How to Extract Audio from Video

Need the audio from a video? Whether it's music, podcast, or voiceover, here's how.

Quick Extraction

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a copy output.aac

• -vn: No video (extract audio only)
• -c:a copy: Copy audio stream (instant)

To MP3

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 output.mp3

Quality: 0 (best) to 9 (worst). 2 is excellent.

To WAV (Lossless)

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le output.wav

WAV is large but perfect quality.

Extract a Clip

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -ss 00:01:30 -t 00:02:00 -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 output.mp3

• -ss 00:01:30: Start at 1:30
• -t 00:02:00: Duration 2 minutes

Audio Quality Guide

Format	Quality Setting	Best For
MP3	-q:a 2	General use
MP3	-b:a 320k	High quality
AAC	-b:a 256k	Modern players
WAV	None	Editing/archival

Batch Extract

for f in *.mp4; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -vn -c:a libmp3lame -q:a 2 "${f%.*}.mp3"; done

Quick Reference

# Fastest
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a copy audio.aac

# MP3 high quality
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 320k audio.mp3

# AAC
ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -c:a aac -b:a 256k audio.aac

Extract audio in seconds!