FFmpeg Custom Audio Codecs Compilation

Compiles FFmpeg from source with audio codecs on Linux (Debian/Ubuntu, including Raspberry Pi) and macOS.

Author Mika Säppi Organization Fremen

Security Notice

Scripts download and compile from multiple sources (nasm.us with SHA-256 verification, GitHub repos) and require sudo. Review scripts before running and ensure you're on a trusted network.

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Pre-compiled binaries for x86-64 Linux

Find here.

Found a bug?

Please let me know. Thanks.

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Linux versions

Scripts in Linux/. Each prompts for a version before building.

install.sh — Full shared build

Shared-library FFmpeg with all codecs, FFprobe, FFplay, manpages, and hardware acceleration.

Great for: Desktop use, development, general-purpose media processing.

install_static.sh — Full static build

Statically linked binary with reduced codec set (see table). Includes FFprobe and manpages.

Great for: Portable deployments without external library dependencies.

install-headless.sh — Headless shared build

Shared-library build with full codec set. Disables display, audio I/O, and docs (FFplay, SDL2, ALSA, PulseAudio, VAAPI, VDPAU, XCB, X11, DRM, libopenh264, manpages). FFprobe included.

Great for: Servers, containers, CI/CD pipelines.

install_static_bare.sh — Minimal static build

Static binary with reduced codec set and the same disables as headless. Pre-compiled x86 binary available (~26 MB, Ubuntu 24.04). No network protocols beyond plain file:/tcp: — for https: use install_static_network.sh.

Great for: Embedding in applications, microservices, minimal Docker images.

install_static_network.sh — Minimal static build + HTTPS

Same as install_static_bare.sh plus a statically linked OpenSSL, giving https/tls protocol support so ffmpeg/ffprobe can fetch remote URLs directly.

Great for: Anywhere ffmpeg pulls inputs over https:// (e.g. podcast/RSS asset URLs).

Comparison (Linux)

	install.sh	install_static.sh	install-headless.sh	install_static_bare.sh	install_static_network.sh
Linking	Shared	Static	Shared	Static	Static
FFprobe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FFplay	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Manpages	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Display / HW accel	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Audio I/O (ALSA, Pulse)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
GnuTLS	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
OpenSSL (https/tls)	No	No	No	No	Yes
libfdk-aac	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
libmp3lame	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
libopus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
libsoxr	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
libvorbis	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
libspeex	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
libtwolame	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
libopencore-amr	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
libsrt	If available	No	If available	No	No

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macOS versions

Scripts in macOS/. Each prompts for a version before building. Requires Homebrew.

install_macos.sh — Full shared build

Shared-library FFmpeg with all codecs, FFprobe, FFplay, and manpages. Most codecs installed via Homebrew; libfdk-aac compiled from source (licensing).

Great for: Desktop use, development, general-purpose media processing on macOS.

install_macos_static.sh — Static build

Statically linked binary with reduced codec set. All codec libraries compiled from source. Includes FFprobe and manpages.

Great for: Portable deployments, distributing to other Macs, embedding in macOS applications.

Comparison (macOS)

	install_macos.sh	install_macos_static.sh
Linking	Shared	Static
FFprobe	Yes	Yes
FFplay	Yes	Yes
Manpages	Yes	Yes
libfdk-aac	Yes	Yes
libmp3lame	Yes	Yes
libopus	Yes	Yes
libsoxr	Yes	Yes
libvorbis	Yes	No
libspeex	Yes	No
libtwolame	Yes	No
libopencore-amr	Yes	No
libsrt	If available	If available

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Included Codecs

All builds include:

• libfdk-aac — AAC encoding
• libmp3lame — MP3 encoding
• libopus — Low-latency codec
• libsoxr — Audio resampling

Full (shared) builds also include:

• libvorbis — Ogg Vorbis
• libspeex — Speech codec
• libtwolame — MP2 encoding
• libopencore-amr — AMR-NB/WB
• libsrt — Secure Reliable Transport (if available)

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Installation

bash install.sh

Time: 5-30 minutes | Space: ~2GB

Version selection

Each script prompts for a version. Press Enter for the latest stable release.

=== FFmpeg Version Selection ===
Latest stable version: n8.0

Available major versions:
  4 -> n4.4.5
  5 -> n5.1.7
  6 -> n6.1.3
  7 -> n7.1.2
  8 -> n8.0

Version: 7
Using latest version for major 7: n7.1.2

System FFmpeg Handling

On Linux, if a system FFmpeg exists (e.g., Pi OS with Hailo TAPPAS):

• Backup created at /usr/bin/ffmpeg.backup
• Custom build installed to /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg
• ffmpeg-system command created for the original

On macOS, if Homebrew FFmpeg exists:

• ffmpeg-brew command created for the Homebrew version

Verification

ffmpeg -version
ffmpeg -encoders | grep -E "(fdk|opus|vorbis|speex|twolame|amr)"

Requirements

Linux: Debian/Ubuntu, ~2GB free, internet, sudo macOS: Homebrew, ~2GB free, internet, sudo

Removal

Linux:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg
sudo mv /usr/bin/ffmpeg.backup /usr/bin/ffmpeg  # If backup exists

macOS:

sudo rm /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg

If a build fails, remove ~/ffmpeg_sources (or ~/ffmpeg_sources_static, ~/ffmpeg_sources_static_bare) and retry.

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Troubleshooting

Build errors

Error	Fix
Package 'openssl' not found	sudo apt-get install libssl-dev libcrypto++-dev
srt >= 1.3.0 not found	Script continues without SRT. To force: sudo apt-get install libsrt-openssl-dev
autoreconf: command not found	sudo apt-get install autoconf automake libtool
C compiler cannot create executables	sudo apt-get install build-essential
No space left on device	Need ~2GB free. Run sudo apt-get clean

Runtime errors

Problem	Fix
Custom FFmpeg not found	export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH" and add to ~/.bashrc
libfdk_aac not found	Check which ffmpeg shows /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg, not system version
error while loading shared libraries	Run sudo ldconfig
System unresponsive during build	Edit script: CORES=$(($(nproc) / 2))

Clean rebuild

rm -rf ~/ffmpeg_sources
sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg
./install.sh

Debug a failed build

cd ~/ffmpeg_sources/ffmpeg && tail -50 config.log
pkg-config --list-all | grep -E "(fdk|opus|srt)"