Subtitles recipe

Add Subtitles to MP4 with FFmpeg

Burn SRT or ASS subtitles permanently into an MP4 video.

Command

ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf "subtitles=subtitles.srt" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a copy "subtitled.mp4"

Use this when

You want subtitles permanently visible in the video.
You need a video that works on players without separate subtitle support.
You have an SRT or ASS subtitle file ready.

Customize it

Generate FFmpeg commands to burn SRT or ASS subtitles into video, or attach selectable subtitle tracks.

Open Add Subtitles

Parameter breakdown

subtitles=subtitles.srt

Loads and renders the subtitle file onto the video frames.

-c:v libx264

Re-encodes the video because subtitle burn-in is a filter.

-crf 23

Controls output quality and file size.

-c:a copy

Copies the original audio stream.

Variants

ASS subtitles

ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf "subtitles=subtitles.ass" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a copy "subtitled.mp4"

Force a larger font

ffmpeg -i "input.mp4" -vf "subtitles=subtitles.srt:force_style='FontName=Arial,FontSize=28'" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a copy "subtitled.mp4"