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Detailed Options

File Input/Output

input

Input media file(s)

--input-list INPUT_LIST

Path to a text file containing a line-separated list of input files.

Example: ffmpeg-normalize --input-list input.txt

-o OUTPUT [OUTPUT ...], --output OUTPUT [OUTPUT ...]

Output file names.

Will be applied per input file.

If no output file name is specified for an input file, the output files will be written to the default output folder with the name <input>.<ext>, where <ext> is the output extension (see -ext option).

Example: ffmpeg-normalize 1.wav 2.wav -o 1n.wav 2n.wav

-of OUTPUT_FOLDER, --output-folder OUTPUT_FOLDER

Output folder (default: normalized)

This folder will be used for input files that have no explicit output name specified.

General

-f, --force

Force overwrite existing files

-d, --debug

Print debugging output

-v, --verbose

Print verbose output

-q, --quiet

Only print errors

-n, --dry-run

Do not run normalization, only print what would be done

-pr, --progress

Show progress bar for files and streams

--version

Print version and exit

Normalization

-nt {ebu,rms,peak}, --normalization-type {ebu,rms,peak}

Normalization type (default: ebu).

EBU normalization performs two passes and normalizes according to EBU R128.

RMS-based normalization brings the input file to the specified RMS level.

Peak normalization brings the signal to the specified peak level.

-t TARGET_LEVEL, --target-level TARGET_LEVEL

Normalization target level in dB/LUFS (default: -23).

For EBU normalization, it corresponds to Integrated Loudness Target in LUFS. The range is -70.0 - -5.0.

Otherwise, the range is -99 to 0.

-p, --print-stats

Print loudness statistics for both passes formatted as JSON to stdout.

--replaygain

Write ReplayGain tags to the original file without normalizing.

This mode will overwrite the input file and ignore other options.

Only works with EBU normalization, and only with .mp3, .mp4/.m4a, .ogg, .opus for now.

EBU R128 Normalization

-lrt LOUDNESS_RANGE_TARGET, --loudness-range-target LOUDNESS_RANGE_TARGET

EBU Loudness Range Target in LUFS (default: 7.0).

Range is 1.0 - 50.0.

--keep-loudness-range-target

Keep the input loudness range target to allow for linear normalization.

--keep-lra-above-loudness-range-target

Keep input loudness range above loudness range target.

Can be used as an alternative to --keep-loudness-range-target to allow for linear normalization.

-tp TRUE_PEAK, --true-peak TRUE_PEAK

EBU Maximum True Peak in dBTP (default: -2.0).

Range is -9.0 - +0.0.

--offset OFFSET

EBU Offset Gain (default: 0.0).

The gain is applied before the true-peak limiter in the first pass only. The offset for the second pass will be automatically determined based on the first pass statistics.

Range is -99.0 - +99.0.

--lower-only

Whether the audio should not increase in loudness.

If the measured loudness from the first pass is lower than the target loudness then normalization will be skipped for the audio source.

This option works with all normalization types:

  • For EBU normalization, this compares input integrated loudness to the target level.
  • For peak normalization, this compares the input peak level to the target level.
  • For RMS normalization, this compares the input RMS level to the target level.

--auto-lower-loudness-target

Automatically lower EBU Integrated Loudness Target.

Automatically lower EBU Integrated Loudness Target to prevent falling back to dynamic filtering.

Makes sure target loudness is lower than measured loudness minus peak loudness (input_i - input_tp) by a small amount.

--dual-mono

Treat mono input files as "dual-mono".

If a mono file is intended for playback on a stereo system, its EBU R128 measurement will be perceptually incorrect. If set, this option will compensate for this effect. Multi-channel input files are not affected by this option.

--dynamic

Force dynamic normalization mode.

Instead of applying linear EBU R128 normalization, choose a dynamic normalization. This uses a one-pass algorithm and skips the initial media scan.

Dynamic mode will automatically change the sample rate to 192 kHz. Use -ar/--sample-rate to specify a different output sample rate.

Audio Encoding

-c:a AUDIO_CODEC, --audio-codec AUDIO_CODEC

Audio codec to use for output files.

See ffmpeg -encoders for a list.

Will use PCM audio with input stream bit depth by default.

-b:a AUDIO_BITRATE, --audio-bitrate AUDIO_BITRATE

Audio bitrate in bits/s, or with K suffix.

If not specified, will use codec default.

-ar SAMPLE_RATE, --sample-rate SAMPLE_RATE

Audio sample rate to use for output files in Hz.

Will use input sample rate by default, except for EBU normalization, which will change the input sample rate to 192 kHz.

-ac, --audio-channels

Set the number of audio channels. If not specified, the input channel layout will be used. This is equivalent to -ac in ffmpeg.

-koa, --keep-original-audio

Copy original, non-normalized audio streams to output file

Audio Stream Selection

-as AUDIO_STREAMS, --audio-streams AUDIO_STREAMS

Select specific audio streams to normalize by stream index (comma-separated).

Example: -as 1 normalizes only stream 1, -as 1,2 normalizes streams 1 and 2.

If not specified, all audio streams will be normalized (default behavior).

--audio-default-only

Only normalize audio streams with the 'default' disposition flag.

This is useful for files with multiple audio tracks where only the default track should be normalized (e.g., main audio track vs. commentary tracks).

--keep-other-audio

Keep non-selected audio streams in the output file (copy without normalization).

Must be combined with either -as/--audio-streams or --audio-default-only.

Example: ffmpeg-normalize input.mkv -as 1 --keep-other-audio will normalize stream 1 and copy all other audio streams unchanged.

Note: This option is mutually exclusive with --keep-original-audio. Use --keep-original-audio to keep all original streams alongside normalized ones, or --keep-other-audio to keep only non-selected streams as passthrough.

-prf PRE_FILTER, --pre-filter PRE_FILTER

Add an audio filter chain before applying normalization.

Multiple filters can be specified by comma-separating them.

-pof POST_FILTER, --post-filter POST_FILTER

Add an audio filter chain after applying normalization.

Multiple filters can be specified by comma-separating them.

For EBU, the filter will be applied during the second pass.

Other Encoding Options

-vn, --video-disable

Do not write video streams to output

-c:v VIDEO_CODEC, --video-codec VIDEO_CODEC

Video codec to use for output files (default: 'copy').

See ffmpeg -encoders for a list.

Will attempt to copy video codec by default.

-sn, --subtitle-disable

Do not write subtitle streams to output

-mn, --metadata-disable

Do not write metadata to output

-cn, --chapters-disable

Do not write chapters to output

Input/Output Format

-ei EXTRA_INPUT_OPTIONS, --extra-input-options EXTRA_INPUT_OPTIONS

Extra input options list.

A list of extra ffmpeg command line arguments valid for the input, applied before ffmpeg's -i.

You can either use a JSON-formatted list (i.e., a list of comma-separated, quoted elements within square brackets), or a simple string of space-separated arguments.

If JSON is used, you need to wrap the whole argument in quotes to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes inside the string. If a simple string is used, you need to specify the argument with -e=.

Examples: -ei '[ "-f", "mpegts", "-r", "24" ]' or -ei="-f mpegts -r 24"

-e EXTRA_OUTPUT_OPTIONS, --extra-output-options EXTRA_OUTPUT_OPTIONS

Extra output options list.

A list of extra ffmpeg command line arguments valid for the output.

You can either use a JSON-formatted list (i.e., a list of comma-separated, quoted elements within square brackets), or a simple string of space-separated arguments.

If JSON is used, you need to wrap the whole argument in quotes to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes inside the string. If a simple string is used, you need to specify the argument with -e=.

Examples: -e '[ "-vbr", "3", "-preset:v", "ultrafast" ]' or -e="-vbr 3 -preset:v ultrafast"

-ofmt OUTPUT_FORMAT, --output-format OUTPUT_FORMAT

Media format to use for output file(s).

See ffmpeg -formats for a list.

If not specified, the format will be inferred by ffmpeg from the output file name. If the output file name is not explicitly specified, the extension will govern the format (see '--extension' option).

-ext EXTENSION, --extension EXTENSION

Output file extension to use for output files that were not explicitly specified. (Default: mkv)

Environment Variables

The program additionally respects environment variables:

TMP / TEMP / TMPDIR

Sets the path to the temporary directory in which files are stored before being moved to the final output directory. Note: You need to use full paths.

FFMPEG_PATH

Sets the full path to an ffmpeg executable other than the system default or you can provide a file name available on $PATH