Ffmpeg Audio Processing

CRITICAL GUIDELINES

Windows File Path Requirements

MANDATORY: Always Use Backslashes on Windows for File Paths

When using Edit or Write tools on Windows, you MUST use backslashes (\) in file paths, NOT forward slashes (/).

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Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill

Use for audio-focused operations:

• Extracting audio from video files
• Loudness normalization for broadcast/streaming compliance
• Podcast and audiobook processing
• Audio format conversion
• Audio effects (EQ, compression, noise reduction)

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FFmpeg Audio Processing (2025)

Complete guide to audio encoding, normalization, and professional audio workflows with FFmpeg.

Audio Codec Reference

Codec Comparison

Recommended Bitrates

Basic Audio Operations

Extract Audio

# Extract to original format (no re-encode)
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a copy audio.m4a

# Extract to MP3
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k audio.mp3

# Extract to AAC
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a aac -b:a 256k audio.m4a

# Extract to FLAC (lossless)
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a flac audio.flac

# Extract to WAV (uncompressed)
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le audio.wav

Convert Audio Formats

# MP3 to AAC
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -c:a aac -b:a 256k output.m4a

# WAV to MP3
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k output.mp3

# FLAC to MP3
ffmpeg -i input.flac -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k output.mp3

# Multiple files (batch)
for f in *.flac; do
  ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k "${f%.flac}.mp3"
done

Quality Settings

# AAC VBR quality (1-5, higher = better)
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a aac -q:a 2 output.m4a

# MP3 VBR quality (0-9, lower = better)
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 0 output.mp3

# Opus with target bitrate
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a libopus -b:a 128k output.opus

Audio Normalization

Loudness Standards

EBU R128 Normalization (loudnorm)

Single-Pass (Live/Real-time)

# Quick normalization (less accurate)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11 \
  output.mp3

Two-Pass (Recommended)

# Pass 1: Analyze
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11:print_format=json \
  -f null -

# Output will include:
# "input_i": "-25.23"
# "input_tp": "-0.50"
# "input_lra": "8.32"
# "input_thresh": "-35.87"
# "target_offset": "1.23"

# Pass 2: Normalize with measured values
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11:measured_I=-25.23:measured_TP=-0.50:measured_LRA=8.32:measured_thresh=-35.87:offset=1.23:linear=true \
  -ar 48000 \
  output.mp3

Two-Pass Script

#!/bin/bash
# loudnorm-2pass.sh

INPUT="$1"
OUTPUT="$2"
TARGET_I="${3:--16}"
TARGET_TP="${4:--1.5}"
TARGET_LRA="${5:-11}"

# Pass 1: Analyze
stats=$(ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" \
  -af loudnorm=I=${TARGET_I}:TP=${TARGET_TP}:LRA=${TARGET_LRA}:print_format=json \
  -f null - 2>&1 | grep -A 12 "Parsed_loudnorm")

# Extract values
input_i=$(echo "$stats" | grep input_i | tr -d '", ' | cut -d':' -f2)
input_tp=$(echo "$stats" | grep input_tp | tr -d '", ' | cut -d':' -f2)
input_lra=$(echo "$stats" | grep input_lra | tr -d '", ' | cut -d':' -f2)
input_thresh=$(echo "$stats" | grep input_thresh | tr -d '", ' | cut -d':' -f2)
offset=$(echo "$stats" | grep target_offset | tr -d '", ' | cut -d':' -f2)

# Pass 2: Normalize
ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" \
  -af "loudnorm=I=${TARGET_I}:TP=${TARGET_TP}:LRA=${TARGET_LRA}:measured_I=${input_i}:measured_TP=${input_tp}:measured_LRA=${input_lra}:measured_thresh=${input_thresh}:offset=${offset}:linear=true" \
  -ar 48000 \
  "$OUTPUT"

Peak Normalization

# Normalize to peak level
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "volume=0dB:eval=once:precision=fixed" \
  -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1:LRA=11" \
  output.mp3

# Simple peak normalization
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -filter:a "volume=replaygain=peak" \
  output.mp3

RMS Normalization

# Normalize to specific RMS level
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "loudnorm=I=-23:LRA=7:TP=-2" \
  output.mp3

ffmpeg-normalize Tool

The ffmpeg-normalize Python utility provides an easier interface:

# Install
pip install ffmpeg-normalize

# Basic usage
ffmpeg-normalize input.mp3 -o output.mp3

# Custom target
ffmpeg-normalize input.mp3 -o output.mp3 -t -14

# Batch normalize (album mode - preserves relative loudness)
ffmpeg-normalize *.mp3 --batch -o normalized/

# Use built-in presets (v1.36.0+)
ffmpeg-normalize input.mp3 --preset podcast -o output.mp3
ffmpeg-normalize *.mp3 --preset music --batch -o normalized/

Audio Filters

Volume Control

# Increase volume by 50%
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "volume=1.5" output.mp3

# Increase by 6dB
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "volume=6dB" output.mp3

# Decrease by 3dB
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "volume=-3dB" output.mp3

Fade In/Out

# Fade in 3 seconds, fade out last 3 seconds
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "afade=t=in:ss=0:d=3,afade=t=out:st=57:d=3" \
  output.mp3

# Calculate fade out start automatically
duration=$(ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp3)
fadeout_start=$(echo "$duration - 3" | bc)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "afade=t=in:ss=0:d=3,afade=t=out:st=${fadeout_start}:d=3" \
  output.mp3

Equalization

# Bass boost
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "equalizer=f=100:width_type=o:width=2:g=5" \
  output.mp3

# Treble reduction
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "equalizer=f=8000:width_type=o:width=2:g=-3" \
  output.mp3

# Multi-band EQ
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "equalizer=f=100:width_type=o:width=2:g=3,equalizer=f=1000:width_type=o:width=2:g=-2,equalizer=f=8000:width_type=o:width=2:g=2" \
  output.mp3

High-Pass / Low-Pass Filters

# High-pass filter (remove below 80Hz)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "highpass=f=80" output.mp3

# Low-pass filter (remove above 8kHz)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "lowpass=f=8000" output.mp3

# Band-pass filter
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "highpass=f=80,lowpass=f=12000" output.mp3

Noise Reduction

# FFT-based noise reduction
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "afftdn=nf=-25" \
  output.mp3

# With noise floor adjustment
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "afftdn=nf=-20:tn=1" \
  output.mp3

Compressor / Limiter

# Dynamic range compression
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "acompressor=threshold=-20dB:ratio=4:attack=5:release=50" \
  output.mp3

# Limiter
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "alimiter=limit=0.9:attack=5:release=50" \
  output.mp3

# De-esser
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "deesser=i=0.4:f=4000:w=0.5" \
  output.mp3

Silence Detection/Removal

# Detect silence
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af silencedetect=noise=-30dB:d=0.5 \
  -f null -

# Remove silence
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "silenceremove=start_periods=1:start_silence=0.5:start_threshold=-50dB:stop_periods=1:stop_silence=0.5:stop_threshold=-50dB" \
  output.mp3

Channel Operations

Stereo to Mono

# Average both channels
ffmpeg -i stereo.mp3 \
  -af "pan=mono|c0=0.5*c0+0.5*c1" \
  mono.mp3

# Use only left channel
ffmpeg -i stereo.mp3 -af "pan=mono|c0=c0" mono.mp3

# Downmix stereo to mono
ffmpeg -i stereo.mp3 -ac 1 mono.mp3

Mono to Stereo

# Duplicate mono to both channels
ffmpeg -i mono.mp3 -af "pan=stereo|c0=c0|c1=c0" stereo.mp3

# Simple conversion
ffmpeg -i mono.mp3 -ac 2 stereo.mp3

Extract Specific Channels

# Extract left channel
ffmpeg -i stereo.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "[0:a]channelsplit=channel_layout=stereo:channels=FL[left]" \
  -map "[left]" left.mp3

# Extract right channel
ffmpeg -i stereo.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "[0:a]channelsplit=channel_layout=stereo:channels=FR[right]" \
  -map "[right]" right.mp3

5.1 Surround Operations

# Downmix 5.1 to stereo
ffmpeg -i surround.ac3 \
  -af "pan=stereo|FL=0.5*FC+0.707*FL+0.707*BL+0.5*LFE|FR=0.5*FC+0.707*FR+0.707*BR+0.5*LFE" \
  stereo.mp3

# Extract center channel
ffmpeg -i surround.ac3 \
  -filter_complex "[0:a]channelsplit=channel_layout=5.1:channels=FC[center]" \
  -map "[center]" center.mp3

Sample Rate & Bit Depth

Sample Rate Conversion

# Convert to 44.1kHz
ffmpeg -i input.wav -ar 44100 output.wav

# Convert to 48kHz
ffmpeg -i input.wav -ar 48000 output.wav

# High-quality resampling
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -af "aresample=resampler=soxr:precision=33:cheby=1" \
  -ar 44100 output.wav

Bit Depth Conversion

# Convert to 16-bit
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a pcm_s16le output.wav

# Convert to 24-bit
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a pcm_s24le output.wav

# Convert to 32-bit float
ffmpeg -i input.wav -c:a pcm_f32le output.wav

Speed & Pitch

Speed Change (Affects Pitch)

# 2x speed (chipmunk effect)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "atempo=2.0" output.mp3

# 0.5x speed (slow motion)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "atempo=0.5" output.mp3

# For >2x, chain filters
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "atempo=2.0,atempo=2.0" output.mp3  # 4x

Pitch Change (Preserves Speed)

# Pitch shift using rubberband
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "rubberband=pitch=1.5" \
  output.mp3

# Pitch shift semitones
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af "asetrate=44100*2^(2/12),aresample=44100" \
  output.mp3  # +2 semitones

Trimming & Concatenation

Trim Audio

# Extract 30 seconds starting at 1 minute
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:00 -i input.mp3 -t 00:00:30 -c copy output.mp3

# Extract from 1:00 to 2:30
ffmpeg -ss 00:01:00 -to 00:02:30 -i input.mp3 -c copy output.mp3

Concatenate Audio

# Create file list
echo "file 'part1.mp3'" > list.txt
echo "file 'part2.mp3'" >> list.txt

# Concatenate (same format)
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c copy output.mp3

# Concatenate with re-encode
ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c:a aac -b:a 256k output.m4a

Crossfade

# Crossfade two files (3 second overlap)
ffmpeg -i part1.mp3 -i part2.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "acrossfade=d=3:c1=tri:c2=tri" \
  output.mp3

Professional Workflows & Troubleshooting

For complete processing chains (podcast, music mastering, broadcast EBU R128) and fixes for common post-processing issues (loudnorm resample artifact, A/V sync, re-encoding quality loss), see references/workflows-and-troubleshooting.md.

Audio Analysis & Measurement

For detailed audio analysis and measurement filters, see references/audio-analysis-measurement.md. Covers:

• astats — RMS, peak, crest factor, DC offset, bit depth, dynamic range
• ebur128 — EBU R128 / ITU-R BS.1770 integrated loudness, LRA, true-peak, with optional video meter output
• speechnorm — adaptive normalizer tuned for speech / podcasts
• dialoguenhance (FFmpeg 8.0+) — voice-band boost for poor recordings
• sofalizer — HRTF / binaural processing from SOFA files
• volumedetect — mean and peak volume detection
• aweighting — A-weighting curve for perceived loudness
• chromaprint — audio fingerprinting (raw and base64)
• Complete analysis workflow — audio-analysis.sh aggregating astats + ebur128 + volumedetect + silencedetect

<!-- LEGACY_REMOVED: detailed astats / ebur128 / speechnorm / dialoguenhance / sofalizer / volumedetect / aweighting / chromaprint / workflow content moved to references/audio-analysis-measurement.md -->

This guide covers FFmpeg audio processing. For video operations, see the fundamentals skill. For noise reduction details, see ffmpeg-noise-reduction.

Audio Analysis & Measurement

Detailed reference for FFmpeg audio measurement filters: astats, ebur128, speechnorm, dialoguenhance, sofalizer, volumedetect, A-weighting, chromaprint, and a complete analysis workflow.

Audio Statistics (astats)

Measure comprehensive audio statistics including RMS, peak levels, crest factor, bit depth, and DC offset.

# Full audio statistics
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "astats=metadata=1:reset=1" -f null -

# Output includes:
# - RMS level and peak level
# - Crest factor
# - Dynamic range
# - DC offset
# - Min/Max sample values
# - Number of samples

# Per-channel statistics
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "astats=metadata=1:reset=1:measure_perchannel=all" -f null -

# Measure specific metrics
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "astats=measure_overall=RMS_level+Peak_level:reset=1" -f null -

astats Metrics:

EBU R128 Loudness Measurement (ebur128)

Comprehensive loudness measurement per EBU R128 / ITU-R BS.1770 standards.

# Basic loudness measurement
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "ebur128=peak=true" -f null -

# Output includes:
# - Momentary loudness (M)
# - Short-term loudness (S)
# - Integrated loudness (I)
# - Loudness Range (LRA)
# - True Peak (dBTP)

# Frame-by-frame measurement
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "ebur128=framelog=verbose:peak=true" -f null - 2>&1 | grep Summary

# Generate loudness graph (PNG)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "ebur128=video=1:meter=18:gauge=1[v];[v]scale=1280:720[out]" \
  -map "[out]" \
  -frames:v 1 \
  loudness_graph.png

# Create loudness monitoring video
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -filter_complex "ebur128=video=1:meter=18:gauge=1:scale=absolute[v]" \
  -map "[v]" -map 0:a \
  -c:a copy \
  loudness_monitor.mp4

# Measure with dual mono (speech)
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "ebur128=dualmono=1:peak=true" -f null -

ebur128 Parameters:

Speech Normalization (speechnorm)

Specialized normalizer for speech content that adapts to dynamic speech patterns.

# Basic speech normalization
ffmpeg -i speech.mp3 -af "speechnorm" output.mp3

# Speech normalization with custom parameters
ffmpeg -i speech.mp3 \
  -af "speechnorm=p=0.95:m=10:r=0.0005:l=1" \
  output.mp3

# Aggressive speech normalization
ffmpeg -i speech.mp3 \
  -af "speechnorm=p=0.9:e=15:r=0.001:l=1" \
  output.mp3

# Podcast processing with speech normalization
ffmpeg -i podcast.wav \
  -af "highpass=f=80,speechnorm=p=0.95:e=12.5:r=0.0005,loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5" \
  -c:a aac -b:a 96k \
  podcast.m4a

speechnorm Parameters:

Dialogue Enhancement (dialoguenhance) - FFmpeg 8.0+

Enhance dialogue clarity by separating and boosting voice frequencies.

# Basic dialogue enhancement
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -af "dialoguenhance" -c:v copy output.mp4

# Custom dialogue enhancement
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -af "dialoguenhance=original=0.3:enhance=0.7:voice=0.8" \
  -c:v copy output.mp4

# Heavy enhancement for poor recordings
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -af "dialoguenhance=original=0.2:enhance=0.9" \
  -c:v copy output.mp4

dialoguenhance Parameters:

3D Audio / Binaural (sofalizer)

Apply HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) for 3D audio and binaural processing using SOFA files.

# Basic binaural conversion (requires SOFA file)
ffmpeg -i surround.ac3 \
  -af "sofalizer=sofa=/path/to/hrtf.sofa" \
  binaural.mp3

# With custom gain and rotation
ffmpeg -i surround.ac3 \
  -af "sofalizer=sofa=/path/to/hrtf.sofa:gain=0:rotation=0" \
  binaural.mp3

# Binaural conversion with elevation
ffmpeg -i surround.ac3 \
  -af "sofalizer=sofa=/path/to/hrtf.sofa:elevation=0:radius=1" \
  binaural.mp3

SOFA Files:

• Download HRTF databases from: https://sofacoustics.org/data/database/
• Common formats: CIPIC, MIT KEMAR, LISTEN databases

sofalizer Parameters:

Volume Detection

# Detect volume levels
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "volumedetect" -f null -

# Output includes:
# - mean_volume (average)
# - max_volume (peak)
# - histogram data

A-Weighting (aweighting)

Apply A-weighting curve for perceived loudness measurement.

# Apply A-weighting filter
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "aweighting" output_aweighted.wav

# Measure A-weighted levels
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -af "aweighting,astats=measure_overall=RMS_level" -f null -

Audio Fingerprinting (chromaprint)

Generate audio fingerprints for identification.

# Generate chromaprint fingerprint
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -f chromaprint -fp_format raw fingerprint.txt

# Generate Base64 fingerprint
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -f chromaprint -fp_format base64 - 2>&1 | grep FINGERPRINT

Complete Analysis Workflow

#!/bin/bash
# audio-analysis.sh - Complete audio analysis

INPUT="$1"

echo "=== Audio Analysis Report ==="
echo "File: $INPUT"
echo ""

echo "--- Basic Statistics ---"
ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" -af "astats=measure_overall=all" -f null - 2>&1 | grep -A 50 "Parsed_astats"

echo ""
echo "--- Loudness (EBU R128) ---"
ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" -af "ebur128=peak=true" -f null - 2>&1 | grep -E "(Summary|I:|LRA:|Peak:)"

echo ""
echo "--- Volume Detection ---"
ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" -af "volumedetect" -f null - 2>&1 | grep -E "(mean_volume|max_volume)"

echo ""
echo "--- Silence Detection ---"
ffmpeg -i "$INPUT" -af "silencedetect=noise=-50dB:d=0.5" -f null - 2>&1 | grep silence

Professional Workflows & Troubleshooting

Self-contained processing chains for common production scenarios, plus quick fixes for typical post-processing issues.

Professional Workflows

Podcast Processing

# Complete podcast processing chain
ffmpeg -i raw_podcast.wav \
  -af "highpass=f=80,\
       acompressor=threshold=-20dB:ratio=4:attack=5:release=50,\
       loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11,\
       silenceremove=start_periods=1:start_silence=1:start_threshold=-50dB" \
  -c:a aac -b:a 96k \
  podcast.m4a

Music Mastering Chain

# Mastering chain
ffmpeg -i mix.wav \
  -af "equalizer=f=60:width_type=o:width=1:g=1,\
       equalizer=f=12000:width_type=o:width=1:g=0.5,\
       acompressor=threshold=-12dB:ratio=2:attack=20:release=200,\
       alimiter=limit=0.95,\
       loudnorm=I=-14:TP=-1:LRA=9" \
  -c:a flac \
  master.flac

Broadcast Normalization

# EBU R128 broadcast compliance
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -af "loudnorm=I=-23:TP=-1:LRA=11:dual_mono=true" \
  -ar 48000 \
  -c:a pcm_s24le \
  broadcast.wav

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"loudnorm resamples to 192kHz"

# Force output sample rate
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -af loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11 \
  -ar 48000 \
  output.mp3

Audio/video sync after processing

# Maintain sync with video
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 \
  -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11,aresample=async=1" \
  -c:v copy \
  output.mp4

Quality loss from re-encoding

• Use lossless intermediate format (FLAC, WAV)
• Avoid multiple lossy conversions
• Use high bitrates for final lossy encode