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I'm a beginner linux user, and I don't have administrative rights on a linux system, but I would like to run ffmpeg somehow. I know, I can't install it, so I'm looking for some installed binaries to download, and run. I downloaded a .deb file, but I have no rights to run it, so it may be the installer. How to extract that file? And if I extract it, can I run it?

The system is debian wheezy.

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What you need is a static build of FFMPEG. There are probably a lot around. I suggest you http://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/, which is advertised on the FFMPEG main site, so is probably reliable.

You can download both latest release (2.4.1) and git snapshot. Unless you know what you are doing, use the released version. Also, pay attention to choose correctly between 32 and 64 bit, depending on your computer (if unsure, take 32 bit).

Then you just have to uncompress the tarball (tar xJfv filename.tar.xz, if you do it on the terminal) and execute the file ffmpeg inside. You need no root privileges to do all this.

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  • What's a static build. Does the default installation uses dynamic build ? How can i check that (looking inside .deb?)?
    – totti
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 5:42
  • You can just go with the latest Git version. No need for being cautious or "knowing what you're doing", really.
    – slhck
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 9:11
  • @totti Do not care about the difference between statically and dynamically linked builds. It is just the way libraries are technically handled by programs, but it makes no practical difference to the end user. Builds like the one I linked, which are not related to a specific operating system, are usually statically built in order to be as compatible as possible with the environment they will have around. Builds related to a specific systems (for example, the Debian packages of ffmpeg) are dynamically built, because this makes some technical issues in handling libraries easier.
    – Giovanni Mascellani
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 9:16
  • But if you don't know what "static linking" and "dynamic linking" are, then they do not make any difference for you. If you are curious and want to learn, have a look on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_build.
    – Giovanni Mascellani
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 9:17
  • @giomasce thanks. Actually I makes portable apps. That's why I'm curious.
    – totti
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 14:09

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