Quick Start

This guide shows the complete workflow: get an upload URL, upload a file, process with FFmpeg, and download results. Examples are provided for multiple HTTP clients.

1) Get an upload URL

curl -sS -X POST https://api.ffmpeg-api.com/file \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"file_name":"input.mp4"}'

Response includes file.file_path and an upload.url to PUT the file.

2) Upload the file

Assuming you stored upload.url in a variable called UPLOAD_URL, you can upload the file with:

curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" --data-binary @./input.mp4

3) Process with FFmpeg

Once the file is uploaded, you can process it with FFmpeg using the file_path you got in step 1.

curl -sS -X POST https://api.ffmpeg-api.com/ffmpeg/process \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"task":{"inputs":[{"file_path":"'$FILE_PATH'","options":[]}],"outputs":[{"file":"output.mp4","options":["-crf","23"]}]}}'

Success returns result[] with download_url, file_name, and size_bytes, plus usage stats.

4) Download your result

curl -o output.mp4 "<download_url>"

Common variations

• Multiple inputs: get an upload URL for each file, then pass multiple inputs with file_path.
• Filter graphs: set filter_complex and reference labeled outputs via maps.
• Reuse files: once uploaded, the same file_path can be used in many tasks.

Next: see File Management and Processing.