n8n-nodes-ffmpeg-cli

Run any FFmpeg command directly inside your n8n workflows. No wrappers, no abstractions — just raw FFmpeg power.

Why this node?

Other FFmpeg nodes try to wrap FFmpeg behind dropdowns and limited options. This node takes a different approach: you write the FFmpeg command, it runs it. If you know FFmpeg, you already know how to use this node.

• Direct FFmpeg command execution — no hidden magic
• Support for multiple binary inputs ({video}, {audio}, {image}, or any name)
• Automatic temp file handling and cleanup
• Works with any FFmpeg operation: transcode, merge, trim, overlay, extract, convert — anything

Installation

In your n8n instance:

1. Go to Settings → Community Nodes
2. Click Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-ffmpeg-cli
4. Click Install

Requirement: FFmpeg must be installed on the machine/container running n8n.

How it works

1. Binary inputs from previous nodes are written to temp files
2. Placeholders in your command are replaced with actual file paths
3. FFmpeg runs the command
4. Output file is captured as binary data for the next node

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
FFmpeg Command	Your FFmpeg arguments with placeholders	-i {input} -c:v copy -c:a aac {output}
Input Binary Properties	Comma-separated binary property names	data
Output File Extension	Extension for the output file	mp4
Output Binary Property	Binary property name for the result	data
Output File Name	File name for the output	output.mp4
Timeout (seconds)	Max execution time	120

Placeholders

Placeholder	Resolves to
{input}	First binary input file path
{output}	Output file path
{data}	Binary property named "data"
{video}	Binary property named "video"
{audio}	Binary property named "audio"
{anyname}	Binary property named "anyname"

Any binary property name wrapped in curly braces becomes a placeholder.

Examples

Replace video audio with a new track

Input Binary Properties: video, audio

-i {video} -i {audio} -c:v copy -c:a aac -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 -shortest {output}

Convert video to GIF

Output File Extension: gif

-i {input} -vf "fps=10,scale=320:-1" -loop 0 {output}

Extract audio from video

Output File Extension: mp3

-i {input} -vn -acodec libmp3lame -q:a 2 {output}

Trim video (first 30 seconds)

-i {input} -t 30 -c copy {output}

Add image watermark to video

Input Binary Properties: video, watermark

-i {video} -i {watermark} -filter_complex "overlay=10:10" -c:a copy {output}

Resize video to 720p

-i {input} -vf "scale=-2:720" -c:a copy {output}

Merge audio and image into video

Input Binary Properties: image, audio
Output File Extension: mp4

-loop 1 -i {image} -i {audio} -c:v libx264 -tune stillimage -c:a aac -b:a 192k -shortest {output}

Convert to WebM

Output File Extension: webm

-i {input} -c:v libvpx-vp9 -crf 30 -b:v 0 -c:a libopus {output}

Output

On success, the node outputs:

{
  "success": true,
  "command": "ffmpeg -y -i /tmp/ffmpeg_data_xxx.mp4 -c:v copy -c:a aac /tmp/ffmpeg_out_xxx.mp4",
  "outputSize": 1234567
}

Plus the binary output file attached to the specified binary property.

On failure:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message",
  "stderr": "FFmpeg stderr output"
}

Docker / Self-hosted

If your n8n runs in Docker, make sure FFmpeg is installed in the container:

# Add to your Dockerfile
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ffmpeg

Or use an n8n image that already includes FFmpeg.

License

MIT