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What is FFHub

FFHub is a cloud-based FFmpeg API service that lets you run FFmpeg commands via simple REST API without managing server infrastructure.

FFHub·2025-01-27
What is FFHub

FFHub is a cloud-based FFmpeg API service that allows developers to process videos without managing server infrastructure. No server setup, no dependencies - just send your command and get results.

The Problem

FFmpeg is an incredibly powerful tool, but running it on your own server comes with challenges:

  • CPU Intensive: FFmpeg can consume 100% of your server's CPU, causing your web app to crash or become unresponsive
  • Server Management: You need to install, configure, and maintain FFmpeg on your servers
  • Scaling Issues: Handling multiple concurrent video processing jobs requires complex infrastructure
  • Version Updates: Keeping FFmpeg updated to access new codecs and features is time-consuming

The Solution

FFHub solves these problems by providing FFmpeg as a cloud service:

FeatureDescription
Native FFmpeg syntaxSame commands, same parameters — you write them the way you write them locally
Always LatestWe keep FFmpeg updated to the latest stable version
Auto-ScalingContainers start on demand — no worker pool or queue to size
Pay Per SecondOnly pay for actual processing time, down to the second

How It Works

Using FFHub is simple - just send your FFmpeg command via REST API:

curl -X POST https://api.ffhub.io/v1/tasks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "command": "ffmpeg -i https://example.com/input.mp4 -c:v libx264 output.mp4"
  }'

The API returns a task ID that you can use to check the status and download the result:

curl https://api.ffhub.io/v1/tasks/TASK_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

What You Can Do

FFHub covers the FFmpeg work products actually need:

  • Format Conversion: MP4, WebM, AVI, MOV, MKV
  • Video Compression: H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP9, AV1 encoding
  • Resolution Scaling: Resize to 4K, 1080p, 720p, or custom sizes
  • Audio Processing: Extract, convert, adjust volume, add tracks
  • Watermark & Overlay: Add logos, text, timestamps
  • Trim & Merge: Cut segments, concatenate videos

Two things differ from your local terminal: output names must be plain filenames with no directory (so HLS/DASH segment trees are out), and shell operators, pipes, and filters that read local files are rejected.

Why Choose FFHub

  • Protect Your Servers: Offload CPU-intensive processing to the cloud
  • Predictable Execution: Every task runs in its own isolated container, and failed tasks are refunded automatically
  • Simple Integration: A plain REST API, plus a CLI and an n8n community node — no SDK to learn
  • Cost Effective: No idle server costs, pay only for what you use

Getting Started

  1. Sign up at ffhub.io
  2. Get your API key from the dashboard
  3. Start processing videos with the Playground or API

Check out our documentation for detailed guides and API reference.

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