How To Install FFmpeg on Linux Mint 22

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install FFmpeg on Linux Mint 22. FFmpeg stands for Fast Forward MPEG, a nod to its origins in video compression technology. It’s a collection of libraries and tools designed to handle multimedia data. FFmpeg is the Swiss Army knife of multimedia processing, capable of encoding, decoding, transcoding, muxing, demixing, streaming, filtering, and playing almost any type of media.

Many popular applications rely on FFmpeg as their backend, including VLC media player, OBS Studio, and Handbrake. Its versatility makes it an indispensable tool for content creators, developers, and system administrators working with multimedia on Linux systems.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of FFmpeg on Linux Mint 22.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Linux Mint 22.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• While we’ll guide you through the process, a basic understanding of the command line will be beneficial. If you’re new to the CLI, you might want to acquaint yourself with some fundamental commands.
• An active internet connection.
• Administrative privileges are essential for installing and configuring software on your system. Ensure that you have superuser or sudo access.

Install FFmpeg on Linux Mint 22

Step 1. Update Your Linux Mint System.

Start by updating your system’s package lists and upgrading existing packages. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

These commands refresh your system’s knowledge of available packages and install any pending updates. It’s a good practice to reboot your system after a significant upgrade to ensure all changes take effect.

Step 2. Installing Dependencies.

FFmpeg relies on several libraries and tools to function correctly. While many of these will be installed automatically when you install FFmpeg, it’s beneficial to ensure you have some core dependencies in place:

sudo apt install dirmngr gnupg software-properties-common apt-transport-https ca-certificates

Step 3. Installing FFmpeg.

There are three primary methods to install FFmpeg on Linux Mint 22: using the official repository, using a PPA (Personal Package Archive), or building from source. Each method has its advantages and potential drawbacks.

• Using the Official Repository

Installing FFmpeg from the official Linux Mint repositories is the simplest and most straightforward method. It ensures compatibility with your system and receives regular updates through the standard system update process. To install FFmpeg from the official repository, use the following command:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

After installation, verify that FFmpeg is correctly installed by checking its version:

ffmpeg -version

• Using a PPA (Personal Package Archive)

A PPA is a repository hosted on Launchpad, Ubuntu’s software collaboration platform. PPAs can offer more recent versions of software than those available in the official repositories. For FFmpeg, this can mean access to newer features or improved performance. To install FFmpeg using a PPA, follow these steps:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonathonf/ffmpeg-4

Install FFmpeg:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

• Building from Source

For users who need the latest features, specific compile-time options, or are working on FFmpeg development, building from source is the most flexible option. However, it’s also the most complex and time-consuming method. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building FFmpeg from source:

Install build dependencies:

sudo apt install autoconf automake build-essential cmake git-core libass-dev libfreetype6-dev libgnutls28-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl2-dev libtool libva-dev libvdpau-dev libvorbis-dev libxcb1-dev libxcb-shm0-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev meson ninja-build pkg-config texinfo wget yasm zlib1g-dev

Clone the FFmpeg repository:

git clone https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg

Configure the build:

./configure --enable-gpl --enable-nonfree

Compile FFmpeg:

make -j$(nproc)

Install the compiled binaries:

sudo make install

Step 4. Verification and Basic Usage.

After installation, it’s important to verify that FFmpeg is working correctly and familiarize yourself with its basic usage.

Check the installed version of FFmpeg:

ffmpeg -version

Here are some basic FFmpeg commands to get you started:

• Convert a video file from one format to another:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.avi

• Extract audio from a video file:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn output.mp3

• Resize a video:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 output.mp4

• Cut a portion of a video:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:30 -t 00:00:10 -c copy output.mp4

Congratulations! You have successfully installed FFmpeg. Thanks for using this tutorial to install the latest version of FFmpeg on the Linux Mint system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official FFmpeg website.