How to Install FFmpeg on a cPanel Server

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: cPanel & WHM 138 on AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and CloudLinux 8, 9 and 10, and on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Many web applications (video platforms, media galleries, radio and podcast tools) call the ffmpeg command to convert audio and video. cPanel does not include FFmpeg, but you can add it like any other system package. It installs outside cPanel's own software, so cPanel updates do not affect it. This guide covers the options for cPanel servers.

Option 1: from the package repositories (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CloudLinux)

1. Enable EPEL if it is not already enabled (rpm -q epel-release):

   dnf install epel-release

2. For the build without patent-restricted codecs (MP3, AAC, Opus, VP9 and AV1 work; H.264 and H.265 encoding do not):

   dnf install ffmpeg-free

3. For the full build with H.264 and H.265, use RPM Fusion instead:

   dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb          # AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 and 10 (on 8 the repository is called powertools)
   dnf install --nogpgcheck https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %rhel).noarch.rpm
   dnf install ffmpeg

4. Check: ffmpeg -version and command -v ffmpeg (usually /usr/bin/ffmpeg).

Option 2: Ubuntu 24.04 cPanel servers

apt install ffmpeg

Option 3: a static build

If you do not want extra repositories on the server, download one of the static Linux builds linked from ffmpeg.org, unpack it, and copy ffmpeg and ffprobe to /usr/local/bin. Static builds do not update themselves, so plan to replace them regularly.

CloudLinux with CageFS

On CloudLinux, each cPanel user sees only the programs included in their CageFS. After installing FFmpeg, update CageFS so users' PHP scripts and cron jobs can run it:

cagefsctl --force-update

Using it from PHP

PHP scripts call ffmpeg through exec() or shell_exec(). If those functions are listed in disable_functions for the account's PHP version (WHM › MultiPHP INI Editor), the application cannot run ffmpeg. Allow them only for accounts that need it, and give the full path /usr/bin/ffmpeg (or /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg) in the application's settings.

For more on FFmpeg versions and codecs, see how to install FFmpeg on Linux.

Official documentation: FFmpeg downloads and RPM Fusion configuration.