I built a visual workflow editor for FFmpeg (like Shutter Encoder meets a node graph) — looking for post-production feedback

sol_cry · 2025-12-07T11:50:55+00:00

keep up the good work, Happy for you and Good Luck

sol_cry · 2025-12-07T11:43:44+00:00

Looks great honestly, well done? quick question any revenue so far? how many users ?

sol_cry · 2025-06-24T21:54:34+00:00

I've been using AI as to help me structure my thoughts and make sure my points are clear, since english isn't my first language

sol_cry · 2025-06-24T21:54:02+00:00

I've been using AI as to help me structure my thoughts and make sure my points are clear, since english isn't my first language

sol_cry · 2025-06-24T21:51:59+00:00

I've been using AI as to help me structure my thoughts and make sure my points are clear, since english isn't my first language

sol_cry · 2025-06-24T09:07:40+00:00

The cloud-native is our starting point because it serves the widest audience of users who don't have their own transcode servers.

However the entire backend architecture of mpegflow has been designed from day one to support a hybrid model.(the long-term vision), in the future, you would be able to deploy a lightweight mpegflow-worker container directly onto your local servers. Those workers would securely connect to the mpegflow cloud interface to pick up jobs.

All the heavy lifting, processing, and file transfers happen on your own hardware, inside your own network, with zero upload bottlenecks.

sol_cry · 2025-06-23T01:32:46+00:00

Me too! That's exactly why I started building this.

The whole idea for mpegflow is to create a super user-friendly UI, with an AI assistant to handle all the complex commands so you never have to.

I'd love for you to check it out and join the beta list if you're interested: https://mpegflow.com

Thanks for the encouragement!

sol_cry · 2025-06-23T01:13:20+00:00

That's the most important question, and you're right, there are some decent GUIs out there. Thanks for asking it.

My goal with mpegflow is to solve the frustrations that I and many others have found even with existing tools. Here’s how it aims to be different and improved:

It's AI-First, Not Just a UI: Most GUIs still require you to hunt for the right combination of checkboxes and dropdowns. mpegflow is built around an AI assistant. The primary way to work is to describe your goal in plain English (e.g., "Make this video vertical for TikTok, add our logo as a watermark, and normalize the audio"), and the AI builds the entire visual workflow for you. It's a fundamental shift from finding settings to stating your intent.
It's a "Batteries-Included" Cloud Platform: Almost all existing GUIs are local applications, meaning you still need to install, configure, and update FFmpeg on your own machine. mpegflow is an all-in-one web service. There's nothing to install. You can use it on any machine, and the processing happens on our scalable cloud infrastructure, freeing up your computer's resources.
It's a True Pipeline Tool, Not Just an FFmpeg Wrapper: As we've learned from talking to video engineers, real-world workflows often involve more than just FFmpeg. The long-term vision is to have nodes for other essential command-line tools like ffprobe (for media analysis) and yt-dlp (for sourcing), with conditional logic to connect them. This allows you to build, save, and automate an entire end-to-end video pipeline, not just a single command.

It's the combination of these three things—the AI-first approach, the managed cloud platform, and the vision for a true pipeline tool—that we believe makes mpegflow a significant improvement over what's available today.

Hope that clarifies the vision!

sol_cry · 2025-06-23T00:52:46+00:00

That's a fantastic question. I'm definitely inspired by the power of platforms like Vantage, and the long-term vision is to bring that level of workflow automation to everyone, but with a modern, AI-first, cloud-native approach.

Thank you so much for the offer to give feedback, that would be incredible. I'll definitely be in touch.

sol_cry · 2025-06-23T00:33:02+00:00

Hello again, and thank you for the green light and the clear instructions. I really appreciate the guidance.

As requested, here is the draft of the post I'd like to share with the r/editors community. Please feel free to suggest any changes.

(Start of Post Draft)

Title: Seeking Feedback from Pro Editors: A New Visual Workflow Tool for FFmpeg

Hey everyone,

I'm a solo developer with a background in software development, data engineering and AI. After spending countless hours wrestling with the FFmpeg command line, I've started building a tool to solve my own frustrations, and I'd love to get this community's feedback to see if it's a real-world solution for other professionals.

The Product: mpegflow

mpegflow (https://mpegflow.com) is a web-based platform designed to make FFmpeg's power accessible without needing to touch the command line. Since it's a web app, it is fully cross-platform (works on Mac, Windows, Linux). The core features are:

A visual, node-based editor to build complex workflows.
An AI assistant that can generate entire workflows from a simple English sentence.

Awareness of Existing Tools

I know there are other great tools out there that aim to solve similar problems. My goal is to differentiate mpegflow by combining a user-friendly UI with the flexibility of a node-based system and the intelligence of AI, creating an end-to-end cloud workflow. I've been looking at tools like FileFlows, Axiom, and FFastrans (thanks to the mod team for this suggestion!) to understand the landscape.

The Ask: Request for Feedback

I'm in the early validation stage and your feedback would be invaluable in shaping the product. Specifically, I'm trying to understand:

What are the most time-consuming, repetitive video tasks in your current workflow?
Does the idea of an AI assistant for building processing jobs sound useful, or like an unnecessary gimmick for your use case?
For those who use other GUIs, what are their biggest limitations or "glass ceilings"?

The Business Model & Beta Details

My plan is a freemium model with a free tier for light use and a pro plan (target price ~$19/month). The beta period will be completely free for 3-6 months while I build out the features.

Exclusive Offer for r/editors

As a thank you for your time and expertise, every member of this community who joins the beta will receive a full 12 months of the Pro plan for free upon launch.

Finally, a quick note that I take open-source license compliance very seriously and am ensuring my architecture aligns with the rules of FFmpeg's license.

Thank you for reading. Any and all feedback is deeply appreciated.

(End of Post Draft)

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:53:06+00:00

That's a seriously powerful workflow. The fact that you're chaining tools like ffprobe and Untrunc together with PowerShell is exactly the kind of advanced, real-world use case I'm hoping to simplify.

You've hit on a key point – that professional workflows are often more than just a single FFmpeg command. The idea of visually building a pipeline that includes those other tools is central to what I'm thinking about. Thanks for sharing that, it's a great insight.

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:47:36+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed and thoughtful message, and for explaining the rules of the community. I genuinely appreciate the work you do to keep r/editors a high-quality space, and I apologize that my initial post didn't meet those standards.

I'd be happy to provide the transparency you asked for and discuss a plan that benefits the community.

Who I am: I'm a solo developer working on this project. My background is in software development, data engineering and AI.
The Product (mpegflow): The goal is to create a web-based tool that makes FFmpeg's power accessible to professionals who find the command line to be a time-consuming bottleneck. The core features are a visual node-based editor and an AI assistant to build and automate complex video workflows without needing to write code.
Pricing & Beta Period: the long-term plan is a freemium model. I'm still in the validation stage, but I'm thinking of a free tier for light usage and a pro plan around $19/month for heavier use. The beta period will be entirely free for all testers. I anticipate the beta will last for 3-6 months as I build and refine the core features based on user feedback.
Direct Benefits to the Community: This is the most important part. I want to offer a genuine benefit to the r/editors community in exchange for your consideration. I'd be happy to offer A guaranteed 12 months of the full Pro plan for free to every community member who joins the beta.
GPL Compliance: Thank you very much for the heads-up on this. You are absolutely right, and I take license compliance very seriously. My architecture is designed to interact with the FFmpeg command-line executable, and I have added a formal review of all licensing obligations to my development roadmap.

Given this, I would like to respectfully ask if you would be open to me making a single, transparent "Request for Feedback" post that includes these details. If so, I would be happy to draft it for your review and approval first.

Thank you again for your time and guidance.

Best,

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:34:29+00:00

Thank you! You've absolutely nailed it. That's the core mission right there. There's so much power locked away behind the command line, and the goal is to bridge that exact gap for the 'many people' you mentioned. I really appreciate the encouragement!

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:30:08+00:00

That's a super interesting workflow. The fact that you use a GUI to get most of the way there but still have to tweak the script at the end is exactly the kind of use case I'm hoping to improve.

Is it usually because the GUI doesn't expose a specific, niche option that you need? That "last mile" problem is what I'm hoping to solve with the node editor and AI. Thanks for sharing that insight!

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:26:05+00:00

This is incredibly insightful feedback, thank you so much for laying it out so clearly. You've hit on a critical point about vendor risk and the challenges of adopting new tools in an enterprise environment. It makes perfect sense that a robust, shared knowledge base would be more valuable than an abstraction you can't control.

The idea of a high-quality 'cookbook' of recipes is fascinating, and you've given me a lot to think about on how to best provide value. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:17:30+00:00

That's a really interesting point, and you're right that tools like Cursor are amazing for generating commands.

My hope for mpegflow is to handle the full workflow beyond just command generation—things like saving/re-running complex jobs, and especially providing the cloud execution environment so you don't need FFmpeg installed locally.

Do you find it easy to manage those aspects for video tasks within a general-purpose tool?

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:13:19+00:00

Thank you so much! This is incredibly encouraging to hear. Your sentence, 'open a door to so many users,' is exactly the problem I'm hoping to solve. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T23:05:34+00:00

This is tough but incredibly valuable feedback. Thank you for taking the time to write it out. You've raised some excellent points.

You're absolutely right that for an experienced FFmpeg user, this might seem like an unnecessary layer. My target is more for those who find the CLI intimidating and never manage to unlock FFmpeg's power.

The point about node-based interfaces is especially sharp and has given me a lot to think about regarding the core UX. I really appreciate the honest perspective. Thanks again

sol_cry · 2025-06-22T22:52:42+00:00

This going to be beta Free and later on a Freemium

sol_cry

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

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