FFForge

Cross-platform desktop prototype for a focused all-in-one FFmpeg GUI, now migrated to Tauri.

Transparency

This project was created with significant assistance from Codex / AI tooling. The code, structure, UI, and project setup were developed collaboratively between the project owner and AI-assisted tooling rather than being written entirely by hand from scratch.

FFmpeg Licensing Notes

This project is designed to reduce FFmpeg licensing risk, but it is not legal advice.

• This build does not bundle FFmpeg or ffprobe binaries.
• The app currently calls external ffmpeg and ffprobe executables from the local system PATH.
• The built-in Convert presets intentionally avoid assuming GPL-only or nonfree FFmpeg configurations.
• If FFmpeg is bundled with future releases, the distribution must follow the official FFmpeg licensing checklist and provide the required notices and corresponding source where applicable.

See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for links to the official FFmpeg licensing pages used for this project setup.

Development

• npm install
• macOS local setup:
  • brew install rust ffmpeg
  • restart the terminal so cargo, rustc, ffmpeg, and ffprobe are on PATH
• npm run dev for the frontend only
• npm run tauri:dev to run the desktop app in Tauri dev mode

Build Apps

• npm run tauri:build
• On macOS this builds a .app bundle only
• Current-platform output is written under src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
• Explicit macOS app build: npm run tauri:build:mac
• Windows installer-only build: npm run tauri:build:windows

Platform Notes

• Windows development remains supported. Use npm run tauri:build:windows on Windows when you want the NSIS installer output.
• A real macOS .app build must be created on macOS with Apple's native toolchain.
• The default build script is platform-aware: macOS builds .app, Windows builds nsis.
• macOS development requires local installs of Rust and FFmpeg because this project uses system ffmpeg / ffprobe from PATH.
• Linux bundles should be built on Linux for the cleanest results.

Current Features

• Tauri desktop app shell
• Focused English UI instead of a landing-page style layout
• Working Lossless Cut workflow
• Video preview inside Lossless Cut
• Draggable range selection in the Lossless Cut timeline
• Working Convert workflow with safe default presets
• Working Audio, Frames, and Batch workflows
• File and folder pickers
• ffprobe analysis for loaded media files
• Direct ffmpeg execution from the UI
• Native drag and drop with manual-path fallback

Planned Next Steps

1. Remove the Drop Debug panel once drag and drop is confirmed stable
2. Keep polishing the desktop UX and module workflows
3. Bundle ffmpeg and ffprobe only with a full licensing/compliance workflow in place