How to List Supported Formats in FFmpeg on Windows

This guide provides a straightforward tutorial on how to list all supported file formats, muxers, demuxers, and codecs using FFmpeg on a Windows operating system. By utilizing simple Command Prompt or PowerShell commands, you can quickly identify which media formats your installed version of FFmpeg can read and write.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt or PowerShell

To run FFmpeg commands, you need to open a command-line interface. 1. Press the Windows Key. 2. Type cmd (for Command Prompt) or powershell (for PowerShell). 3. Press Enter to open the application.

Note: Ensure that FFmpeg is added to your Windows system PATH so you can run it from any directory. If it is not in your PATH, you will need to navigate to the bin folder where ffmpeg.exe is located using the cd command.

Step 2: List All Supported Formats

To see every single format (both input and output) that your FFmpeg installation supports, type the following command and press Enter:

ffmpeg -formats

This command outputs a long list of formats. Each format is prefixed with flags indicating its capabilities: * D (Demuxing/Input support): FFmpeg can read this format. * E (Muxing/Output support): FFmpeg can write/create this format.

Step 3: List Demuxers and Muxers Individually

If you want to narrow down your search, you can list the input and output capabilities separately.

To list only the formats FFmpeg can read (demuxers):

ffmpeg -demuxers

To list only the formats FFmpeg can write (muxers):

ffmpeg -muxers

Step 4: List Supported Codecs (Optional)

Often, “formats” are confused with “codecs” (such as AAC, H.264, or HEVC) contained inside those formats. To see all supported audio, video, and subtitle codecs, run:

ffmpeg -codecs

Step 5: Export the List to a Text File (Recommended)

Because the output of these commands is highly detailed and often exceeds the scrollback limit of the command window, you can export the results directly to a text file on your desktop.

Run the following command to save the formats list to a text file:

ffmpeg -formats > %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\ffmpeg_formats.txt

You can then open ffmpeg_formats.txt on your desktop using Notepad to easily search and scroll through the supported formats.