FFmpeg Docker image

This project prepares a minimalist Docker image with FFmpeg. It compiles FFmpeg from sources following instructions from the Compilation Guide.

You can install the latest build of this image by running docker pull ghcr.io/jrottenberg/ffmpeg:${VERSION}-${VARIANT} or docker pull jrottenberg/ffmpeg:${VERSION}-${VARIANT}.

For the latest FFmpeg version on Ubuntu LTS, you can use: docker pull ghcr.io/jrottenberg/ffmpeg:latest or docker pull jrottenberg/ffmpeg:latest.

This image can be used as a base for an encoding farm.

Builds / Available Docker Containers

There are different builds available: Below is a table that provides examples for the nomenclature:

ffmpeg-<version>-<os variant and version>

| image name | OS ver | ffmpeg ver | arch | variant | description | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ffmpeg-8.1-ubuntu2404 | 24.04 | 8.x | amd64, arm64 | ubuntu | external libraries are installed from os packages, and ffmpeg is built from source. See Ubuntu Compilation Guide for details on this. | | ffmpeg-8.1-ubuntu2404-edge | 24.04 | 8.x | amd64, arm64 | ubuntu | libs and ffmpeg are built from source. See Ubuntu Compilation Guide for details on this. | | ffmpeg-8.1-vaapi2404 | 24.04 | 8.x | amd64 | ubuntu | like: ubuntu2404 but enables: Video Acceleration API (VAAPI) in ffmpeg | | ffmpeg-8.1-nvidia2404 | 24.04 | 8.x | amd64 | ubuntu | Built w/ NVIDIA's hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding APIs enabled | | ffmpeg-8.1-alpine320 | 3.20 | 8.x | amd64, arm64 | alpine | vendor libs, but ffmpeg is built from source | | ffmpeg-8.1-scratch320 | 3.20 | 8.x | amd64, arm64 | alpine | vendor libs, and ffmpeg are built from source. Also we make the distro as small as possible by not installing any packages in base and striping symbols of installed libs |

ffmpeg <version> can be one of the following: 8.0, 8.1 with the above table.

Note: The current versions of ffmpeg supported are anything newer than 3 years old and not exceeded the end-of-life

Here are some additional older builds

• alpine based images ffmpeg:<version>-alpine or ffmpeg:<version>-alpine320 (old versions with ffmpeg:<version>-alpine313 , ffmpeg:<version>-alpine312)

- alpine based scratch images ffmpeg:<version>-scratch or ffmpeg:<version>-scratch320 (old versions with ffmpeg:<version>-scratch313 , ffmpeg:<version>-scratch312)

• ubuntu based images ffmpeg:<version>-ubuntu or ffmpeg:<version>-ubuntu2404 (old versions with ffmpeg:<version>-ubuntu2004 , ffmpeg:<version>-ubuntu1804)

- ubuntu based nvidia images ffmpeg:<version>-nvidia or ffmpeg:<version>-nvidia2404 (old versions with ffmpeg:<version>-nvidia2204, ffmpeg:<version>-nvidia2004) - ubuntu based vaapi images ffmpeg:<version>-vaapi2404 (old versions with ffmpeg:<version>-vaapi2004, ffmpeg:<version>-vaapi1804)

Philosophy behind the different builds

ubuntu2404 We chose Ubuntu 24.04 because it is the LTS ( Long Term Support ) build of Ubuntu. We used the ffmpeg support libraries from the Ubuntu distribution where possible. Example: we use 'libx264-dev' as the package to install. We do not tie it to a version. This way when its time to update from 24.04 to 26.04 we can simply update the base Docker template for ubuntu. This will make updating the OS easier as time goes on.

ubuntu2404-edge This image is just like the above ubuntu2404 container image, except we build all of the ffmpeg support libraries. This is in the spirit of the original intent of this project jrottenberg/ffmpeg alltogether. Building everything that ffmpeg needs, and ffmpeg itself from source. This gives us the most control over all of the details of release. The drawback of this is that its much harder to keep updated. The thought process of having both 'Ubuntu-2404' and 'Ubuntu-2404-edge' is that it makes updating the OS easier over time.

vaapi2404 Based on ubuntu2404 with Video Acceleration API (VAAPI) enabled.

nvidia2404 Based on ubuntu2404 with NVIDIA's hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding APIs enabled.

alpine320 alpine uses the os vendor libs, but ffmpeg is built from source.

scratch Scratch is also an alpine image. We build the vendor libs, and ffmpeg from source. Also we make the distro as small as possible by not installing any packages in base and striping symbols of installed libs.

Generate list of recent Docker Container Images

You can use the following command to generate a list of current images:

$ python3 -mvenv .venv $ source .venv/bin/activate $ pip install requests $ python3 ./generate-list-of-recent-images.py > listofrecent_images.txt $ deactivate $ rm -rf .venv $ less listofrecent_images.txt

If you want to compare the one you have locally, use the following command:

$ docker images | grep ffmpeg | sort | awk '{print $1 ":" $2 "\t" $7 $8}'

Please use Github issues to report any bug or missing feature.

Test

ffmpeg version N-98740-ga72d529 Copyright (c) 2000-2020 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 7 (Ubuntu 7.5.0-3ubuntu1~18.04)
  configuration: --disable-debug --disable-doc --disable-ffplay --enable-shared --enable-avresample --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-gpl --enable-libass --enable-fontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-libvidstab --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopus --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libxcb --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-libx264 --enable-nonfree --enable-openssl --enable-libfdk_aac --enable-postproc --enable-small --enable-version3 --enable-libbluray --enable-libzmq --extra-libs=-ldl --prefix=/opt/ffmpeg --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libkvazaar --enable-libaom --extra-libs=-lpthread --enable-libsrt --enable-libaribb24 --enable-vaapi --extra-cflags=-I/opt/ffmpeg/include --extra-ldflags=-L/opt/ffmpeg/lib
  libavutil      56. 58.100 / 56. 58.100
  libavcodec     58.100.100 / 58.100.100
  libavformat    58. 51.100 / 58. 51.100
  libavdevice    58. 11.101 / 58. 11.101
  libavfilter     7. 87.100 /  7. 87.100
  libavresample   4.  0.  0 /  4.  0.  0
  libswscale      5.  8.100 /  5.  8.100
  libswresample   3.  8.100 /  3.  8.100
  libpostproc    55.  8.100 / 55.  8.100
configuration:     --disable-debug     --disable-doc     --disable-ffplay     --enable-shared     --enable-avresample     --enable-libopencore-amrnb     --enable-libopencore-amrwb     --enable-gpl     --enable-libass     --enable-fontconfig     --enable-libfreetype     --enable-libvidstab     --enable-libmp3lame     --enable-libopus     --enable-libtheora     --enable-libvorbis     --enable-libvpx     --enable-libwebp     --enable-libxcb     --enable-libx265     --enable-libxvid     --enable-libx264     --enable-nonfree     --enable-openssl     --enable-libfdk_aac     --enable-postproc     --enable-small     --enable-version3     --enable-libbluray     --enable-libzmq     --extra-libs=-ldl     --prefix=/opt/ffmpeg     --enable-libopenjpeg     --enable-libkvazaar     --enable-libaom     --extra-libs=-lpthread     --enable-libsrt     --enable-libaribb24     --enable-vaapi     --extra-cflags=-I/opt/ffmpeg/include     --extra-ldflags=-L/opt/ffmpeg/lib

Capture output from the container to the host running the command

docker run jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-alpine \
            -i http://url/to/media.mp4 \
            -stats \
            $ffmpeg_options  - > out.mp4

Examples

Extract 5s @00:49:42 into a GIF

docker run jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-alpine -stats  \
        -i http://archive.org/download/thethreeagesbusterkeaton/Buster.Keaton.The.Three.Ages.ogv \
        -loop 0  \
        -finaldelay 500 -c:v gif -f gif -ss 00:49:42 -t 5 - > trowball.gif

Convert 10bits MKV into a 10Bits MP4

docker run -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -w $(pwd) jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-scratch \
        -stats \
        -i http://www.jell.yfish.us/media/jellyfish-20-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv \
        -c:v libx265 -pix_fmt yuv420p10 \
        -t 5 -f mp4 test.mp4

The image has been compiled with X265 Multilib. Use the pixel format switch to change the number of bits per pixel by suffixing it with 10 for 10bits or 12 for 12bits.

Convert a local GIF into a mp4

Let's assume

.gif

is located in the current directory :

docker run -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -w $(pwd)\
        jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-scratch -stats \
        -i original.gif \
        original-converted.mp4

Use ZeroMQ to toggle filter value on-fly

Let's start some process continuously writing some radio music, and listen it:

docker run --rm -d -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -w $(pwd) -p 11235:11235 \
        --name radio-writer jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-alpine \
        -i http://radio.casse-tete.solutions/salut-radio-64.mp3 \
        -filtercomplex '[0:a]volume@vol=1,azmq=bindaddress=tcp\\\://0.0.0.0\\\:11235[out]' \
        -map '[out]' ./salut-radio.mp3
docker run -it -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -w $(pwd) --entrypoint=ffprobe jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-alpine -v quiet  -show_streams salut-radio.mp3

Now, just toggle its volume on-fly, and hear how it changes:

docker run --rm --network=host --entrypoint sh jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-ubuntu -c \
        'echo "volume@vol volume 2" | zmqsend -b tcp://127.0.0.1:11235'

Send a stream over SRT

Let's send video.mp4 to srt-listener on port 9000 over SRT protocol.

docker run -v $(pwd):$(pwd) jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-centos \
       -re -i $(pwd)/video.mp4 -acodec copy -vcodec copy -f mpegts srt://srt-listener:9000?pkt_size=1316

Use hardware acceleration enabled build

Thanks to qmfrederik for the vaapi ubuntu based variant

jrottenberg/ffmpeg:vaapi or jrottenberg/ffmpeg:${VERSION}-vaapi

• Run the container with the device attached /dev/dri from your host into the container :

docker run --device /dev/dri:/dev/dri -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -w $(pwd) jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-vaapi [...]

• Have the Intel drivers up and running on your host. You can run vainfo (part of vainfo package on Ubuntu) to determine whether your graphics card has been recognized correctly.
• Run ffmpeg with the correct parameters, this is the same as when running ffmpeg natively.

Use nvidia hardware acceleration enabled build

Thanks to ShaulMyplay for the nvidia based variant

Supports nvenc only on all ffmpeg versions, and hardware decoding and scaling on ffmpeg >= 4.0

• Install nvidia latest drivers on host machine.
• Install nvidia-docker on host machine.
• Run container using "--runtime=nvidia" flag and use supported ffmpeg hwaccel options

Hardware encoding only example:

docker run --runtime=nvidia jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-nvidia -i INPUT -c:v nvenc_h264 -preset hq OUTPUT Full hardware acceleration example: docker run --runtime=nvidia jrottenberg/ffmpeg:4.4-nvidia -hwaccel cuvid -c:v h264cuvid -i INPUT -vf scalenpp=-1:720 -c:v h264_nvenc -preset slow OUTPUT

See what's inside the beast

docker run -it --entrypoint='bash' jrottenberg/ffmpeg:7.1-ubuntu2404
for i in ogg amr vorbis theora mp3lame opus vpx xvid fdk x264 x265;do echo $i; find /usr/local/ -name $i;done

Libs are in /lib in alpine.

docker run -it --entrypoint='sh' jrottenberg/ffmpeg:7.1-alpine320
for i in ogg amr vorbis theora mp3lame opus vpx xvid fdk x264 x265;do echo $i; find /lib/ -name $i;done

FFMPEG Supported Libraries

The following libraries are used by FFMPEG. The version number and release date are provided along with the license information. These version numbers are for the lib source builds, which are 'ubuntu2404-edge' and 'scratch320'. These libs are included in the package images as well, but the version numbers might vary slightly.

| Libraries | Version | Release Date | Download Source | Checksum | License | |-----------|---------|--------------|------------ | --- | ---------| | aom | 3.10.0 | 2024-08-01 | v3.10.0 | No | Alliance for Open Media | | fontconfig | 2.15.0 | 2023-12-22 | fontconfig-2.15.0.tar.gz | No | []() | | freetype | 2.13.3 | 2024-08-12 | freetype-2.13.3.tar.gz | No | GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 | | kvazaar | 2.3.1 | 2024-04-10 | kvazaar-2.3.1.tar.gz | No | BSD 3-Clause | | libbluray | 1.3.4 | 2022-11-26 | libbluray-1.3.4.tar.bz2 | No | GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 | | libfdk-aac | 2.0.3 | 2023-12-21 | fdk-aac-2.0.3.tar.gz | No | Liberal but not a license of patented technologies | | libmp3lame | 3.100 | 2017-10-13 | lame-3.100.tar.gz | No | GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 | | libogg | 1.3.5 | 2021-06-04 | libogg-1.3.5.tar.gz | No | BSD-style license | | libopencore-amr | 0.1.6 | 2022-08-01 | opencore-amr-0.1.6.tar.gz | No | Apache License | | libopus | 1.5.2 | 2024-04-12 | opus-1.5.2.tar.gz | Yes | BSD-style license | | libpthread-stubs | 0.5 | 2023-07-18 | libpthread-stubs-0.5.tar.xz | No | The MIT License | | libsvtav1 | 2.2.1 | 2024-08-01 | SVT-AV1-v2.2.1.tar.gz | No | BSD 3-Clause Clear License | | libvidstab | 1.1.1 | 2022-05-30 | vid.stab-1.1.1.tar.gz | No | GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 | | libvorbis | 1.3.7 | 2020-07-04 | libvorbis-1.3.7.tar.gz | Yes | BSD-style license | | libvpx | 1.14.1 | 2024-05-30 | v1.14.1 | No | BSD-style license | | libwebp | 1.4.0 | 2024-04-13 | libwebp-1.4.0.tar.gz | No | BSD-style license | | libx264 | 20191217-2245-stable | 2019-12-17 | x264-snapshot-20191217-2245-stable.tar.bz2 | No | GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 | | libx265 | 4.0 | 2024-09-13 | x2654.0.tar.gz | No | GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 | | libxvid | 1.3.7 | 2019 | xvidcore-1.3.7.tar.gz | No | GNU General Public Licence (GPL) version 2 | | libzmq | 4.3.5 | 2023-10-9 | zeromq-4.3.5.tar.gz | No | Mozilla Public License (MPL) version 2.0 | | nvidia-codec-headers | [12.2.72.0]() | 2024-03-31 | nv-codec-headers-12.2.72.0.tar.gz | No | []() | | openjpeg | 2.5.2 | 2024-02-28 | openjpeg-2.5.2.tar.gz | No | BSD-style license | | xorgproto | 2024.1 | 2024-04-12 | xorgproto-2024.1.tar.xz | No | The MIT License | | libaribb24 | 1.0.3 | 2014-08-18 | aribb24-v1.0.3.tar.gz | No | GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 or newer | | zimg | 3.0.5 | 2023-6-30 | zimg-3.0.5.tar.gz | No | WTFPL | | libtheora | 1.2.0 | 2025-03-29 | libtheora-1.2.0.tar.gz | No | BSD-style license | | libsrt | 1.5.3 | 2023-09-07 | srt-v1.5.3.tar.gz | No | Mozilla Public License (MPL) version 2.0 | | libvmaf | 3.0.0 | 2023-12-07 | vmaf-v3.0.0.tar.gz | No | BSD-2-Clause | | ffmpeg-7.1 | 7.1 | 2024-09-30 | ffmpeg-7.1.tar.bz2 | No | GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 | | ffmpeg-7.0 | 7.0 | 2024-04-05 | ffmpeg-7.0.tar.bz2 | No | GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 | | ffmpeg-6.1 | 6.1 | 2023-11-11 | ffmpeg-6.1.tar.bz2 | No | GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 |

Contribute

See the contributing guide

Legal

Those docker images use code of FFmpeg licensed under the LGPLv2.1 and their source can be downloaded on github.com/jrottenberg/ffmpeg.