Installing FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a tool to convert between various media formats. If you want to export video in MuseScore Studio, you must install FFmpeg’s software libraries via a method outlined below.

Other methods of installing FFmpeg may not give you libraries that work in MuseScore Studio.

Windows

Download Buanzo’s FFmpeg for MuseScore Studio and double-click the MSI to install it.

When you install the MSI, Microsoft Defender might warn you that it’s from an unknown publisher. This just means the installer is unsigned. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unsafe.

Here’s a VirusTotal scan confirming the file is not malicious. You can upload the MSI to VirusTotal yourself if you’re unsure. In addition to the free scan, it will also display a SHA-256 checksum that you can compare to the one on Buanzo’s website to confirm the file’s integrity.

If you trust the file, you can click More info and Run anyway.

You can install Buanzo’s FFmpeg wherever you want on your machine and MuseScore 4.7 will locate it automatically via the Windows Registry. You might need to restart MuseScore for this to happen.

If you want to use a different version of FFmpeg, you’ll need to locate it manually in MuseScore via Preferences -> Video. You need to browse for whichever folder contains FFmpeg’s DLLs, such as avformat.dll. On Windows, this is normally the bin folder (short for ‘binary’).

macOS

Download Buanzo’s FFmpeg for MuseScore Studio and double-click the PKG to install it. It will install FFmpeg to a location that MuseScore should find automatically. You might need to restart MuseScore for this to happen.

Buanzo’s PKG is notarized, which means it has been scanned and signed by Apple to confirm that it’s not malicious. Also, here’s a VirusTotal scan. You can upload the PKG to VirusTotal yourself if you’re unsure.

Advanced users can try the Homebrew version of FFmpeg instead, which is installed via the command line. MuseScore should detect Homebrew’s FFmpeg automatically, but if Homebrew updates their version in the future, it may no longer work in MuseScore Studio.

If you want to use any other version of FFmpeg, you’ll need to locate it manually in MuseScore via Preferences -> Video. You need to browse for whichever folder contains FFmpeg’s DYLIBs, such as avformat.dylib. On macOS, this is normally the lib folder (short for ‘library’).

Linux

You can install FFmpeg from your distribution and MuseScore 4.7 should find it automatically.

Use the command for your distribution's package manager:

sudo apt install ffmpeg  # Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives.
sudo pacman -Syu ffmpeg  # Arch, Manjaro, and derivatives.

On Fedora, Redhat, CentOS, and derivatives you must install the RPM Fusion repository then run:

sudo dnf install ffmpeg

If you want to use any other version of FFmpeg, such as one you compiled yourself, you’ll need to locate it manually in MuseScore via Preferences -> Video. You need to browse for whichever folder contains FFmpeg’s SO (shared object) files, such as avformat.so. On Linux, this is normally the lib folder (short for ‘library’).