Video Tools CLI

A simple command-line utility for video conversion and merging using FFmpeg.
Designed for personal use and sharing with friends.
Works on both Linux and Windows (via Git Bash or WSL).

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Overview

This tool provides two main commands:

Command	Description
convert-single	Converts a single video file to MP4 using modern compression.
convert-multiple	Combines multiple video files into one high-quality MP4.

All output files are saved in your ~/Videos directory by default.

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Requirements

Linux

Install FFmpeg with your package manager:

sudo pacman -S ffmpeg      # For Arch or Garuda
sudo apt install ffmpeg    # For Debian or Ubuntu

Windows

1. Install FFmpeg from https://ffmpeg.org/download.html
2. Use Git Bash or WSL to run the script.

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Installation

1. Clone or copy the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/YourName/VideoTools.git
   cd VideoTools
   

2. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x video-tools.sh
   

3. (Optional) Add it to PATH:

   sudo ln -s ~/VideoTools/video-tools.sh /usr/local/bin/video-tools
   

You can now run it globally:

video-tools convert-single "input.avi" "output.mp4"

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Default Settings

Setting	Value	Description
Output directory	~/Videos	All results are stored here
Video codec	libx264	High-quality H.264 encoding
Audio codec	aac	High-quality AAC stereo audio
Quality (CRF)	18	Visually lossless quality
Preset	slow	Balances speed and compression
Audio bitrate	192k	High-quality stereo output

These defaults prioritize quality while still reducing file sizes compared to older formats such as AVI or MPG.

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Example Conversions

Convert a single AVI file

video-tools convert-single \
"/run/media/stu/Linux/MyData/Videos/Example Collection/Example Movie Part1.avi" \
"Example Movie.mp4"

Output:

/home/stu/Videos/Example Movie.mp4

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Combine multiple AVI parts into one MP4

video-tools convert-multiple \
"/run/media/stu/Linux/MyData/Videos/Example Collection/Example Movie Part1.avi" \
"/run/media/stu/Linux/MyData/Videos/Example Collection/Example Movie Part2.avi" \
"/run/media/stu/Linux/MyData/Videos/Example Collection/Example Movie Part3.avi" \
"Example Movie Combined.mp4"

Output:

/home/stu/Videos/Example Movie Combined.mp4

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
command not found	Script not in PATH	Use full path or add symlink to /usr/local/bin
ffmpeg not found	FFmpeg not installed	Install FFmpeg using your package manager
Permission denied	Script not executable	Run chmod +x video-tools.sh
Merge fails	Input files have mismatched codecs	Convert each input to MP4 first, then merge

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Roadmap

Feature	Status
convert-single	✅ Done
convert-multiple	✅ Done
upscale-video	🔜 Planned
batch conversion	🔜 Planned
automatic format detection	🔜 Planned

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License

Free for personal use.
You can modify or share this tool with anyone.