vencode

Interactive video reencoding tool that analyzes your videos and reencodes them to save space while maintaining indistinguishable quality.

Vibecoded this because I was running out of storage lmao. May be useful to someone in a similar boat.

node index.js "/path/to/file1.mov" "/path/to/file2.mp4"
# will then prompt you to select a quality
# will start processing, then you can review and decide if you want to overwrite the original

Features

• Interactive Preset Selection: Choose from multiple quality presets or create custom settings
• Smart Analysis: Examines video bitrate, resolution, codec, and audio streams
• Multiple Quality Presets: From maximum quality to maximum compression
• Custom Settings: Full control over codec, CRF, preset, and audio bitrate
• Real-time Estimates: See estimated file size and savings for each preset
• Safe Operation: Creates backup before replacing, with automatic rollback on errors
• Extension Preservation: Keeps the same file extension (1:1)
• Progress Tracking: Shows encoding progress in real-time
• Interactive Backup Management: Choose whether to keep or delete backup after encoding

Prerequisites

The tool will automatically download and use ffmpeg and ffprobe binaries. No manual installation needed!

Installation

npm install

Usage

Basic Usage

node index.js video.mp4

The tool will:

1. Analyze your video file
2. Show you preset options with estimated savings
3. Let you choose a preset, custom settings, or skip
4. Encode the video with progress updates
5. Ask if you want to delete the backup file

Options

# Show detailed video information
node index.js --verbose video.mp4

# Show help
node index.js --help

How It Works

1. Analysis: The tool examines your video file to understand:

   • Current resolution and bitrate
   • Video codec and format
   • Audio streams and quality
   • File size and duration

2. Interactive Preset Selection: You'll be presented with options:

   • Maximum Quality (CRF 18) - Visually lossless, larger file size
   • High Quality (CRF 20) - Excellent quality, good compression
   • Balanced (Recommended) (CRF 23) - Great quality, good size savings
   • Maximum Compression (CRF 26) - Smaller size, slight quality loss
   • HEVC High Quality (CRF 24) - Best compression with H.265
   • Custom Settings - Enter your own parameters
   • Skip - Don't reencode this file

3. Encoding: Once you select a preset:

   • Shows your selected settings
   • Encodes with real-time progress updates
   • Creates temporary file during encoding

4. Replacement: Safely replaces the original:

   • Creates backup of original
   • Verifies encoded file is valid
   • Replaces original with encoded version
   • Keeps same filename and extension

5. Backup Management: After successful encoding:

   • Prompts you to keep or delete the backup
   • Safe deletion or retention based on your choice

Available Presets

Maximum Quality

• CRF: 18 (visually lossless)
• Audio: 192 kbps AAC
• Use case: Archival, when quality is paramount

High Quality

• CRF: 20 (excellent quality)
• Audio: 160 kbps AAC
• Use case: High-quality sharing, professional use

Balanced (Recommended)

• CRF: 23 (great quality)
• Audio: 128 kbps AAC
• Use case: General purpose, best balance

Maximum Compression

• CRF: 26 (good quality)
• Audio: 96 kbps AAC
• Use case: Maximum space savings, streaming

HEVC High Quality

• CRF: 24 (H.265 codec)
• Audio: 128 kbps AAC
• Use case: Best compression ratio, modern devices

All presets use:

• Preset: slow (better compression)
• Pixel Format: yuv420p (maximum compatibility)

Example Session

📹 Analyzing: /path/to/video.mp4

📊 Video Information:
  Resolution: 1920x1080
  Codec: h264
  Bitrate: 5200 kbps
  Duration: 180s
  Size: 115.3 MB
  FPS: 30.00

? Select encoding preset: (Use arrow keys)
❯ Maximum Quality - Visually lossless, larger file size (CRF 18) - Est. size: 142.8 MB - Increase 27.5 MB (24%)
  High Quality - Excellent quality, good compression (CRF 20) - Est. size: 127.4 MB - Increase 12.1 MB (11%)
  Balanced (Recommended) - Great quality, good size savings (CRF 23) - Est. size: 105.2 MB - Save 10.1 MB (9%)
  Maximum Compression - Smaller size, slight quality loss (CRF 26) - Est. size: 82.7 MB - Save 32.6 MB (28%)
  HEVC High Quality - Best compression with HEVC/H.265 (CRF 24) - Est. size: 73.6 MB - Save 41.7 MB (36%)
  Custom Settings - Enter your own encoding parameters
  Skip - Do not reencode this file

🎬 Starting encoding...
  Codec: libx264
  CRF: 23
  Preset: slow
  Audio: aac @ 128k

  Progress: 25%
  Progress: 50%
  Progress: 75%
  Progress: 100%

✅ Encoding complete!

💾 Replacing original file...

✨ Success!
  Original size: 115.3 MB
  New size: 106.8 MB
  Space saved: 8.5 MB (7%)
  Backup: /path/to/video.backup.mp4

? Delete backup file? (y/N) › No
✅ Backup kept at: /path/to/video.backup.mp4

Safety Features

• Interactive Control: You choose whether to encode, which preset, and whether to keep backup
• Backup Creation: Original file is always backed up before replacement
• Validation: Encoded file is checked for corruption
• Atomic Replacement: File replacement is done safely
• Automatic Rollback: If anything fails, backup is restored
• Skip Option: Easy to skip files you don't want to reencode

Custom Settings

When you select "Custom Settings", you can configure:

• Video Codec: Choose between H.264 (libx264) or H.265 (libx265)
• CRF Value: Set quality level from 18-28 (lower = better quality)
• Encoding Preset: Choose speed vs compression (ultrafast to veryslow)
• Audio Bitrate: Set audio quality from 64-320 kbps