FFmpeg Help Command: View All Supported Formats

This guide explains how to use the -h (help) parameter in FFmpeg to access detailed help and configuration options for all supported container formats, muxers, and demuxers. You will learn the exact command syntax needed to query FFmpeg’s built-in documentation for specific formats directly from your terminal.

Understanding the FFmpeg Help Parameter

The -h parameter in FFmpeg is highly versatile. Rather than just printing a basic help menu, it can accept arguments to display advanced documentation for specific components of the software, including formats (muxers and demuxers), codecs, and protocols.

To see the help topics available, you can run the basic help command:

ffmpeg -h

Scroll to the bottom of the output to see the advanced help options, which include: * muxer=muxer_name * demuxer=demuxer_name * encoder=encoder_name * decoder=decoder_name

Viewing Help for Specific Supported Formats

FFmpeg splits formats into demuxers (for reading/inputting formats) and muxers (for writing/outputting formats). To view help for a specific format, you must pass the format name to the -h parameter using either demuxer= or muxer=.

1. View Help for a Specific Input Format (Demuxer)

If you want to view the supported options, private flags, and help documentation for reading a specific format (e.g., MP4, FLV, or AVI), use the following syntax:

ffmpeg -h demuxer=format_name

Example for MP4/MOV:

ffmpeg -h demuxer=mov

2. View Help for a Specific Output Format (Muxer)

To view the help documentation, default settings, and write-options for exporting to a specific format, use this syntax:

ffmpeg -h muxer=format_name

Example for MKV (Matroska):

ffmpeg -h muxer=matroska

Finding the Exact Format Names to Use with -h

Before you can query help for a format, you need to know its short name as recognized by FFmpeg.

To list all supported formats (both muxers and demuxers) available in your FFmpeg build, run:

ffmpeg -formats

This command outputs a list of all formats prefixed with D (demuxing supported) and E (muxing supported), followed by the common name you can plug into the ffmpeg -h muxer=... or ffmpeg -h demuxer=... commands.