{"id":39245,"date":"2025-11-10T14:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloudinary.com\/blog\/?p=39245"},"modified":"2025-11-10T14:03:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:03:25","slug":"how-do-i-install-ffmpeg-using-pip-pip-install-ffmpeg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudinary.com\/blog\/questions\/how-do-i-install-ffmpeg-using-pip-pip-install-ffmpeg\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I install FFmpeg using pip (pip install ffmpeg)?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every few weeks a thread pops up from someone trying to get FFmpeg working in a Python environment with a quick pip install, only to hit a wall when the first command runs. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am trying to use FFmpeg from Python and saw suggestions to run <\/em>pip install ffmpeg<\/em>. It installs something, but calling FFmpeg still fails or the binary is missing. How do I install FFmpeg using pip (pip install ffmpeg)? What is the correct way to make FFmpeg available to Python scripts across Windows, macOS, and Linux?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using pip<\/code> doesn\u2019t install the actual FFmpeg system binary, no matter what package you\u2019re using. It installs a Python package that allows you to use FFmpeg within Python, but not FFmpeg itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a pretty easy mistake to make, as many new developers would be used to installing Python modules that simply work out of the box (or with some slight configurations). But, with FFmpeg being a complete piece of software on it\u2019s own, downloading it entirely through pip<\/code> wouldn\u2019t be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Install the FFmpeg binary on your OS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Use your platform\u2019s package manager so FFmpeg is on the system PATH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Windows, you can use one of their official builds listed on their website, or use one of the several package managers available.<\/p>\n\n\n

# One of these options:<\/span>\nchoco install ffmpeg\nscoop install ffmpeg\nwinget install ffmpeg<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
macOS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
brew install ffmpeg<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Linux<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Depending on the distribution you use, you can install via your package manager or download the source code directly FFmpeg.<\/p>\n\n\n
# Debian\/Ubuntu<\/span>\nsudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ffmpeg\n\n# Fedora<\/span>\nsudo dnf install -y ffmpeg\n\n# Arch<\/span>\nsudo pacman -S ffmpeg<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Verify your install<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
ffmpeg -version<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you get a version printout, your PATH is set correctly. From Python, you can also verify:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> subprocess\nsubprocess.run([\"ffmpeg\"<\/span>, \"-version\"<\/span>], check=True)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Use FFmpeg from Python<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once the binary is installed, choose one of these approaches:<\/p>\n\n\n\n