How to Capture Desktop Video on Linux using ffmpeg

Posted on In Linux

ffmpeg is a powerful tool and it can do the work of capturing Linux desktop video very well. ffmpeg is a very fast video and audio converter that can also grab from a live audio/video source. ffmpeg can grab X11 input and create a video file such as mp4 at specific fps with the specific resolution.

The command to capture the Linux desktop video by ‘ffmpeg’ is as follows.

$ ffmpeg -f x11grab -s 1280x1024  -r 25 -i :0.0+0,0 out.mp4

Options used here:

‘-s 1280×1024’ is the resolution of the screen. Change it to the screen resolution you use.
‘-r 25’ is the FPS rate.

For more usage of ffmpeg, please check ffmpeg manual.

Eric Ma

Eric is a systems guy. Eric is interested in building high-performance and scalable distributed systems and related technologies. The views or opinions expressed here are solely Eric's own and do not necessarily represent those of any third parties.

2 comments

    1. Dude, you have exactly the same command as the post just a different resolution and framerate .. :/

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