$ docker run -e FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_ADDRESS=192.168.1.100:5050 -e FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_AUTH_SECRET=your-secret -v ./ffmpeg-over-ip-client:/usr/bin/ffmpeg your-image

Updatedlast week

LanguageGo

Setup difficultyEasy

Stars: 1 196
Port: 5050 (TCP port the server daemon listens on for client command connections)

What is ffmpeg-over-ip?

ffmpeg-over-ip is an open-source client/server pair that lends a media server the transcoding power of a GPU it cannot reach locally. The daemon runs where the GPU lives and hosts a patched ffmpeg; on the app side you swap ffmpeg for the client binary, which forwards the command line across one TCP connection and shuttles data back and forth with the machine holding the real files, so nothing gets copied remotely and no passthrough or NFS/SMB share is required. Each release bundles patched ffmpeg and ffprobe from the jellyfin-ffmpeg build pipeline, with hardware encode support spanning NVENC, QSV, VAAPI, AMF and VideoToolbox. Access control works via a common secret plus HMAC-SHA256 command signatures; several clients may share one server, server-side rewrites can substitute codecs the hardware lacks, and the client can revert to a local ffmpeg whenever the server is unreachable. Operators deploy it with a one-line shell or PowerShell installer, by extracting a release archive, or by bind-mounting the client binary into a container, and configure it through a JSONC file or environment variables. It publishes no container images of its own, and its docs describe plain TCP with authentication rather than transport encryption.

Should you self-host ffmpeg-over-ip?

ffmpeg-over-ip scores 52/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #6 of 18 in Video Processing. It has 1 196 GitHub stars.

It shipped 6 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v6.0.0, came out on 19 October 2026. New versions land roughly every 4 weeks.

Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. It is Other-licensed and written mostly in Go.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Concat (82/100, 12 301 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See ffmpeg-over-ip vs Concat side by side.

Features

Codec argument rewrites
Configurable logging
Ffprobe proxy mode
Hardware-accelerated transcoding
HMAC-SHA256 Authentication
Idempotent install scripts
Local ffmpeg fallback
Multiple concurrent clients
Single-port network model
Tunable read-ahead and range cache
Tunneled file I/O
Unix domain socket transport

How to configure ffmpeg-over-ip

addressServer listen address (host:port or unix:/path), or the server address the client connects to
Server listen address (host:port or unix:/path), or the server address the client connects to
authSecretShared HMAC auth secret, required and identical on client and server
Shared HMAC auth secret, required and identical on client and server
--configCLI flag giving the server an explicit config file path (highest resolution priority)
CLI flag giving the server an explicit config file path (highest resolution priority)
debugfalseLog the original and rewritten arguments of each command
Log the original and rewritten arguments of each command
--debug-print-search-pathsCLI flag that prints the config file search paths probed on the system
CLI flag that prints the config file search paths probed on the system
fallbackRewritesRewrite pairs applied only when the local ffmpeg fallback runs
Rewrite pairs applied only when the local ffmpeg fallback runs
fallbackToLocalfalseClient option to exec the host's local ffmpeg when the server cannot be reached
Client option to exec the host's local ffmpeg when the server cannot be reached
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_ADDRESSServer address (`host:port` or `unix:/path`)
Server address (`host:port` or `unix:/path`)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_AUTH_SECRETHMAC auth secret (must match server)
HMAC auth secret (must match server)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_CONFIGPath to a client config file, taking precedence over individual env vars
Path to a client config file, taking precedence over individual env vars
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_DEBUGLog original/rewritten args when fallback runs (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
Log original/rewritten args when fallback runs (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_FALLBACK_TO_LOCALRun local ffmpeg if the server is unreachable (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
Run local ffmpeg if the server is unreachable (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_CLIENT_LOGLog destination: `stdout`, `stderr`, or file path
Log destination: `stdout`, `stderr`, or file path
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_SERVER_ADDRESSListen address (`host:port` or `unix:/path`)
Listen address (`host:port` or `unix:/path`)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_SERVER_AUTH_SECRETHMAC auth secret (must match client)
HMAC auth secret (must match client)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_SERVER_CONFIGPath to a server config file, taking precedence over individual env vars
Path to a server config file, taking precedence over individual env vars
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_SERVER_DEBUGLog original/rewritten args (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
Log original/rewritten args (`true`, `1`, `yes`, `y` — case-insensitive)
FFMPEG_OVER_IP_SERVER_LOGLog destination: `stdout`, `stderr`, or file path
Log destination: `stdout`, `stderr`, or file path
FFOIP_RANGE_CACHE_BYTES268435456 (256 MiB)Maximum bytes of previously-read ranges cached per open file, so backward seeks and re-reads are served without a round trip. Only applies to read-only files of 256 MiB or smaller. Set to `0` to disable the range cache.
Maximum bytes of previously-read ranges cached per open file, so backward seeks and re-reads are served without a round trip. Only applies to read-only files of 256 MiB or smaller. Set to `0` to disable the range cache.
FFOIP_READAHEAD_BYTES2097152 (2 MiB)Maximum read-ahead window per open file. The window starts small and grows toward this value on sustained sequential reads. Values above 16 MiB are clamped. Set to `0` to disable read-ahead and prefetch entirely (one network read per ffmpeg read).
Maximum read-ahead window per open file. The window starts small and grows toward this value on sustained sequential reads. Values above 16 MiB are clamped. Set to `0` to disable read-ahead and prefetch entirely (one network read per ffmpeg read).
logfalseLog destination: stdout, stderr, a file path, or false/omitted to disable logging
Log destination: stdout, stderr, a file path, or false/omitted to disable logging
rewritesServer-side argv substitution pairs (find, replace) applied before running ffmpeg
Server-side argv substitution pairs (find, replace) applied before running ffmpeg