Installing FFMPEG

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Installing FFMPEG
FFmpeg allows you import/export additional audio file formats into/from Audacity
Due to patent restrictions, FFMPEG cannot be distributed with Audacity itself. However, FFMPEG is required to import and export a variety of audio formats, including M4A and WMA.
Note: In previous versions of Audacity, LAME was required to export MP3 files. It is now included with Audacity by default on Windows and macOS. Make sure you are using the latest version of Audacity if you're getting any LAME errors. 
You can download and install FFMPEG as follows:
Windows
macOS
Linux
Recommended installer
1.Download the FFmpeg installer from a third party site, for example https://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl​
For Audacity 3.2.0 download the FFmpeg_for_Audacity_3.2_on_Windows.zip file.
The ZIP file contains both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the FFmpeg installer.  Use the x86_64.exe installer for 64-bit versions of Audacity or if you are using the 32-bit version of Audacity, choose the x86.exe installer.
For previous versions like Audacity 3.1.x download the installer FFmpeg v2.2.2 INSTALLER (.EXE) from https://lame.buanzo.org/ffmpeg64audacity.php. If you are using a 32-bit version of Audacity 3.1.x download the installer ffmpeg-win-2.2.2.exe from https://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl​
2.Extract and run the installer (for example, FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86_64.exe). You can ignore the "unknown publisher" warning.
3.Read and accept the license
4.Select the location to install FFMPEG. By default FFMPEG will be installed into C:\Program Files\FFmpeg for Audacity
5.Finish the installation
6.Restart Audacity
Audacity should now automatically detect FFMPEG and allow you to use it. 
Other FFMPEG builds
If you prefer a manual installation of FFMPEG you can download a ZIP file from a different source:
​https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases 
​https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/#release-builds​
Or by compiling it from source as described here: https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/CompilationGuide 
Note: 
Audacity 3.1 and later supports avformat-55.dll, avformat-57.dll and avformat-58.dll. Audacity 3.2 and later supports also avformat-59.dll. You can check which dll is in which FFMPEG release here. 
Make sure you download full FFMPEG copies, not just the avformat-*.dll's individually. Further, make sure to download or build the shared versions as only those contain .dll's. 
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Manual installation
Video guide
If you have installed FFMPEG from a different source, or installed it in a different location, you'll need to tell Audacity where to find it. To do this: 
1.Go to Edit > Preferences > Libraries
2.Click on the Locate... button. 
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3.If the following message appears, Audacity has automatically identified FFMPEG:
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You can click No as Audacity already knows where to find FFMPEG. 
If this message does not appear, proceed with the next steps.
4.In this dialog window, click Browse... to locate the avformat-*.dll from the FFMPEG folder you downloaded/installed elsewhere 
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5.Once you've found it, click Open, then OK, then OK again to close the preferences. 
Caution: If you're using an Apple Silicon ("M1", "M2") system, make sure that your FFMPEG and Audacity architectures match: 
arm64 (Apple Silicon) Audacity needs arm64 FFMPEG, 
x86_64 (intel, also known as x64 and amd64) Audacity needs x86_64 FFMPEG. 
Recommended installer
This is a universal binary installer. It automatically matches your system architecture.
1.Download FFMPEG (FFmpeg_for_Audacity_3.2_on_macOS.pkg) from  https://lame.buanzo.org/#lameosx64bitdl 
2.When you have finished downloading, double-click the "FFmpeg_for_Audacity_3.2_on_macOS.pkg" in your Downloads folder.
3.You will be guided through the installation
4.Click through the steps in the installer. This will install the ffmpeg.59.64bit.dylib file in the system library at /Library/Application Support/audacity/libs/.
On some Macs the process may look as though it has stalled on "Validating packages" - just be patient and wait for it to complete.
5.Restart Audacity if it was running when you installed FFmpeg then Audacity should detect FFmpeg automatically.
If you have problems with Audacity detecting FFmpeg, follow the steps below to manually locate FFmpeg.
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Homebrew
One way to install an FFMPEG version that matches your system architecture is using homebrew. To install homebrew, you first need xcode. You can install it through the Terminal.app by typing in: 
xcode-select --install
When XCode is installed, the following command downloads and runs the homebrew installer:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
And once you have Homebrew, the following command installs FFMPEG:
brew install ffmpeg
Audacity should now automatically detect the installation after a restart. If not, follow the steps of a manual installation.
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Compiling other versions
You can download or compile FFMPEG yourself as described here: https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/CompilationGuide/macOS 
Note: 
Audacity 3.1 and later supports avformat 55, 57 and 58. Audacity 3.2 and later supports also avformat 59. On mac, the avformat files usually are called ffmpeg.5*.64bit.dylib
Make sure to download or build the shared versions (with .dylib's) as only those can be used by Audacity. 
Manual installation
If you have installed FFMPEG from a different source, or installed it in a different location, you'll need to tell Audacity where to find it. To do this: 
1.Go to Audacity > Preferences > Libraries
2.Click on the Locate... button. 
3.If a "Success" message appears, Audacity has successfully found FFMPEG. 
You can click No as Audacity already knows where to find FFMPEG. 
If this message does not appear, proceed with the next steps.
4.In the "Locate FFMPEG" dialog, click Browse... to locate the avformat-*.dylib from the FFMPEG folder you downloaded/installed elsewhere.
5.Once you've found it, click Open, then OK and OK again to close the preferences. 
On Linux, you generally can install FFMPEG as well as LAME through the package manager. You can use the following command in your Terminal/Console to install it:
Debian, Ubuntu, Pop_OS!, Mint
sudo apt install ffmpeg lame
Fedora, Redhat, CentOS
First install the RPM Fusion repository and check for updates, then 
sudo dnf install ffmpeg lame
Arch, Manjaro
sudo pacman -Syu ffmpeg lame
Once you have installed FFMPEG and LAME, restart Audacity. It will automatically try to detect them. 
Caution: Audacity supports FFMPEG's libavformat in version 55 (all Audacity versions), 57 and 58 (Audacity 3.1+) and 59 (Audacity 3.2+). If your distribution ships with a different version, it may not get detected, or may not work correctly. In that case, you may need to uninstall FFMPEG again and make a shared build of a supported version from source. 
Manual installation
If your FFMPEG or LAME installation didn't get detected, you'll need to tell Audacity where to find it. To do this: 
1.Go to Edit > Preferences > Libraries
2.Click on the Locate... button of the relevant library. 
3.If a "Success" message appears, Audacity has successfully found the library. 
You can click No as Audacity already knows where to find the library. 
If this message does not appear, proceed with the next steps.
4.In case of FFMPEG:
In the "Locate FFMPEG" dialog, click Browse... to locate the libavformat.so.* from the FFMPEG folder you downloaded/installed elsewhere.
In case of LAME:
In the "Locate LAME" dialog, click Browse... to locate the libmp3lame.so that you downloaded/installed elsewhere.
5.Once you've found it, click Open, then OK and OK again to close the preferences. 
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