Command Chaining

Run multiple FFmpeg commands sequentially on the same machine. This is efficient for multi-step pipelines as intermediate files stay local.

When to Use This

Use command chaining when a later command needs a file made by an earlier command.

Common uses:

• Create an intermediate encode, then package it.
• Extract frames, then encode a preview.
• Make many outputs from one downloaded input.

Example

{
  "input_files": { "raw.mov": "https://example.com/large.mov" },
  "output_files": ["final.mp4"],
  "ffmpeg_commands": [
    "-i inputs/raw.mov -vf scale=1920:1080 temp.mp4",
    "-i temp.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 23 outputs/final.mp4"
  ]
}

Each command in the ffmpeg_commands array runs in order. Files produced by an earlier command, like temp.mp4, can be referenced by later commands.

Intermediate files can be written anywhere in the workspace. Only files written to outputs are uploaded.

Output Files

Only list files you want returned in output_files.

Intermediate files can be used in later commands without being listed as outputs.

{
  "output_files": ["final.mp4"],
  "ffmpeg_commands": [
    "-i inputs/raw.mov -vf scale=1920:1080 temp.mp4",
    "-i temp.mp4 -c:v libx264 outputs/final.mp4"
  ]
}

Notes

• Commands stop at the first failure.
• All commands run on the same worker.
• Intermediate files are not uploaded unless they are listed in output_files.