How to View FFmpeg Build Configuration on Windows

Checking the build configuration of FFmpeg on Windows is essential for verifying which codecs, libraries, and features were enabled during its compilation. This guide provides the direct commands needed to view these configuration details quickly using the Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Step 1: Open the Command Line

Press the Windows Key, type cmd (for Command Prompt) or powershell (for PowerShell), and press Enter.

Step 2: Run the FFmpeg Version Command

To view the entire build configuration, type the following command and press Enter:

ffmpeg -version

Alternatively, you can run:

ffmpeg

Step 3: Interpret the Output

Once you run the command, FFmpeg will print several lines of text to the console. Look for the section labeled configuration:.

Following this label, you will see a long list of parameters starting with --enable- or --disable-. These parameters represent the exact configuration flags used to compile your specific FFmpeg binary. For example: * --enable-gpl indicates GPL-licensed code is included. * --enable-libx264 indicates H.264 video encoding support is active. * --enable-openssl indicates HTTPS and secure streaming support are enabled.

Step 4: Search for Specific Enabled Libraries

Because the configuration list can be quite long, you can filter the output to see if a specific library or feature is enabled by piping the output to the findstr command in Windows.

For example, to check if the libx265 encoder is enabled, run:

ffmpeg -version | findstr "libx265"

If the library is configured, the command will display the matching part of the configuration flags.