FFmpeg C++ CMake Template

A practical starter to build C++ applications with FFmpeg using CMake.

Why this exists

Linking FFmpeg correctly (headers, libraries, and link order) can be tricky across platforms and toolchains (I am saying this from experience). This template shows a straightforward CMake setup and a tiny example so you can focus on writing your media code, not your build system.

Prerequisites

• nasm (install on Ubuntu with sudo apt-get install nasm)
• CMake
• a build system (like make or ninja)
• a c and c++ compiler

Start

Run the following commands to build the example program and run it on the video file:

git clone https://github.com/agokule/ffmpeg-template.git --recurse-submodules
cd ffmpeg-template
cmake --preset=vcpkg
cmake --build build
./build/HelloWorld test.mp4

Note: on Windows, vcpkg might try to build ffmpeg with a different compiler, if that is the case, you might need to add -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-mingw-dynamic or x64-mingw-static or x64-windows to the cmake --preset=vcpkg command

If it compiled successfully, you should see the following message:

=== File Information ===
Filename: test.mp4
Format: QuickTime / MOV
Duration: 30 seconds
Bitrate: 2018246 bps
Number of streams: 1

=== Stream 0 ===
Type: Video
Codec: H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10
Resolution: 1280x720
Pixel Format: yuv420p
Bitrate: 2015361 bps
Frame Rate: 25 fps

Contributing

Issues and PRs to improve the starter are welcome, especially fixes for platform quirks and better discovery of FFmpeg on different systems.

Acknowledgments

• The FFmpeg project and community: https://ffmpeg.org
• Everyone who has shared examples and best practices for CMake + FFmpeg

---

Again, this repo exists purely to help people start developing with FFmpeg. Feel free to copy it, tweak it, and build something awesome!