Xargs and FFMpeg: Encoding Multiple Files

xargs is a powerful command-line tool that allows you to pass arguments to a command from standard input. ffmpeg is a popular multimedia framework that can be used for encoding, decoding, and manipulating audio and video files.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to use xargs and ffmpeg to encode multiple files in parallel.

Prerequisites

• Basic knowledge of the command-line interface
• ffmpeg command-line tool installed
• Multiple audio or video files to encode

Xargs and FFMpeg Command Syntax

The basic syntax for using xargs and ffmpeg is as follows:

find /path/to/files -type f -name '*.mp4' | xargs -I {} -P 8 ffmpeg -i {} -c:v libx264 -c:a aac {}.mp4

Explanation of the Command Syntax:

• find /path/to/files -type f -name '*.mp4' will find all the .mp4 files in the specified directory.
• xargs -I {} -P 8 will pass the file names to ffmpeg with up to 8 parallel processes.
• ffmpeg -i {} -c:v libx264 -c:a aac {}.mp4 will encode the file with the specified video and audio codecs and save the output in a new file with .mp4 extension.

Usage

1. Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the files you want to encode.
2. Use the find command to locate the files you want to encode. For example, to encode all .mp4 files in the current directory and its subdirectories, use the following command:

find . -type f -name '*.mp4'

3. Pipe the output of find to xargs and ffmpeg. For example, to encode all .mp4 files with up to 8 parallel processes, use the following command:

find . -type f -name '*.mp4' | xargs -I {} -P 8 ffmpeg -i {} -c:v libx264 -c:a aac {}.mp4

4. Wait for the encoding process to finish. The time required to encode each file depends on several factors such as the input file size, the video and audio codecs used, and the system hardware.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have explored how to use xargs and ffmpeg to encode multiple audio or video files in parallel. By using parallel processing, we can significantly reduce the encoding time and increase productivity.