Customization

Example: Clean Duration Output

Scripting Examples

Bash Script: Get Video Info

Python Script: Parse JSON Output

Use Cases

Source Code Reference

Performance Tips

Common Options Summary

See Also