ffprobe() runs the FFprobe program with the arguments in command and
returns its output. FFprobe reads information about media files.
Value
A character vector with the text that FFprobe writes to standard
output, one element for each line. Messages on standard error, such as
FFprobe's banner and errors, are not returned. On macOS and Linux, a
shell redirect such as 2>&1 in command returns them too.
Details
ffprobe() is a direct command. The package passes command to FFprobe
exactly as you wrote it, so you must add any quotes that it needs. To get
tibbles instead, use probe_all() and the other probe_*() functions. These
functions quote their arguments for you.
If tidymedia cannot find FFprobe, the call stops with the error "Could not locate FFprobe." The warning from find_ffprobe() comes first. A bad argument or a bad tidymedia.timeout option stops the call before the search.
See also
probe_all() and the other probe_*() functions, which return
tibbles.
Other direct command functions:
ffmpeg(),
mediainfo()
Examples
ffprobe("-version")
#> [1] "ffprobe version 8.0.1-3ubuntu2 Copyright (c) 2007-2025 the FFmpeg developers"
#> [2] "built with gcc 15 (Ubuntu 15.2.0-13ubuntu3)"
#> [3] "configuration: --prefix=/usr --extra-version=3ubuntu2 --toolchain=hardened --libdir=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu --incdir=/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu --arch=amd64 --enable-gpl --disable-stripping --disable-pocketsphinx --disable-libcaca --disable-libmfx --disable-omx --enable-gnutls --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbs2b --enable-libcdio --enable-libcodec2 --enable-libdav1d --enable-libflite --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libglslang --enable-libgme --enable-libgsm --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-openal --enable-opencl --enable-opengl --disable-sndio --enable-libvpl --enable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --enable-libiec61883 --enable-chromaprint --enable-frei0r --enable-ladspa --enable-libbluray --enable-libdvdnav --enable-libdvdread --enable-libjack --enable-libjxl --enable-libpulse --enable-librabbitmq --enable-librist --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libx264 --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-lv2 --enable-sdl2 --enable-libplacebo --enable-librav1e --enable-librsvg --enable-shared"
#> [4] "libavutil 60. 8.100 / 60. 8.100"
#> [5] "libavcodec 62. 11.100 / 62. 11.100"
#> [6] "libavformat 62. 3.100 / 62. 3.100"
#> [7] "libavdevice 62. 1.100 / 62. 1.100"
#> [8] "libavfilter 11. 4.100 / 11. 4.100"
#> [9] "libswscale 9. 1.100 / 9. 1.100"
#> [10] "libswresample 6. 1.100 / 6. 1.100"