Batch file sample to execute an ffmpeg command

Below is a simple Windows batch (.bat) file example that runs an ffmpeg command. Replace the example ffmpeg command and paths with whatever you need.

Save this as run-ffmpeg.bat and run it by double-click or from a command prompt.

Contents of run-ffmpeg.bat:

@echo off
REM -- Set path to ffmpeg executable (either full path or rely on PATH)
SET FFMPEG_EXE="C:\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe"

REM -- Set input and output files (change as needed)
SET INPUT_FILE="C:\videos\input.mp4"
SET OUTPUT_FILE="C:\videos\output.mp4"

REM -- Optional: create output folder if it doesn't exist
IF NOT EXIST "%~dp0output" (
    mkdir "%~dp0output"
)

REM -- Example ffmpeg command: re-encode to H.264 with 1280x720 scaling
%FFMPEG_EXE% -y -i %INPUT_FILE% -vf "scale=1280:720" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -c:a aac -b:a 128k %OUTPUT_FILE%

REM -- Check errorlevel and report
IF %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 (
    echo ffmpeg finished successfully.
) ELSE (
    echo ffmpeg finished with error code %ERRORLEVEL%.
)

pause

Notes and variations

• If ffmpeg is in your PATH, set FFMPEG_EXE=ffmpeg.exe (or omit the variable and call ffmpeg directly).
• Use -y to overwrite output without prompting. Remove it to be asked before overwrite.
• For multiple files, wrap in a FOR loop: for %%F in ("C:\videos*.mov") do ( "%FFMPEG_EXE%" -i "%%F" -c:v libx264 -c:a aac "C:\out%%~nF.mp4" )
• To avoid the console staying open, remove the final pause.
• Quote paths that contain spaces (examples above use quotes).

If you tell me the specific ffmpeg operation you want (convert container, transcode, extract audio, resize, batch convert a folder, etc.), I can give a tailored .bat file.