Open CLI
Curated task stack

Best CLIs for Media & Transcription.

Extract audio, transcribe meetings, and prepare media for knowledge workflows. This is a ready-to-share stack with install commands, verification checks, agent packs, and guardrails.

transcribe audio →extract video metadata →summarize meeting recordings →
Primary CLI
FFmpeg

ffmpeg is a strong fit for media & transcription. FFmpeg responds and can inspect media.

Agent pack
ffmpeg fits media & transcription well, especially for media conversion, audio extraction, and video processing from the terminal.
176,581 homebrew installs (30d).
Easy to automate.
Stack

Install, verify, then work.

1. Extract audio/video
FFmpeg

176.6K homebrew installs (30d)

Pack
Install
brew install ffmpeg
Verify
ffmpeg -version
2. Transcribe audio
whisper.cpp

Curated OpenCLI pick

Pack
Install
brew install whisper-cpp
Verify
whisper-cli --help
3. Collect media metadata
yt-dlp

81.1K homebrew installs (30d)

Pack
Install
brew install yt-dlp
Verify
yt-dlp --version
Agent loop

Media processing loop

  1. 1Inspect media metadata and choose extraction/transcription commands.
  2. 2Run a short sample and check transcript quality.
  3. 3Process the full file and produce notes or chapters.
  4. 4Ask before downloading external media or deleting originals.
Safety

Guardrails

  • • Output is mostly plain text.
  • • Ask before destructive, paid, deploy, send, merge, publish, or secret-exposing actions.