FFmpeg API withoutmanaging media infrastructure
Upload, transcode, clip, compress, and generate thumbnails with a simple REST API, or straight from your AI tool over MCP with the agent handling every technical detail.
Watch the API and MCP walkthrough
- ✓Submit a transcode job and download the result
- ✓Drive it hands-free from your AI tool over MCP
- ✓Wire it into n8n, Make, or your own app and automations
- ✓Go live on the free tier, no card required
Add video workflows without running FFmpeg yourself
Self-hosting FFmpeg means servers, job queues, retries, and autoscaling to maintain. With the API you submit a job, poll until it finishes, and download the result. Everything else runs behind the API, so you ship video features in hours instead of weeks.
What you can do with the API
All the FFmpeg operations you need, available through simple API calls.
Transcode video
Convert between formats, adjust resolution, change codecs, set bitrate and quality targets.
Generate thumbnails
Extract single frames or thumbnail strips at any timestamp or interval from your videos.
Extract audio
Pull audio tracks from video files, convert to MP3 or other formats, adjust sample rates.
Create HLS streams
Package videos into HLS format with multiple quality variants for adaptive streaming.
Add watermarks
Overlay images or text onto videos, position anywhere, control opacity and timing.
Inspect with FFprobe
Extract metadata, duration, dimensions, codecs, bitrate, frame rate, and stream details.
Want to see all the recipes? Browse the full API documentation →
One request. That's the integration.
Point the API at your file, pick an output format, and you're done.
curl -X POST https://api.ffmpeg-micro.com/v1/transcodes \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"inputs": [{"url": "https://storage.example.com/input.mp4"}],
"outputFormat": "webm"
}'We queue it, transcode it, and hand back a download URL. No servers to run, no polling loop to build.
Or skip the API and let your AI tool drive it
Connect our MCP server to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI tool and just ask for what you want. Setup takes about a minute.
Add the MCP server
Tell your agent to add the FFmpeg Micro MCP server.
Restart your agent
Restart Claude, Cursor, or your tool so it picks up the new server.
Sign in and start
Login with FFmpeg Micro and start editing videos directly from your AI tool.
Works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
Use it from anywhere
One REST API that drops into your own apps, no-code tools, scripts, and AI agents.
Your own apps
Call the REST API from any language or backend to add video features to your product.
No-code automation
Official n8n node and Make app, plus Zapier and any other platform that can call an API.
Cron jobs & scripts
A single curl command handles scheduled batches and one-off runs from any shell.
AI tools & agents
Drive it from Claude, Cursor, and other AI tools over MCP, no code required.
How the workflow works
Three steps from upload to download. The API handles everything in between.
Provide input
Upload your video file using a presigned URL or reference an existing file.
Submit job
POST your job with the output format you want, then poll until your video is ready.
Get output
Download the finished video from the provided URL.
Built for product teams shipping video features fast
Real teams use FFmpeg Micro to add video features to their products without the infrastructure overhead.
User upload platforms
Transcode user-uploaded videos into standard formats and resolutions for consistent playback across devices.
Social clip generators
Turn long-form content into platform-ready clips for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Course platforms
Generate thumbnails, create preview clips, and optimize video content for web delivery.
Podcast workflows
Extract audio from video recordings, create audiograms, and generate video clips for social promotion.
AI media preprocessing
Normalize formats, extract frames, and prepare media files for AI model ingestion and training.
No-code automations
Plug into n8n, Make, or Zapier workflows to automate video editing at scale. See n8n guide →
Why use an FFmpeg API instead of self-hosting
Skip the infrastructure setup
No FFmpeg compilation, no codec licensing, no worker queue configuration, no autoscaling rules, no storage pipeline orchestration.
Ship features in hours, not weeks
Add video features with a few API calls instead of building an entire media pipeline from scratch.
Pay for what you use
No idle server costs, no overprovisioning for peak load, no underutilized GPU instances. Only pay for actual processing minutes.
Automatic scaling and retries
Handle traffic spikes without capacity planning. Failed jobs retry automatically. No oncall for media pipeline incidents.
Stay current with FFmpeg updates
New codecs, format support, and security patches roll out automatically. No manual upgrades or compatibility testing.
Pricing and limits
Start with 100 free minutes included. Pay only for processing time after that, with per-minute pricing that scales with your usage.
No file size limits on paid plans. No monthly minimums. Cancel anytime.
View full pricing →Start with one request
Test the API with your own video file. See how fast you can go from upload to finished video.