From b1f416c603f99ab79885e31d615d556f95f2c435 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stuart <stuartb@live.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2025 12:37:17 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Log ffmpeg version at startup

Added a utility function to retrieve the ffmpeg version and log it during application startup. This helps with diagnostics and ensures the correct ffmpeg binary is being used.
---
 frigate/app.py           |  6 +++++-
 frigate/util/services.py | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/frigate/app.py b/frigate/app.py
index 858247866..2b14af9bb 100644
--- a/frigate/app.py
+++ b/frigate/app.py
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ from frigate.timeline import TimelineProcessor
 from frigate.track.object_processing import TrackedObjectProcessor
 from frigate.util.builtin import empty_and_close_queue
 from frigate.util.image import UntrackedSharedMemory
-from frigate.util.services import set_file_limit
+from frigate.util.services import set_file_limit, get_ffmpeg_version
 from frigate.version import VERSION
 from frigate.watchdog import FrigateWatchdog
 
@@ -552,6 +552,10 @@ class FrigateApp:
         self.start_record_cleanup()
         self.start_watchdog()
 
+        # Log ffmpeg version
+        ffmpeg_version = get_ffmpeg_version(self.config.ffmpeg.ffmpeg_path)
+        logger.info(f"Using ffmpeg: {ffmpeg_version}")
+
         self.init_auth()
 
         try:
diff --git a/frigate/util/services.py b/frigate/util/services.py
index 50aa2e2b7..bf02322bf 100644
--- a/frigate/util/services.py
+++ b/frigate/util/services.py
@@ -782,6 +782,29 @@ def get_fs_type(path: str) -> str:
     return fsType
 
 
+def get_ffmpeg_version(ffmpeg_path: str) -> str:
+    """Get ffmpeg version."""
+    try:
+        result = sp.run(
+            [ffmpeg_path, "-version"], 
+            capture_output=True, 
+            text=True, 
+            timeout=5
+        )
+        if result.returncode == 0:
+            # Extract version from output (first line contains version info)
+            first_line = result.stdout.split('\n')[0]
+            return first_line.strip()
+        else:
+            return f"Unknown (ffmpeg returned code {result.returncode})"
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        return f"Not found at path: {ffmpeg_path}"
+    except sp.TimeoutExpired:
+        return "Timeout getting version"
+    except Exception as e:
+        return f"Error: {str(e)}"
+
+
 def calculate_shm_requirements(config) -> dict:
     try:
         storage_stats = shutil.disk_usage("/dev/shm")