Ffmpeg Geq Expr

ffmpeg-geq-expr — procedural expression filters

Context: $ARGUMENTS

Power-user creative filters where you hand-write a math expression and ffmpeg evaluates it per-pixel (geq), per-sample (aeval), per-pair (lut2), or per-metric (drawgraph). Grammar is the same everywhere: see references/expressions.md.

Quick start

• Custom per-pixel effect: → Step 1 → pick geq
• Custom per-sample audio effect: → Step 1 → pick aeval
• Blend/combine two videos pixel-by-pixel with math: → Step 1 → pick lut2
• Real-time metric graph burned into video: → Step 1 → pick drawgraph
• SVG overlay driven by frame metadata: → Step 1 → pick drawvg
• Light-on-dark persistence / phosphor trails: → Step 1 → pick lagfun
• Feedback-loop picture-in-picture: → Step 1 → pick feedback
• Shuffle frame order: → Step 1 → pick random

When to use

• You need a per-pixel/per-sample effect that no named filter ships with (gradients, plasma, custom noise, chromatic aberration, vignettes).
• You want to wire filter metadata (signalstats, ebur128, blockdetect) into a visible QC graph.
• You want to combine two aligned inputs with arbitrary math, not blend's fixed modes.
• You want a one-off creative look without writing a C filter.

Do NOT use for things with a dedicated filter — geq is typically 10–100× slower than a native filter. If vignette, lut3d, colorchannelmixer, curves, etc. can do it, use those.

Step 1 — Pick the right filter

Step 2 — Write the expression

Grammar highlights (full table in references/expressions.md):

• Built-in constants: PI, E, PHI, TAU.
• Functions: sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, atan, atan2, exp, log, sqrt, hypot(a,b), pow(a,b) or a^b, mod(a,b), abs, floor, ceil, round, trunc, clip(v,a,b), between(v,a,b), if(c,t,e), ifnot(c,e), gt(a,b), lt(a,b), gte, lte, eq(a,b), not(x), random(seed), st(N,v) store, ld(N) load (26 slots, N=0..25), print(v) to stderr.
• Operators: + - * / %, ^ power, && || ! logic, ? : ternary is NOT supported (use if(c,t,e)).

geq per-plane YUV:

geq=lum='X+T*10':cb=128:cr=128            # moving luminance ramp, neutral chroma
geq=lum='255*(X/W)':cb='128+64*sin(T)':cr='128+64*cos(T)'

geq RGB (requires planar RGB pixfmt):

format=gbrp,geq=r='255*X/W':g='255*Y/H':b=0       # diagonal RG gradient
format=gbrp,geq=r='b(X,Y)':g=g:b='r(X,Y)'         # BGR channel swap

Vignette via geq (hand-rolled):

format=gbrp,geq=r='r(X,Y)*clip(1-pow((X-W/2)/(W/2),2)-pow((Y-H/2)/(H/2),2),0,1)':g='g(X,Y)*clip(1-pow((X-W/2)/(W/2),2)-pow((Y-H/2)/(H/2),2),0,1)':b='b(X,Y)*clip(1-pow((X-W/2)/(W/2),2)-pow((Y-H/2)/(H/2),2),0,1)'

aeval (per-sample):

aeval=val(0)*0.5|val(1)*0.5:channel_layout=stereo        # halve volume (note | between exprs)
aeval=val(ch)*sin(2*PI*5*t):c=same                       # 5 Hz tremolo

aevalsrc (synth):

aevalsrc='sin(2*PI*440*t)':channel_layout=mono:sample_rate=48000:duration=2

lut2 (two inputs, same size/pixfmt):

lut2=c0='(x+y)/2':c1='(x+y)/2':c2='(x+y)/2'              # pixel average blend

drawgraph (metadata chart):

signalstats,drawgraph=m1=lavfi.signalstats.YAVG:fg1=0xff00ff:min=0:max=255:size=1280x200

drawvg (SVG/VGS overlay):

drawvg=cfg='<svg><rect x=20 y=20 width=200 height=60 fill="red"/></svg>'

random (frame order):

random=frames=30:seed=42

feedback (recursive PiP):

feedback=x=10:y=10:w=100:h=100

lagfun (dark decay / afterimage):

lagfun=decay=0.9

Step 3 — Run and debug

Always test on 2 seconds first:

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -t 2 -vf "<expr-filter>" -y out_test.mp4

See parse errors: -loglevel debug prints tokens as they parse. A silent output or black frames without stderr output almost always means a typo or an operator ffmpeg's parser rejected.

Drop print() into any expression to dump a value per evaluation to stderr:

geq=lum='print(T)':cb=128:cr=128

Use the helper:

uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/expr.py geq --input in.mp4 --output out.mp4 --lum 'X+T*10'

Available scripts

• scripts/expr.py — subcommands: geq, aeval, lut2, drawgraph, feedback, lagfun. All support --dry-run and --verbose. Autodetects RGB vs YUV for geq based on which flags you pass.

Reference docs

• Read references/expressions.md for the full grammar, geq constant table, store/load slot usage, 50+ worked recipes, and the drawgraph metric catalog.

Gotchas

• geq coordinates: X/Y are 0-based pixel coordinates, W/H are plane dimensions, SW/SH are the horizontal/vertical subsampling factors (use SW/SH in chroma expressions on 4:2:0, where chroma planes are half-size). T is time in seconds (float). N is the frame number.
• p(x,y) inside a chroma (cb/cr) expression returns a chroma sample, not luma. If you want luma inside a chroma expression use lum(X,Y). Likewise lum(), cb(), cr(), alpha(), r(), g(), b() all exist.
• clip(v,a,b) clamps; st(N,v) stores in slot N (0..25), ld(N) reads. Use these when an expression appears multiple times.
• geq on RGB input silently operates on packed pixels unless you insert format=gbrp first. Always prepend format=gbrp before a color-channel geq.
• Expressions are compiled but evaluated per pixel, per frame. Complex expressions can drop processing to sub-1 fps. Cache common sub-expressions with st()/ld().
• aeval evaluates per audio sample and is slow. For synth (not a real-time effect on a real stream), use aevalsrc — much faster because there's no input rate.
• aeval variables: val(i) is input channel i's current sample, ch is output channel index, nb_in_channels, nb_out_channels, s sample rate, t time, n sample number.
• lut2: expression uses x (input 0 sample) and y (input 1 sample). Both inputs must have the same dimensions AND pixel format. Insert scale= + format= before the join.
• drawgraph: background defaults to transparent. If you want it on top of video, pipe through overlay. To output a standalone graph, add bg=black or use the color source as a backdrop.
• drawvg is new (post-FFmpeg 7.x). Check ffmpeg -filters 2>&1 | grep drawvg before relying on it.
• feedback requires all four x, y, w, h — without w/h it silently fails.
• When an expression has a parse error, ffmpeg commonly silently outputs black frames or stops without a loud error. Run with -loglevel debug and search the output for Error when evaluating.
• PI / E / PHI / TAU are built-in; don't redeclare them as st().
• Comma , separates filter options in ffmpeg syntax. Inside an expression, use \, (escaped) or wrap the whole expression in single quotes.
• Semicolon ; separates filter-graph stages; use | to separate per-channel expressions inside aeval.
• Always test expressions with -t 2 on a short clip first, then scale up.

Examples

Vertical gradient (RGB)

ffmpeg -f lavfi -i color=black:s=640x360:d=2 -vf "format=gbrp,geq=r='255*Y/H':g=0:b='255-255*Y/H'" -y grad.mp4

Moving plasma

ffmpeg -f lavfi -i color=black:s=640x360:d=3 \
  -vf "format=gbrp,geq=r='128+127*sin(X/20+T)':g='128+127*sin(Y/20+T*1.3)':b='128+127*sin((X+Y)/20+T*0.7)'" \
  -y plasma.mp4

Chromatic aberration

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "format=gbrp,geq=r='r(X+2,Y)':g='g(X,Y)':b='b(X-2,Y)'" -y ca.mp4

YAVG graph burn-in

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "signalstats,drawgraph=m1=lavfi.signalstats.YAVG:fg1=0xffff00:min=0:max=255:size=1920x120,format=yuv420p" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -y graph.mp4

Lagfun phosphor trail

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "lagfun=decay=0.92" -y trail.mp4

Two-video lut2 average blend

ffmpeg -i a.mp4 -i b.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v]scale=1280:720,format=yuv420p[a];[1:v]scale=1280:720,format=yuv420p[b];[a][b]lut2=c0='(x+y)/2':c1='(x+y)/2':c2='(x+y)/2'" -y blend.mp4

Troubleshooting

Black frames, no obvious error

Cause: expression parse error silently produced all-zero output. Solution: add -loglevel debug, search stderr for Error when evaluating, check for unescaped commas in expression, or wrong variable name (e.g. x inside geq should be X).

geq on RGB but colors ignored / operating on packed bytes

Cause: input is packed RGB (rgb24, bgr24), not planar. Solution: prepend format=gbrp before geq.

lut2 error: inputs dimensions differ

Cause: two inputs have different resolutions or pixel formats. Solution: prepend scale=W:H,format=yuv420p on both inputs before joining.

geq runs at 0.3 fps

Cause: expression is complex, recomputed per-pixel. Solution: cache repeated sub-expressions with st(0,...) then reuse with ld(0). Also: consider if a native filter (vignette, colorchannelmixer, curves) can do the same thing.

drawgraph shows nothing

Cause: metadata keys are wrong, or the producer filter wasn't upstream. Solution: signalstats → drawgraph=m1=lavfi.signalstats.YAVG. Run ffprobe -show_frames to confirm the metadata keys.

aevalsrc produces clipped audio

Cause: expression output exceeds ±1.0. Solution: scale the expression: sin(2*PI*440*t)*0.5.

feedback silently does nothing

Cause: missing one of x, y, w, h. Solution: supply all four. Also check coords are inside the frame.