How to Install FFmpeg on Debian

Updated on June 29, 2020
How to Install FFmpeg on Debian header image

Introduction

This guide explains how to install FFmpeg on:

  • Debian 10
  • Debian 9
  • Debian 8

FFmpeg is an open-source command-line tool for video and audio encoding/decoding. Its main features are high speed, quality, and small file sizes.

Prerequisites

Debian 10 and 9

  1. Install FFmpeg.

     $ sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
  2. Verify the installation.

     ffmpeg -version

    You will see information about the installed FFmpeg version. Your setup is complete.

Debian 8

  1. Edit the source list.

     $ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
  2. Add the following lines at the end of the file:

     # deb-multimedia
     deb http://www.deb-multimedia.org jessie main non-free
     deb-src http://www.deb-multimedia.org jessie main non-free
    
     # jessie-backports
     deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian/ jessie-backports main
  3. Save and close the file.

  4. Update the package list and install deb-multimedia keyring:

     $ sudo apt-get update
     $ sudo apt-get install deb-multimedia-keyring
     $ sudo apt-get update
  5. Install FFmpeg.

     $ sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
  6. Verify the installation.

     ffmpeg -version

    You will see information about the installed FFmpeg version. Your setup is complete.