FFmpeg

Streaming Commands

Stream media over networks and capture screen/webcam with FFmpeg. Set up RTMP streams, create HLS segments, record your screen, and build live streaming pipelines.

6 commands

Pro Tips

Create HLS segments: 'ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -hls_time 10 -hls_list_size 0 output.m3u8' for adaptive streaming.

Stream to RTMP: 'ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c copy -f flv rtmp://server/live/key' — '-re' reads at native framerate.

Record screen on Linux: 'ffmpeg -f x11grab -r 30 -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 output.mp4'.

Common Mistakes

Streaming without '-re' sends data as fast as possible, which can overwhelm the server and cause buffering.

Screen capture may include sensitive information. Be careful when recording and sharing screen captures.

Commands

Create DASH stream

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -codec: copy -f dash output.mpd

Convert video to DASH streaming format

Create HLS stream

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -codec: copy -start_number 0 -hls_time 10 -hls_list_size 0 -f hls output.m3u8

Convert video to HLS streaming format

Show file info

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

Show detailed media file information

Stream to RTMP

$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -f flv rtmp://server/live/stream

Stream video to RTMP server

Screen recording (Linux)

$ ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 output.mp4

Record screen on Linux

Record from webcam

$ ffmpeg -f v4l2 -i /dev/video0 output.mp4

Record video from webcam (Linux)