How to install FFmpeg on macOS

This post explains how to install FFmpeg on macOS.

Homebrew

Install FFmpeg with Homebrew:

brew install ffmpeg

Download the latest static FFmpeg binary for macOS Intel:

curl -sS https://evermeet.cx/ffmpeg/info | jq -r '.[0].download.zip.url' | xargs -I{} curl -L '{}' -o ffmpeg.zip

This is an Intel binary. Apple silicon Macs can run it with Rosetta 2, but for native performance, use an Apple-silicon-compatible build.

Extract the binary:

unzip ffmpeg.zip

Check the binary’s permissions:

ls -l ffmpeg

If it isn’t executable (doesn’t have the x), then change the mode:

chmod +x ffmpeg

Move the binary to /usr/local/bin/ or /usr/bin/:

sudo mv ffmpeg /usr/local/bin/

Verify that it’s working:

ffmpeg -version