Prepare your media skills: install FFmpeg and ImageMagick

Set up FFmpeg for audio and video, and ImageMagick for images. This guide covers Windows and macOS installation, verification, practical commands, and the tools our media skills actually require.

AI Skill Market · Published 2026-11-12 · Updated 2026-11-12

An AI skill describes a workflow. Processing an actual video, recording or image may also require a separate program. FFmpeg and ImageMagick are useful tools for those workflows, but you do not need both for every media skill. The correct product name is ImageMagick, with a final k.

1. Choose the tool for the job

FFmpeg handles audio and video conversion, audio extraction and measurement. Its companion ffprobe inspects information such as duration and codecs.
ImageMagick handles image operations such as resizing, rotation and format conversion. The examples below use the ImageMagick 7 magick command.

Our free Audio Loudness Check requires Python and FFmpeg. Our Image Batch Resize instead uses Python and Pillow; ImageMagick is not required by that skill. Think of ImageMagick as another image-processing option, not a universal prerequisite. Read each listing's requirements first.

2. Install on Windows

First check whether the tools are already available in PowerShell or Windows Terminal. Avoid duplicate installations when a suitable version already works.

ffmpeg -version
ffprobe -version
magick -version

If they are missing and Windows Package Manager is available, run these commands one at a time. Review the package information and any installer or administrator prompts before proceeding.

winget install --id Gyan.FFmpeg --exact --source winget
winget install --id ImageMagick.Q16-HDRI --exact --source winget

Gyan.FFmpeg is a Windows build supplied by Gyan, whose builds are linked from FFmpeg's official download page. We checked these package identifiers with winget, but did not perform fresh installations for this article.

Close and reopen the terminal after installation, then repeat the three version checks. Without winget, use the FFmpeg download page and ImageMagick download page to choose a method for your operating system and CPU. Avoid unrelated download advertisements and installers from unknown sources.

3. Install on macOS

If you already use Homebrew, run:

brew install ffmpeg imagemagick
ffmpeg -version
ffprobe -version
magick -version

Without Homebrew, first review its installation instructions and supported systems on the official Homebrew site. Do not resort to sudo brew install or unknown repair scripts just to get past an error. These package commands were checked against Homebrew's published formula pages; our execution tests for this article were on Windows, not a Mac.

4. Test a small copy before processing real work

Put copied samples into a working folder. Replace the example filenames with your own, and check that the input has the streams or format the command expects.

Extract audio from a video that contains an audio track. -n prevents overwriting an existing output, while -vn excludes video from the output.

ffmpeg -n -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le audio.wav

Read the video duration in seconds:

ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4

Resize an image to fit within 1600 by 1600 pixels, without upscaling, and convert it to WebP. Quote the geometry so the shell does not interpret the greater-than symbol.

magick input.jpg -auto-orient -resize "1600x1600>" -strip -quality 82 output.webp
magick identify output.webp

Always use a different output filename and check that output.webp does not already exist: ImageMagick may overwrite it. The -strip option removes metadata and profiles, which can affect color appearance. For color-critical work, consider omitting it or using a more selective metadata workflow, and inspect the result visually.

We executed these examples on Windows using FFmpeg 7.1.1 and ImageMagick 7.1.1-47 with generated test media. ffprobe reported a one-second video, and a 2400-by-1800 image became a 1600-by-1200 WebP. Those are our test versions, not claims about the latest releases.

5. When the agent cannot find a command

PATH is the list of locations the terminal searches for programs. Restart both the terminal and the agent application after installation. Check which executables are selected with these commands.

Windows:

Get-Command ffmpeg, ffprobe, magick

macOS:

command -v ffmpeg
command -v ffprobe
command -v magick

Check for multiple installed versions. If the agent runs in a cloud environment or container, installing a tool on your PC does not install it there: the processing environment needs its own setup. Use magick for ImageMagick 7 rather than following old convert examples, which can refer to a different Windows command.

6. Keep skill files separate from installed programs

Ask the agent to verify tool availability first, preserve original files and test a few copies before a large job. Review write operations before granting broader permissions.

AI Skill Market rejects listing ZIP uploads that contain .exe files. This does not prohibit installing FFmpeg or ImageMagick on your own computer. Do not bundle their executables into your skill archive; document the external dependency and its download and installation instructions instead.

Before enabling a new skill, consider the free official AI Skill Safety Audit. Its static checks are not a safety guarantee and do not certify the safety of external programs.