FFUp: FFmpeg Update

ffmpeg-update is a Python package designed to manage FFmpeg static binaries on macOS and Linux. It fetches the latest builds published by Martin Riedl.

Features

• Install static builds of FFmpeg, FFprobe, and/or FFplay.
• Update to the latest version.
• Check for update.
• Uninstall from the system.
• Supports custom installation paths.
• Supports both Linux and macOS (Windows builds are not available upstream).

Installation

Using uv:

uv tool install git+https://github.com/pantheraleo-7/ffmpeg-update

Using pip:

pip install git+https://github.com/pantheraleo-7/ffmpeg-update

Usage

With ffup:

The installation provides the ffup command.

• Install:

  ffup install [--dir <custom-path>]

• Update:

  ffup update [--dir <custom-path>] [--dry-run]

• Check:

  ffup check [--dir <custom-path>]

• Uninstall:

  ffup uninstall [--dir <custom-path>]

With python:

Alternatively, the package can be run as a CLI module.

python -m ffup <command>

Documentation

CLI Commands, Their Flags and Environment Variables

1. Install:

ffup install [--dir <custom-path>]

• Downloads and installs the binary.
• Flags and Environment variables:
  • --dir <custom-path>: Specifies the installation directory.
  • $XDG_BIN_HOME: Used as the installation directory if --dir is not specified.
  • Defaults to ~/.local/bin if none of the above is defined.

2. Update:

ffup update [--dir <custom-path>] [--dry-run]

• Updates the binary to the latest version.
• Flags:
  • --dir <custom-path>: Specifies the directory where the binary is installed.
  • Defaults to the first executable found on the $PATH.
  • --dry-run: Only checks for update, skips download and install.

3. Check:

ffup check [--dir <custom-path>]

• Checks for update.
• Same as ffup update [--dir <custom-path>] --dry-run.
• Flags:
  • --dir <custom-path>: Specifies the directory where the binary is installed.
  • Defaults to the first executable found on the $PATH.

4. Uninstall:

ffup uninstall [--dir <custom-path>]

• Removes the installed binary.
• Flags:
  • --dir <custom-path>: Specifies the directory where the binary is installed.
  • Defaults to the first executable found on the $PATH.

Global Flags and Their Environment Variables

• --sys or $FF_SYS: Specifies the platform name (macos, linux). Default is to detect using platform stdlib.
• --arch or $FF_ARCH: Specifies the platform architecture (arm64, amd64). Default is to detect using platform stdlib.
• --repo or $FF_REPO: Specifies the static build type (snapshot, release). Defaults to snapshot.
• --bin or $FF_BIN: Specifies the binary name (ffmpeg, ffprobe, ffplay). Defaults to ffmpeg.

Note: Flags have precedence over their respective environment variables.

Note: Command arguments may be given positionally. Global arguments are always specified with their respective keywords (flags).

Error Handling

• Permission issues are resolved automatically with sudo when necessary (and, consequently, user is prompted for password at stdin).
• Checks for path handling are exhaustive, with appropriate messages written to stdout.