2026-07-035 min readffmpeg m3u8 flags, ffmpeg hls options, ffmpeg m3u8 parameters
FFmpeg M3U8 Flags: Complete Options Reference
Complete reference of FFmpeg flags for M3U8/HLS operations. Every option explained for downloading, converting, and troubleshooting streams.
Input Options for M3U8
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|---|
-i url.m3u8 | Input M3U8 playlist URL |
-protocol_whitelist | Allow HTTP/HTTPS protocols (add if you get "protocol not found") |
-allowed_extensions ALL | Allow .m3u8 extension (needed for some streams) |
-headers | Add custom HTTP headers (for authentication) |
-user_agent | Set custom User-Agent string |
Output Options
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|---|
-c copy | Stream copy (no re-encoding, fastest, lossless) |
-c:v libx264 | Re-encode video to H.264 |
-c:a aac | Re-encode audio to AAC |
-crf N | Quality (0-51, lower = better, 18-28 typical) |
-preset | Encoding speed (ultrafast, fast, medium, slow, veryslow) |
-t N | Duration limit in seconds (for live streams) |
-ss N | Start time offset in seconds |
-bsf:a aac_adtstoasc | Fix AAC bitstream for MP4 container |
Stream Selection Options
-map 0:v:0— Select first video stream (usually highest quality)-map 0:a:0— Select first audio stream-vn— Disable video (audio-only extraction)-an— Disable audio (video-only)-sn— Disable subtitles
Troubleshooting Flags
-v debugor-loglevel debug— Maximum logging detail for debugging-stats— Show encoding progress (enabled by default)-progress url— Send progress updates to a URL-y— Overwrite output file without asking-n— Never overwrite output file
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