portable shell script to compress videos with ffmpeg

compress_video

#!/bin/sh

print_usage() {
    echo "usage: compress_video <input_file>"
    echo "supported formats: mp4, webm, mkv, mov, avi, flv"
}

get_extension() {
    f="${1##*/}"
    case "$f" in
    .*) get_extension "${f#.}" && return 0 ;;
    esac
    case "$f" in
    .*.*) echo "${f#.}" ;;
    *.*) echo "${f#*.}" ;;
    *) return 0 ;;
    esac
}

get_filepath_without_extension() {
    ext=$(get_extension "$1")
    echo "${1%."$ext"}"
}

if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
    echo "ERROR: input file is required"
    print_usage
    exit 1
fi

input_file="$1"
if [ ! -f "$input_file" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: input file '$input_file' does not exist"
    exit 1
fi

input_file_ext="$(get_extension "$input_file")"
output_file="$(get_filepath_without_extension "$input_file")_compressed.$input_file_ext"

# Default to libx264 and aac for unknown formats
vcodec="libx264"
acodec="aac"
format_opt=""

case $input_file_ext in
mp4)
    vcodec="libx264"
    acodec="aac"
    ;;
mov)
    vcodec="libx264"
    acodec="aac"
    format_opt="-f mov"
    ;;
webm)
    vcodec="libvpx-vp9"
    acodec="libopus"
    ;;
mkv)
    vcodec="libx265"
    acodec="libopus"
    ;;
avi|flv)
    vcodec="libx264"
    acodec="aac"
    format_opt="-f mp4"
    output_file="$(get_filepath_without_extension "$input_file")_compressed.mp4"
    ;;
*)
    echo "WARNING: unsupported video format - trying with default codecs"
    ;;
esac


echo "compressing video. this could take a while..."
if ffmpeg -i "$input_file" -c:v $vcodec -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a $acodec $format_opt "$output_file"; then
    echo "compression completed successfully"
    echo "output file: $output_file"
else
    echo "ERROR: compression failed"
    exit 1
fi

I made the pwsh version for our poor Windows user (so that you don't have to install WSL).

function Write-Usage {
    Write-Host "Supported formats: mp4, webm, mkv, mov, avi, flv."
}

function Get-Extension {
    param (
        [string]$filePath
    )

    $fileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileName($filePath)
    $extension = [System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($fileName)
    return $extension.TrimStart('.')
}

function Get-FilePath-Without-Extension {
    param (
        [string]$filePath
    )

    $extension = Get-Extension -filePath $filePath
    return $filePath.Substring(0, $filePath.Length - $extension.Length - 1)
}

if ($args.Count -ne 1) {
    Write-Host "ERROR: Input file is required."
    Write-Usage
    exit 1
}

$inputFile = $args[0]
if (-not (Test-Path -Path $inputFile -PathType Leaf)) {
    Write-Host "ERROR: Input file '$inputFile' does not exist."
    exit 1
}

$inputFileExt = Get-Extension -filePath $inputFile
$outputFile = "$(Get-FilePath-Without-Extension -filePath $inputFile)_compressed.$inputFileExt"

# Default to libx264 and aac for unknown formats
$vcodec = "libx264"
$acodec = "aac"
$formatOpt = ""

switch ($inputFileExt) {
    "mp4" {
        $vcodec = "libx264"
        $acodec = "aac"
    }
    "mov" {
        $vcodec = "libx264"
        $acodec = "aac"
        $formatOpt = "-f mov"
    }
    "webm" {
        $vcodec = "libvpx-vp9"
        $acodec = "libopus"
    }
    "mkv" {
        $vcodec = "libx265"
        $acodec = "libopus"
    }
    "avi" {
        $vcodec = "libx264"
        $acodec = "aac"
        $formatOpt = "-f mp4"
        $outputFile = "$(Get-FilePath-Without-Extension -filePath $inputFile)_compressed.mp4"
    }
    "flv" {
        $vcodec = "libx264"
        $acodec = "aac"
        $formatOpt = "-f mp4"
        $outputFile = "$(Get-FilePath-Without-Extension -filePath $inputFile)_compressed.mp4"
    }
    default {
        Write-Host "WARNING: Unsupported video format, trying with default codecs...";
    }
}

Write-Host "Compressing video, this could take a while..."
$ffmpegCmd = "ffmpeg -i `"$inputFile`" -c:v $vcodec -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a $acodec $formatOpt `"$outputFile`""
Invoke-Expression $ffmpegCmd
if ($?) {
    Write-Host "Compression completed successfully."
    Write-Host "Output file: $outputFile"
}
else {
    Write-Host "ERROR: Compression failed."
    Write-Host "Make sure you have ffmpeg installed."
    exit 1
}

Setting up:

1. Open PowerShell (or Terminal, if it runs Powershell by default).
2. Run notepad compress-video.ps1.
3. Paste the script.
4. Save, if dialog box popped up, just press Yes.
5. Close notepad.

Running the script is more or less the same as the original.
.\compress-video.ps1 path-to-the-video\video-you-want-to-compress.mp4

is this rust?

sorry i do not understand

is it possible to run this on my Samsung refrigerator?