ezff

A minimal Go wrapper for FFmpeg to simplify common video trimming tasks via the command line. Makes it easier to remember and execute basic cuts without typing full FFmpeg commands.

Features

• trim: Trim both the beginning and end of a video.
• trim-start: Trim the beginning of a video.
• trim-end: Trim the end of a video.
• trim-mid: Remove a middle section of a video.
• Automatically checks for FFmpeg installation.
• Generates output filenames if not specified (appends _trim and increments if needed).

Prerequisites

• FFmpeg installed and in your PATH.
• Go (version 1.21 or later) for building.

Installation

1. Download the binary from Releases
2. Move the binary to a directory in your PATH (e.g., /usr/local/bin)

Or build from source

1. Clone the repository: git clone git@github.com:jantcu/ezff.git
2. Run go install if your set up supports modules (see Go docs for details)

Or

1. Clone the repository: git clone git@github.com:jantcu/ezff.git
2. Build the binary: cd ezff && go build
3. Move the binary to a directory in your PATH (e.g., /usr/local/bin): sudo mv ezff /usr/local/bin/

Usage

ezff <command> [args]

Run ezff without arguments for a quick usage summary.

Commands

trim

Trims specified seconds from both the beginning and end of the video. Uses stream copying for speed and calculates the effective duration using ffprobe.

Syntax: ezff trim <input> <trim_start> <trim_end> [--output <output>]

• <input>: Path to input video file.
• <trim_start>: Float seconds to trim from the start.
• <trim_end>: Float seconds to trim from the end.
• --output (optional): Output file path. Defaults to <input>_trim.mp4 (or increments if already exists).

Example: (removes first 3 seconds and last 5 seconds)

ezff trim myvideo.mp4 3 5

Equivalent to: ffmpeg -ss 3 -i myvideo.mp4 -t <duration-8> -c copy myvideo_trim.mp4

trim-start

Trims the specified number of seconds from the start of the video. Uses stream copying for speed.

Syntax: ezff trim-start <input> <seconds> [--output <output>]

• <input>: Path to input video file.
• <seconds>: Float seconds to trim from the start.
• --output (optional): Same as above.

Example: (removes 2 seconds from start)

ezff trim-start myvideo.mp4 2 --output=mynewvideo.mp4

Equivalent to: ffmpeg -ss 2 -i myvideo.mp4 -c copy mynewvideo.mp4

trim-end

Trims the specified number of seconds from the end of the video. Calculates duration using ffprobe.

Syntax: ezff trim-end <input> <seconds> [--output <output>]

• <input>: Path to input video file.
• <seconds>: Float seconds to trim from the end.
• --output (optional): Same as above.

Example: (removes 3 seconds from end)

ezff trim-end myvid.mp4 3

Equivalent to: ffmpeg -i myvid.mp4 -c copy -t <duration-3> myvid_trim.mp4

trim-mid

Removes a section from the middle of the video (keeps start and end parts).

Syntax: ezff trim-mid <input> <start_cut> <end_cut> [--output <output>]

• <input>: Path to input video file.
• <start_cut>: Start time (seconds) of section to remove.
• <end_cut>: End time (seconds) of section to remove (must be > start_cut).
• --output (optional): Same as above.

Example: (removes section starting at 5 second mark and ending at 10 second mark)

ezff trim-mid input.mp4 5 10 --output=new.mp4

Equivalent to: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "select='not(between(t,5,10))',setpts=N/FRAME_RATE/TB" -af "aselect='not(between(t,5,10))',asetpts=N/SR/TB" new.mp4

Notes

• All commands require FFmpeg (and ffprobe for trim and trim-end). If not found, a warning is printed, and commands will fail.
• Output files are placed in the same directory as the input by default.
• Supports common video formats (MP4, etc.) via FFmpeg.
• Error handling: Invalid args or missing files will print to stderr and exit with code 1.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Feel free to open issues or PRs for bugs, new commands, or improvements. Keep it minimal!