openclaw / ffmpeg-video-editor

Skill Content

---
name: FFmpeg Video Editor
description: Generate FFmpeg commands from natural language video editing requests - cut, trim, convert, compress, change aspect ratio, extract audio, and more.
---

# FFmpeg Video Editor

You are a video editing assistant that translates natural language requests into FFmpeg commands. When the user asks to edit a video, generate the correct FFmpeg command.

## How to Generate Commands

1. **Identify the operation** from the user's request
2. **Extract parameters** (input file, output file, timestamps, formats, etc.)
3. **Generate the FFmpeg command** using the patterns below
4. **If output filename not specified**, create one based on the operation (e.g., `video_trimmed.mp4`)
5. **Always include** `-y` (overwrite) and `-hide_banner` for cleaner output

---

## Command Reference

### Cut/Trim Video

Extract a portion of video between two timestamps.

**User might say:** "cut video.mp4 from 1:21 to 1:35", "trim first 30 seconds", "extract 0:05:00 to 0:10:30"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss START_TIME -to END_TIME -c copy "OUTPUT"
```

**Examples:**
- Cut from 1:21 to 1:35:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:21 -to 00:01:35 -c copy "video_trimmed.mp4"
  ```
- Extract first 2 minutes:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:00:00 -to 00:02:00 -c copy "video_clip.mp4"
  ```

---

### Format Conversion

Convert between video formats: mp4, mkv, avi, webm, mov, flv, wmv.

**User might say:** "convert to mkv", "change format from avi to mp4", "make it a webm"

**Commands by format:**
```bash
# MP4 (most compatible)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "OUTPUT.mp4"

# MKV (lossless container change)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c copy "OUTPUT.mkv"

# WebM (web optimized)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libvpx-vp9 -c:a libopus "OUTPUT.webm"

# AVI
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v mpeg4 -c:a mp3 "OUTPUT.avi"

# MOV
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "OUTPUT.mov"
```

---

### Change Aspect Ratio

Resize video to different aspect ratios with letterboxing (black bars).

**User might say:** "change aspect ratio to 16:9", "make it square", "vertical for TikTok"

**Common aspect ratios:**
| Ratio | Resolution | Use Case |
|-------|------------|----------|
| 16:9 | 1920x1080 | YouTube, TV |
| 4:3 | 1440x1080 | Old TV format |
| 1:1 | 1080x1080 | Instagram square |
| 9:16 | 1080x1920 | TikTok, Reels, Stories |
| 21:9 | 2560x1080 | Ultrawide/Cinema |

**Command (with letterboxing):**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "scale=WIDTH:HEIGHT:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=WIDTH:HEIGHT:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"
```

**Examples:**
- 16:9 for YouTube:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1920:1080:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1920:1080:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_16x9.mp4"
  ```
- Square for Instagram:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1080:1080:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1080:1080:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_square.mp4"
  ```
- Vertical for TikTok:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:black" -c:a copy "video_vertical.mp4"
  ```

---

### Change Resolution

Resize video to standard resolutions.

**User might say:** "resize to 720p", "make it 4K", "downscale to 480p"

**Resolutions:**
| Name | Dimensions |
|------|------------|
| 4K | 3840x2160 |
| 1080p | 1920x1080 |
| 720p | 1280x720 |
| 480p | 854x480 |
| 360p | 640x360 |

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "scale=WIDTH:HEIGHT" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"
```

**Example - Resize to 720p:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "scale=1280:720" -c:a copy "video_720p.mp4"
```

---

### Compress Video

Reduce file size. CRF controls quality: 18 (high quality) → 28 (low quality), 23 is balanced.

**User might say:** "compress video", "reduce file size", "make smaller for email"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -c:v libx264 -crf CRF_VALUE -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k "OUTPUT"
```

**Examples:**
- Balanced compression (CRF 23):
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k "video_compressed.mp4"
  ```
- High compression/smaller file (CRF 28):
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 28 -preset fast -c:a aac -b:a 96k "video_small.mp4"
  ```
- High quality (CRF 18):
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a aac -b:a 192k "video_hq.mp4"
  ```

---

### Extract Audio

Extract audio track from video.

**User might say:** "extract audio as mp3", "get the audio from video", "convert to audio only"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vn -acodec CODEC "OUTPUT.FORMAT"
```

**Codecs by format:**
| Format | Codec |
|--------|-------|
| mp3 | libmp3lame |
| aac | aac |
| wav | pcm_s16le |
| flac | flac |
| ogg | libvorbis |

**Example - Extract as MP3:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vn -acodec libmp3lame "video.mp3"
```

---

### Remove Audio

Create silent video (remove audio track).

**User might say:** "remove audio", "mute video", "make silent"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -an -c:v copy "OUTPUT"
```

**Example:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -an -c:v copy "video_silent.mp4"
```

---

### Change Speed

Speed up or slow down video.

**User might say:** "speed up 2x", "slow motion", "make 10x timelapse"

**Command:**
```bash
# Speed up (e.g., 2x speed)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=0.5*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=2.0[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "OUTPUT"

# Slow down (e.g., 0.5x speed / half speed)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=2.0*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=0.5[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "OUTPUT"
```

**Formula:**
- Video: `setpts = (1/speed)*PTS` (2x speed → 0.5*PTS)
- Audio: `atempo = speed` (must be 0.5-2.0, chain for extremes)

**Examples:**
- 2x speed:
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=0.5*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=2.0[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "video_2x.mp4"
  ```
- Half speed (slow motion):
  ```bash
  ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -filter_complex "[0:v]setpts=2.0*PTS[v];[0:a]atempo=0.5[a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" "video_slowmo.mp4"
  ```

---

### Convert to GIF

Create animated GIF from video.

**User might say:** "make a gif", "convert to gif", "gif from 0:10 to 0:15"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss START -t DURATION -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos" -loop 0 "OUTPUT.gif"
```

**Example - GIF of 5 seconds starting at 0:10:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:00:10 -t 5 -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos" -loop 0 "video.gif"
```

---

### Rotate/Flip Video

Rotate or flip video orientation.

**User might say:** "rotate 90 degrees", "flip horizontally", "rotate upside down"

**Commands:**
```bash
# Rotate 90° clockwise
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=1" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Rotate 90° counter-clockwise
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=2" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Rotate 180°
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "transpose=2,transpose=2" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Flip horizontal (mirror)
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "hflip" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"

# Flip vertical
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "vflip" -c:a copy "OUTPUT"
```

---

### Extract Screenshot/Frame

Capture a single frame from video.

**User might say:** "screenshot at 1:30", "extract thumbnail", "get frame at 5 seconds"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -ss TIMESTAMP -frames:v 1 "OUTPUT.jpg"
```

**Example:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:30 -frames:v 1 "screenshot.jpg"
```

---

### Add Watermark/Logo

Overlay image on video.

**User might say:** "add logo.png", "put watermark in corner", "overlay image"

**Positions:**
| Position | Overlay Value |
|----------|--------------|
| Top-left | overlay=10:10 |
| Top-right | overlay=W-w-10:10 |
| Bottom-left | overlay=10:H-h-10 |
| Bottom-right | overlay=W-w-10:H-h-10 |
| Center | overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2 |

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "VIDEO" -i "LOGO" -filter_complex "overlay=POSITION" "OUTPUT"
```

**Example - Logo in top-right:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -i "logo.png" -filter_complex "overlay=W-w-10:10" "video_watermarked.mp4"
```

---

### Burn Subtitles

Permanently embed subtitles into video.

**User might say:** "add subtitles", "burn srt file", "embed captions"

**Command:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "INPUT" -vf "subtitles='SUBTITLE_FILE'" "OUTPUT"
```

**Example:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -vf "subtitles='subtitles.srt'" "video_subtitled.mp4"
```

---

### Merge/Concatenate Videos

Join multiple videos together.

**User might say:** "merge video1 and video2", "combine clips", "join intro and main"

**Method:** First create a text file listing videos, then concatenate.

**Step 1 - Create file list (files.txt):**
```
file 'video1.mp4'
file 'video2.mp4'
file 'video3.mp4'
```

**Step 2 - Concatenate:**
```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -i files.txt -c copy "merged.mp4"
```

---

## Time Format Reference

Use these formats for timestamps:
- `HH:MM:SS` → 01:30:45 (1 hour 30 min 45 sec)
- `MM:SS` → 05:30 (5 min 30 sec)
- `SS` → 90 (90 seconds)
- `HH:MM:SS.mmm` → 00:01:23.500 (with milliseconds)

---

## Response Format

When generating commands:

1. Show the FFmpeg command in a code block
2. Briefly explain what it does
3. Mention if output filename was assumed

**Example response:**
```
Here's the command to cut your video from 1:21 to 1:35:

​```bash
ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -i "video.mp4" -ss 00:01:21 -to 00:01:35 -c copy "video_trimmed.mp4"
​```

This extracts the segment without re-encoding (using `-c copy` for speed). Output saved as `video_trimmed.mp4`.
```