Guide

Quick Start

1. Visit the GitHub Pages site or Releases

2. Choose your variant:

   Decision	Options
   Version	Stable release (7.x, 8.x) or Master (latest weekly build)
   License	GPL (includes x264, x265) / LGPL (more permissive)
   Linkage	Shared (DLLs, for dev & runtime) / Static (single exe, portable)
   Arch	x64, x86, ARM64, ARM

3. Download the .zip file and extract anywhere

If unsure, pick a stable shared GPL variant — it covers most use cases.

Understanding the Artifacts

Each version produces 16 variants (4 arch × 2 license × 2 linkage). Shared variants also include a develop archive with debug symbols.

File naming

ffmpeg-8.1.1-r2_x64-windows-shared-gpl.zip         ← binary (runnable + dev files)
ffmpeg-8.1.1-r2_x64-windows-shared-gpl-develop.zip  ← develop (with debug symbols)
         ↑       ↑           ↑      ↑
     version   triplet    linkage license

• Version: FFmpeg release number (e.g. 8.1.1) or git describe for Master
• Revision (-r2): bump count when a version is rebuilt
• Triplet: {arch}-windows — x64, x86, arm64, arm
• Linkage: shared (DLLs) or static (self-contained exe)
• License: gpl or lgpl

Binary vs Develop (shared only)

	Binary	Develop
ffmpeg.exe / ffplay.exe / ffprobe.exe	✅	✅
Headers (.h)	✅	✅
Import libraries (.lib) + DLLs	✅	✅
pkg-config (.pc) + CMake module	✅	✅
PDB debug symbols	❌	✅
Debug libraries (debug/lib/)	❌	✅
Archive size	Smaller	Larger

Which one to pick?

I want to...	Download
Run FFmpeg commands	Static Binary (single exe) or Shared Binary
Build my own app with FFmpeg	Shared Binary (headers + libs)
Debug my app with FFmpeg symbols	Shared Develop (includes PDB)
Carry one exe, no DLLs	Static Binary

Static variants contain only executables — no headers, no import libraries.

What's Included

Binary (all linkage types)

• CLI tools: ffmpeg.exe, ffplay.exe, ffprobe.exe
• Development files (shared only): headers (.h), import libraries (.lib), DLLs
• Integration (shared only): pkg-config files (.pc), CMake FindFFMPEG.cmake
• Metadata: BUILD_INFO, CONTROL, LICENSE.txt
• All dependencies are statically linked or bundled — zero runtime DLLs to install

Develop (shared only, adds to binary)

• PDB symbol files for all executables and DLLs
• Debug build libraries under debug/lib/

Static

• Self-contained executables only — no external DLLs needed at runtime