FFmpeg Android CLI

This project allows you to use the ffmpeg and ffprobe commands in Android on the CLI. Hardware acceleration with MediaCodec is enabled. Based on https://github.com/arthenica/ffmpeg-kit.

System requirements

• Android 4.1 or later (API level 16+)
• Shell access (adb shell, serial port or terminal app)
• No root required

Installation

1. Download your preferred version from https://gitea.antonlyap.pp.ua/antonlyap/ffmpeg-android-cli/releases

2. Extract the archive into a folder on your device (e.g. /data/local/tmp)

3. Make sure commands are executable:

   chmod 755 ffmpeg ffprobe

4. Test it out:

   $ ./ffmpeg -hwaccels                                       
   ffmpeg version n7.0 Copyright (c) 2000-2024 the FFmpeg developers
   built with Android (7155654, based on r399163b1) clang version 11.0.5 (https://android.googlesource.com/toolchain/llvm-project 87f1315dfbea7c137aa2e6d362dbb457e388158d)
   configuration: --cross-prefix=aarch64-linux-android- --sysroot=/home/user/Android/Sdk/ndk/22.1.7171670/toolchains/llvm/prebuilt/linux-x86_64/sysroot --prefix=/home/user/Projects/ffmpeg-kit/prebuilt/android-arm64-lts/ffmpeg --pkg-config=/usr/bin/pkg-config --enable-version3 --arch=aarch64 --cpu=armv8-a --target-os=android --enable-neon --enable-asm --enable-inline-asm --ar=aarch64-linux-android-ar --cc=aarch64-linux-android21-clang --cxx=aarch64-linux-android21-clang++ --ranlib=aarch64-linux-android-ranlib --strip=aarch64-linux-android-strip --nm=aarch64-linux-android-nm --extra-libs='-L/home/user/Projects/ffmpeg-kit/prebuilt/android-arm64-lts/cpu-features/lib -lndk_compat' --disable-autodetect --enable-cross-compile --enable-pic --enable-jni --enable-optimizations --enable-swscale --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-pthreads --enable-v4l2-m2m --disable-outdev=fbdev --disable-indev=fbdev --enable-small --disable-xmm-clobber-test --disable-debug --enable-lto --disable-neon-clobber-test --disable-programs --disable-postproc --disable-doc --disable-htmlpages --disable-manpages --disable-podpages --disable-txtpages --disable-sndio --disable-schannel --disable-securetransport --disable-xlib --disable-cuda --disable-cuvid --disable-nvenc --disable-vaapi --disable-vdpau --disable-videotoolbox --disable-audiotoolbox --disable-appkit --disable-alsa --disable-cuda --disable-cuvid --disable-nvenc --disable-vaapi --disable-vdpau --disable-sdl2 --disable-openssl --disable-zlib --enable-mediacodec
   libavutil      59.  8.100 / 59.  8.100
   libavcodec     61.  3.100 / 61.  3.100
   libavformat    61.  1.100 / 61.  1.100
   libavdevice    61.  1.100 / 61.  1.100
   libavfilter    10.  1.100 / 10.  1.100
   libswscale      8.  1.100 /  8.  1.100
   libswresample   5.  1.100 /  5.  1.100
   Hardware acceleration methods:
   mediacodec
   
   

   Passing arguments via environment variables (FFMPEG_OPTIONS) is also possible, to work around app_process stack corruption due to command length:

   $ FFMPEG_OPTIONS="-hwaccels" ./ffmpeg                                       
   ffmpeg version n7.0 Copyright (c) 2000-2024 the FFmpeg developers
   built with Android (7155654, based on r399163b1) clang version 11.0.5 (https://android.googlesource.com/toolchain/llvm-project 87f1315dfbea7c137aa2e6d362dbb457e388158d)
   configuration: --cross-prefix=aarch64-linux-android- --sysroot=/home/user/Android/Sdk/ndk/22.1.7171670/toolchains/llvm/prebuilt/linux-x86_64/sysroot --prefix=/home/user/Projects/ffmpeg-kit/prebuilt/android-arm64-lts/ffmpeg --pkg-config=/usr/bin/pkg-config --enable-version3 --arch=aarch64 --cpu=armv8-a --target-os=android --enable-neon --enable-asm --enable-inline-asm --ar=aarch64-linux-android-ar --cc=aarch64-linux-android21-clang --cxx=aarch64-linux-android21-clang++ --ranlib=aarch64-linux-android-ranlib --strip=aarch64-linux-android-strip --nm=aarch64-linux-android-nm --extra-libs='-L/home/user/Projects/ffmpeg-kit/prebuilt/android-arm64-lts/cpu-features/lib -lndk_compat' --disable-autodetect --enable-cross-compile --enable-pic --enable-jni --enable-optimizations --enable-swscale --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-pthreads --enable-v4l2-m2m --disable-outdev=fbdev --disable-indev=fbdev --enable-small --disable-xmm-clobber-test --disable-debug --enable-lto --disable-neon-clobber-test --disable-programs --disable-postproc --disable-doc --disable-htmlpages --disable-manpages --disable-podpages --disable-txtpages --disable-sndio --disable-schannel --disable-securetransport --disable-xlib --disable-cuda --disable-cuvid --disable-nvenc --disable-vaapi --disable-vdpau --disable-videotoolbox --disable-audiotoolbox --disable-appkit --disable-alsa --disable-cuda --disable-cuvid --disable-nvenc --disable-vaapi --disable-vdpau --disable-sdl2 --disable-openssl --disable-zlib --enable-mediacodec
   libavutil      59.  8.100 / 59.  8.100
   libavcodec     61.  3.100 / 61.  3.100
   libavformat    61.  1.100 / 61.  1.100
   libavdevice    61.  1.100 / 61.  1.100
   libavfilter    10.  1.100 / 10.  1.100
   libswscale      8.  1.100 /  8.  1.100
   libswresample   5.  1.100 /  5.  1.100
   Hardware acceleration methods:
   mediacodec
   

Building

1. Get your preferred version of FFmpeg from https://github.com/arthenica/ffmpeg-kit/releases or https://gitea.antonlyap.pp.ua/antonlyap/ffmpeg-kit/releases (includes updated FFmpeg and resolution alignment patch).
2. Place the AAR file under app/libs
3. Build the APK:

   ./gradlew assembleRelease

4. Extract the APK:

   unzip app/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk

5. Create an archive with the following files (ffmpeg and ffprobe can be found under cmd/):

   lib/
   classes.dex
   ffmpeg
   ffprobe
   

Versioning

The project versions follow the a.b-c-d pattern, where:

• a.b is the FFmpeg version (major and minor), such as 7.0
• c is the version of FFmpeg Kit
• d is the version of FFmpeg Android CLI

Useful software and resources

• MediaCodecInfo - displays the capabilities of your device.
• Qualcomm Hexagon (Wikipedia) - hardware transcoding capabilities of different Qualcomm SoCs.
• rclone - lets you mount a remote filesystem (e.g. to transcode files from your computer). Requires root access and the fusermount3 binary. Some media containers require --vfs-cache-mode=writes to function properly.
• FFmpeg Streaming and FFmpeg protocols - also let you access remote files.
• rffmpeg - lets you control transcoding from another machine over SSH.

License

This project's code and build artifacts (APK file and its derivatives) are licensed under the GNU LGPL. However, if using a variant of FFmpeg which includes GPL-licensed components, the build artifacts become subject to the GPL.

More information: https://github.com/arthenica/ffmpeg-kit?tab=readme-ov-file#14-license and https://ffmpeg.org/legal.html