Media Toolkit (FFmpeg, ExifTool)

Media Toolkit runs seven fixed media operations on files you give it by URL: probe, thumbnail, trim, extract-audio, image-convert, exif-dump and exif-scrub. It is built for AI agents, automations and developers who need FFmpeg or ExifTool results without running a media server. Every operation is typed and validated. There is no command string, no filter graph and no free-form option, so nothing you send can change what program runs or how.

Try it with the default input: it probes a small public sample video and takes one frame from it. A run takes a few seconds.

What you can do

Operation	What it returns
probe	Container, duration, overall bit rate, and every stream with codec, resolution, frame rate, sample rate, channels and language
thumbnail	One frame at a time offset (seconds, clock time or percentage) as JPEG or PNG, optionally scaled
trim	A clip between a start and an end time, copied without re-encoding (fast, keeps quality)
extract-audio	The audio track as MP3 (64 to 320 kbps) or 16-bit WAV, optionally one range, a sample rate and mono or stereo
image-convert	Resize, convert between JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, TIFF and GIF, set quality, apply EXIF rotation, keep or drop metadata
exif-dump	All metadata ExifTool can read, as JSON with group names, plus a summary (has GPS, has camera info, has author info)
exif-scrub	The file with all metadata removed, or with location (GPS) data only removed, plus a before and after report

You can list several operations in one run. Each URL is downloaded once and all chosen operations run on it, in the order you list them.

Who it is for

• AI agents and MCP clients that need a safe, bounded media step (get duration, grab a poster frame, pull audio for transcription).
• Developers who want thumbnails, clips or format conversion behind an API call.
• Teams that publish photos and need to strip location data before upload, with proof of what was removed.

Input

The two required fields are operations and mediaUrls. The other fields tune individual operations and are ignored by the others.

{
  "operations": ["probe", "thumbnail"],
  "mediaUrls": ["https://interactive-examples.mdn.mozilla.net/media/cc0-videos/flower.mp4"],
  "thumbnailTime": "1",
  "thumbnailFormat": "jpeg",
  "thumbnailWidth": 640
}

Useful fields: thumbnailTime (12.5, 00:01:30 or 25%), startTime with endTime or clipDuration (trim and extract-audio), audioFormat, audioBitrateKbps, audioSampleRate (16000 suits speech-to-text), imageFormat, width, height, fit, quality, keepMetadata, scrubMode (all or location). The input form on this page describes each one.

Output

The default dataset has one record per URL and operation. Files an operation produces (thumbnail, clip, audio, converted image, scrubbed file) are saved in the run's default key-value store and the record carries a link in outputUrl. Failed items stay in the dataset with an errorCode and a plain-language message, and are never charged.

{
  "index": 1,
  "operation": "probe",
  "status": "success",
  "container": "mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2",
  "durationSeconds": 5.055,
  "videoCodec": "h264",
  "audioCodec": "aac",
  "width": 960,
  "height": 540,
  "bitRate": 1785756,
  "billedEvent": "media-probe"
}

A thumbnail record looks like this (the link is shortened here):

{
  "index": 1,
  "operation": "thumbnail",
  "status": "success",
  "durationSeconds": 5.055,
  "outputUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/<storeId>/records/thumbnail-001-a1b2c3.jpg?signature=...",
  "outputBytes": 14801,
  "outputContentType": "image/jpeg",
  "billedEvent": "media-clip"
}

Common error codes: HTTP_404, FILE_TOO_LARGE, URL_ADDRESS_NOT_ALLOWED, NOT_AUDIO_VIDEO, UNREADABLE_MEDIA, TIME_OUT_OF_RANGE, DURATION_LIMIT, NO_AUDIO_STREAM, NO_VIDEO_STREAM, UNSUPPORTED_IMAGE, FORMAT_NOT_WRITABLE, PROCESSING_TIMEOUT.

Pricing

Pay per event. You pay only for operations that succeed; failed or empty results are free.

Event	Price	Charged for
Media probe (media-probe)	$0.01	One successful probe
Media clip operation (media-clip)	$0.03	One successful thumbnail, trim or extract-audio
Image convert (image-convert)	$0.03	One successful image-convert
EXIF dump or scrub (exif-op)	$0.02	One successful exif-dump or exif-scrub

There is also a tiny start fee per run (about $0.00005) charged by the platform. Example: probing and thumbnailing 100 videos costs 100 x $0.01 + 100 x $0.03 = $4.00. Set a maximum cost per run in the run options; the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached and marks the remaining items skipped.

Safety, limits and licences

• Fixed operations only. Inputs are validated against typed fields. Nothing you type is passed to a shell or used as an FFmpeg filter or option string.
• SSRF protection. Only http and https on ports 80, 443, 8080 and 8443 are fetched. URLs with embedded credentials are refused. A URL is refused if its host resolves to a private, loopback, link-local, carrier-grade NAT, multicast, reserved or cloud-metadata address, including IPv6 and IPv4-mapped forms. The check runs when the connection is made and again for every redirect (at most 5).
• Limits. 500 MB per input file (100 MB and 80 megapixels for images), at most 15 minutes (900 seconds) of media processed per operation, 5 minutes hard timeout per FFmpeg call, 4 minutes per download, 100 URLs per run. Each output file is capped at 250 MB, and exif-scrub accepts files up to 150 MB because the cleaned copy is as large as the original.
• Files are detected from their content, not their name, and only audio and video containers on an allow list are passed to FFmpeg with a fixed demuxer. Playlists, scripts and SVG are refused.
• Privacy. Media is downloaded to temporary storage of the run, processed, and deleted after each item. The Actor never logs media content or metadata. Outputs live in the run's key-value store under your Apify account and follow your plan's data retention.
• FFmpeg is an LGPL build. The Actor compiles FFmpeg 7.1.1 from the official source with --disable-gpl --disable-nonfree and the only external codec library is LAME (LGPL), and it refuses to start if FFmpeg reports a GPL or non-free configuration. Because x264 and x265 are GPL, this build cannot encode H.264 or H.265. It can read them, take frames from them, and copy them (trim). FFmpeg is used unmodified, as command-line programs. Source: https://ffmpeg.org/releases/ffmpeg-7.1.1.tar.xz (SHA-256 733984395e0dbbe5c046abda2dc49a5544e7e0e1e2366bba849222ae9e3a03b1). The build options are listed in the section below, so you can rebuild the same binaries. ExifTool (Artistic License or GPL, run as a separate program), sharp and libvips (Apache-2.0 and LGPL-3.0) and the other components are listed in the THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES file.
• Not affiliated. This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FFmpeg project, Phil Harvey (ExifTool), the sharp or libvips projects, or any other third party named here. Names are used only to say what the software does.

FFmpeg build options (LGPL)

./configure --disable-gpl --disable-nonfree --disable-version3 --disable-autodetect --disable-doc --disable-debug \
  --disable-ffplay --disable-network --disable-avdevice --disable-hwaccels \
  --disable-protocols --enable-protocol=file,pipe \
  --disable-encoders --enable-encoder=mjpeg,png,pcm_s16le,libmp3lame \
  --disable-muxers --enable-muxer=mp4,mov,ipod,3gp,matroska,webm,avi,ogg,flv,mpegts,mp3,wav,flac,adts,mpeg1system,asf,aiff,amr,image2,null \
  --disable-demuxer=hls,dash,concat,ffconcat,sdp,rtsp,rtp,image2,image2pipe,image_jpeg_pipe,image_png_pipe,mpegtsraw,data,lavfi,pipe \
  --disable-filters --enable-filter=scale,format,aresample,aformat,null,anull,buffer,abuffer,buffersink,abuffersink,transpose,hflip,vflip,copy,setpts,asetpts,trim,atrim,fps \
  --enable-libmp3lame --enable-zlib

ffmpeg -L in the running image reports the GNU Lesser General Public License, and the licence texts are kept in the image under /usr/local/share/licenses/ffmpeg/. FFmpeg's networking is compiled out: the Actor downloads files itself, with the address checks above, and gives FFmpeg only a local file.

Copyright and your responsibility

You are responsible for having the rights to every file you process, and for how you use the results. Apify and the author do not check ownership, licences or consent. Do not use the Actor to process media you are not allowed to copy or modify, or to remove metadata in order to misrepresent where a file came from.

FAQ

Which formats work? Audio and video containers that the Actor detects and accepts: MP4, MOV, M4A, 3GP, Matroska and WebM, AVI, Ogg, FLV, MPEG-TS and MPEG-PS, MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, AIFF, ASF and AMR. MP4, Matroska, WebM, MP3 and AVI are covered by this Actor's own tests; the others are less tested. Images for image-convert: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, TIFF, AVIF and JPEG 2000. exif-dump reads any format ExifTool understands. HEIC and SVG are not accepted for conversion.

Why does trim not cut exactly on the frame? Trim copies the compressed streams, so it is fast and lossless but can start only at a keyframe. The cut snaps to the keyframe before your start time, and the record reports the real output duration. Re-encoding is not offered because the LGPL build has no H.264 encoder.

Which files can exif-scrub rewrite? ExifTool rewrites JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, GIF, MP4, MOV, M4A, PDF and several others. For MP3, Matroska, WebM, AVI and similar audio and video files, the Actor copies the streams with FFmpeg and drops all container metadata. Other types return FORMAT_NOT_WRITABLE and are not charged. The record lists identifying tags that remain (it is empty when nothing identifying is left) and confirms whether GPS data is gone. The scrub keeps the Orientation tag and colour profile by default so photos still look right.

Can it download from sites that need a login? No. Use a public URL, or a pre-signed URL from your own storage.

How do I call it from code or an agent? Use the Apify API or the Apify MCP server, pass the input shown above, and read the dataset items. The output link in each record can be downloaded directly.

Limitations

• One download per URL per run; very slow servers (under 300 KB/s after the first 30 seconds) are cut off.
• Animated GIF and WebP inputs keep only the first frame in image-convert.
• No H.264 or H.265 encoding, no merging, overlays, subtitles or filters.
• Duration cap: the 15 minute limit applies to trim and extract-audio (the selected range). probe and thumbnail are limited only by the 500 MB file size.
• Transcoding (re-encoding video) is not offered in this version.
• Output links belong to the run's key-value store and expire with your plan's data retention. Download what you need.

Support

Questions, bugs and feature requests: use the Issues tab on this Actor's page. Include the run ID and the error code.