Ffmpeg Stabilize

Ffmpeg Stabilize

Context: $ARGUMENTS

Quick start

• Stabilize shaky handheld (best quality): 2-pass vid.stab → Steps 1–4
• Quick fix, don't care about quality: single-pass deshake → Examples
• GPU single-pass: deshake_opencl → Examples
• Locked-off tripod look from handheld: tripod=N → references/vidstab.md

When to use

• Handheld phone/camera footage with visible shake
• GoPro / action-cam clips (mounted but still jittery)
• Drone clips with buffeting wobble
• Making interview-style footage look "locked off" without an actual tripod
• Pre-stabilizing before VFX, speed ramps, or any grading that amplifies jitter

Step 1 — Check build supports vid.stab

ffmpeg -filters 2>/dev/null | grep -i vidstab

Must show both vidstabdetect and vidstabtransform. If missing, either install a Homebrew build (brew install ffmpeg — includes --enable-libvidstab since late 2019), or fall back to deshake (builtin, always available).

scripts/stabilize.py check-build does this check programmatically.

Step 2 — Pass 1: detect motion → transforms.trf

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 \
  -vf vidstabdetect=shakiness=5:accuracy=15:result=transforms.trf \
  -f null -

• Produces transforms.trf (plain-text, one line per frame with dx/dy/rot/zoom).
• -f null - discards the video output — we only want the sidecar file.
• shakiness: 1 (mild) to 10 (extreme), default 5.
• accuracy: 1 (fast) to 15 (max), default 15. Keep at 15 unless iterating.

Step 3 — Pass 2: transform + sharpen + optional zoom

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 \
  -vf "vidstabtransform=input=transforms.trf:zoom=0:smoothing=30:crop=black,unsharp=5:5:0.8:3:3:0.4" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow \
  -c:a copy out.mp4

• smoothing=30 ≈ 1 second at 30 fps — good default.
• crop=black leaves black borders where frame was pushed; crop=keep repeats prior edge pixels.
• unsharp=5:5:0.8:3:3:0.4 restores sharpness lost to bilinear interpolation.
• -c:a copy passes audio through; re-encode is required for video.

Hide black borders

Option A — fixed zoom (percent):

vidstabtransform=input=transforms.trf:zoom=5:smoothing=30:crop=black

Option B — automatic optimal zoom (recommended for heavy shake):

vidstabtransform=input=transforms.trf:optzoom=1:smoothing=30:crop=black

Option C — adaptive optzoom with zoom speed cap:

vidstabtransform=input=transforms.trf:optzoom=2:zoomspeed=0.25:smoothing=30:crop=black

Step 4 — Verify

ffplay out.mp4                     # visual check
ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,r_frame_rate out.mp4

For A/B compare:

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -i out.mp4 -filter_complex hstack -c:v libx264 -crf 20 compare.mp4

Available scripts

• scripts/stabilize.py stabilize — runs both passes end-to-end, manages transforms.trf in a tempdir.
• scripts/stabilize.py deshake — single-pass fallback.
• scripts/stabilize.py check-build — reports vid.stab availability.

uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/stabilize.py stabilize --input in.mp4 --output out.mp4 --sharpen --zoom auto
uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/stabilize.py deshake --input in.mp4 --output out.mp4
uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/stabilize.py check-build

Reference docs

• Read references/vidstab.md for full option tables, tripod mode, recipe gallery, and the build-from-source note.

Gotchas

• vid.stab is NOT in every ffmpeg build — must be compiled with --enable-libvidstab. Homebrew's ffmpeg has included it for years; static Zeranoe-style builds sometimes don't. Always verify with Step 1 first.
• 2-pass vid.stab is ALWAYS better than deshake for genuinely shaky content. deshake is a last resort.
• transforms.trf is plain text — safe to inspect, diff, or back up.
• shakiness is 1–10 (5 typical). accuracy is 1–15 (15 = slowest / best).
• smoothing is in frames, not seconds. 30 ≈ 1s at 30 fps. Too high → jelly/floaty feel. Too low → residual shake bleeds through.
• zoom=N is percent. Use optzoom=1 for automatic; optzoom=2:zoomspeed=... for gentler adaptive.
• crop=black produces borders that wiggle at clip edges. Compensate with zoom / optzoom, or post-crop.
• Stream copy (-c:v copy) is not possible — the filter requires decoded frames. Re-encode is mandatory.
• unsharp after the transform, not before. Pre-sharpening amplifies noise into the motion estimator.
• Do NOT combine vidstabtransform with deshake — pick one.
• deshake_opencl requires -init_hw_device opencl before the -i. Missing it → filter not found.
• Pass 1 with -f null - writes NOTHING to stdout/stderr (except progress). The transforms.trf file IS being written — don't assume it failed.
• Pass 1 with -vcodec copy does not work — vidstabdetect needs decoded frames.
• Long-clip timebase drift: add -fflags +genpts on the input side of pass 2.
• vid.stab is 2D (x+y) only. No axis-lock option; you cannot stabilize only vertical.
• Rolling-shutter + stabilization: stabilization exposes wobble. ffmpeg has no true rolling-shutter filter — pre-correct in GoPro Player / DaVinci / Gyroflow before running ffmpeg stabilization.

Examples

Example 1 — Standard handheld phone clip

# Pass 1
ffmpeg -i phone.mp4 -vf vidstabdetect=shakiness=5:accuracy=15:result=phone.trf -f null -
# Pass 2
ffmpeg -i phone.mp4 \
  -vf "vidstabtransform=input=phone.trf:smoothing=30:optzoom=1:crop=black,unsharp=5:5:0.8:3:3:0.4" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a copy phone_stable.mp4

Example 2 — Heavy shake (running, mountain biking)

ffmpeg -i wild.mp4 -vf vidstabdetect=shakiness=10:accuracy=15:result=wild.trf -f null -
ffmpeg -i wild.mp4 \
  -vf "vidstabtransform=input=wild.trf:smoothing=60:optzoom=2:zoomspeed=0.3:crop=black,unsharp=5:5:0.8:3:3:0.4" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -c:a copy wild_stable.mp4

Example 3 — Fake tripod lock on frame 0

ffmpeg -i talk.mp4 -vf vidstabdetect=shakiness=3:result=talk.trf -f null -
ffmpeg -i talk.mp4 \
  -vf "vidstabtransform=input=talk.trf:tripod=1:smoothing=0:crop=keep,unsharp=5:5:0.8:3:3:0.4" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -c:a copy talk_locked.mp4

Example 4 — Quick single-pass deshake

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf deshake -c:v libx264 -crf 18 out.mp4

Example 5 — GPU deshake_opencl

ffmpeg -init_hw_device opencl=ocl:0.0 -filter_hw_device ocl \
  -i in.mp4 \
  -vf "format=nv12,hwupload,deshake_opencl,hwdownload,format=yuv420p" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 out.mp4

Troubleshooting

Error: No such filter: 'vidstabdetect'

Cause: ffmpeg built without --enable-libvidstab. Solution: brew install ffmpeg (macOS) or rebuild; use deshake as a fallback.

Error: Unable to open file 'transforms.trf' for reading

Cause: pass 2 run from a different cwd than pass 1, or pass 1 silently failed. Solution: pass absolute paths to result= and input=; verify the file exists and is non-empty.

Output has thick black borders wobbling at edges

Cause: crop=black + zoom=0. Solution: add optzoom=1 or zoom=5; or post-crop with crop=iw*0.95:ih*0.95.

Output looks "floaty" / jelly-like

Cause: smoothing too high. Solution: drop to smoothing=15 or smoothing=10.

Residual shake still visible

Cause: smoothing too low, or shakiness in pass 1 underestimated the motion. Solution: rerun pass 1 with shakiness=8–10, rerun pass 2 with smoothing=60.

Stabilized clip has a "rolling" wobble

Cause: rolling shutter skew, not camera shake. vid.stab can't fix the skew itself. Solution: pre-process with Gyroflow / GoPro Player to correct rolling shutter, then stabilize.

Pass 1 "hangs" with no output

Not hung — -f null - suppresses the output stream. Watch the frame= progress line on stderr; transforms.trf is being written.