skills/remotion-best-practices/remotion-markup/ffmpeg.md

---
name: ffmpeg
description: Using FFmpeg and FFprobe in Remotion
metadata:
  tags: ffmpeg, ffprobe, video, trimming
---

## FFmpeg in Remotion

`ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` do not need to be installed. They are available via the `npx remotion ffmpeg` and `npx remotion ffprobe`:

```bash
npx remotion ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.mp3
npx remotion ffprobe input.mp4
```

### Trimming videos

You have 2 options for trimming videos:

1. **Preferred**: Use the `trimBefore` and `trimAfter` props of the `<Video>` component. This is non-destructive, requires no re-encoding, and you can change the trim at any time.

```tsx
import {Video} from '@remotion/media';

<Video
  src={staticFile('video.mp4')}
  trimBefore={5 * fps}
  trimAfter={10 * fps}
/>;
```

2. Use the FFmpeg command line. You MUST re-encode the video to avoid frozen frames at the start of the video. Only use this if you need a standalone trimmed file (e.g. for upload or external use).

```bash
# Re-encodes from the exact frame
npx remotion ffmpeg -ss 00:00:05 -i public/input.mp4 -to 00:00:10 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac public/output.mp4
```