Linux port of File Converter by Tichau. Right-click files in your file manager, pick a format, convert.
If you find this useful, you can buy me a coffee.
- Download
fileconverterfrom the Releases page - Open a terminal where you downloaded it:
chmod +x fileconverter
./fileconverterFirst run walks you through setup automatically.
git clone https://github.com/AlexDevFlow/Media-Converter.git
cd Media-Converter
./install.shRequires Python 3.10+ and PyYAML (python3-yaml on most distros).
Right-click files in your file manager. A File Converter submenu shows conversion options filtered to the selected file types.
Right-click video.mkv >
File Converter
├── To Mp4
├── To Mp4 (low quality)
├── To Mkv
├── To Webm
├── To Gif
├── To Mp3
├── To Ogg
├── ...
└── Configure presets...
A progress window shows conversion status with estimated time remaining. Multiple files convert in parallel.
| Category | Formats |
|---|---|
| Video | 3gp, 3gpp, avi, bik, flv, m4v, mkv, mov, mp4, mpg, mpeg, ogv, rm, ts, vob, webm, wmv |
| Audio | aac, aiff, ape, flac, m4a, m4b, mp3, oga, ogg, opus, wav, wma |
| Image | arw, avif, bmp, cr2, dds, dng, exr, gif, heic, ico, jfif, jpg, jpeg, nef, png, psd, raf, svg, tga, tif, tiff, webp, xcf |
| Document | doc, docx, odt, pdf, ppt, pptx, odp, ods, xls, xlsx |
| Category | Formats |
|---|---|
| Video | MP4, MKV, WebM, OGV, AVI |
| Audio | MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC, WAV |
| Image | PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, ICO |
| Document | PDF, GIF |
The installer checks for these and tells you what to install.
| Tool | Used for | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| FFmpeg | Video and audio conversion | Yes |
| ImageMagick | Image conversion, PDF to image | Yes |
| Ghostscript | PDF processing | Recommended |
| LibreOffice | Office documents (docx, xlsx, pptx) | Optional |
Ubuntu / Debian:
sudo apt install ffmpeg imagemagick ghostscript libreofficeFedora:
# ffmpeg-free lacks H.264/H.265 encoders. For video presets, install the full
# ffmpeg from RPM Fusion (https://rpmfusion.org/Configuration) instead:
sudo dnf install ffmpeg ImageMagick ghostscript libreoffice-writer libreoffice-calc libreoffice-impressArch Linux:
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg imagemagick ghostscript libreoffice-stillopenSUSE:
sudo zypper install ffmpeg ImageMagick ghostscript libreofficeFor the Nautilus right-click menu (GNOME/Ubuntu), you also need:
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install python3-nautilus
# Fedora
sudo dnf install nautilus-python
# Arch
sudo pacman -S python-nautilusRight-click files in your file manager. The submenu only shows presets compatible with the selected files.
Supported file managers:
- Nautilus (GNOME/Ubuntu)
- Nemo (Cinnamon/Linux Mint)
- Dolphin (KDE)
- Thunar (XFCE)
- PCManFM (LXDE/LXQt)
# Convert a single file
fileconverter --conversion-preset "To Mp4" video.mkv
# Convert multiple files
fileconverter --conversion-preset "To Mp3" *.wav
# Use a file list
fileconverter --conversion-preset "To Jpg" --input-files list.txt
# Open settings
fileconverter --settings
# Re-run setup
fileconverter --install
# Remove everything
fileconverter --uninstall| Preset | Output | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| To Mp4 | MP4 | H.264, quality 30, AAC audio |
| To Mp4 (low quality) | MP4 | H.264, quality 20, lower bitrate |
| To Mkv | MKV | H.264, quality 30, AAC audio |
| To Webm | WebM | VP9 codec |
| To Ogv | OGV | Theora codec |
| To Avi | AVI | MPEG-4/XviD |
| To Gif | GIF | 15fps, palette-optimized |
| To Gif (low quality) | GIF | 10fps, 75% scale |
| To Mp3 | MP3 | VBR ~190kbps |
| To Mp3 (low quality) | MP3 | VBR ~100kbps |
| To Aac | AAC | VBR ~155kbps |
| To Ogg | OGG | Vorbis ~160kbps |
| To Flac | FLAC | Lossless, max compression |
| To Wav | WAV | 16-bit PCM |
| To Png | PNG | Lossless |
| To Jpg | JPG | Quality 85 |
| To Webp | WebP | Quality 85 |
| To Avif | AVIF | Quality 80 |
| To Pdf | From images or documents |
All presets are customizable in the settings window or directly in ~/.config/fileconverter/settings.yaml.
fileconverter --settingsOr from the context menu: File Converter > Configure presets...
Global: max simultaneous conversions, auto-close window, hardware acceleration (Off / Auto / NVENC / VAAPI), UI language.
Per-preset: output format, input file types, video quality/encoding speed/scale/rotation, audio bitrate/VBR/CBR/channels, image quality/scale/rotation, output filename template, post-conversion action, custom FFmpeg command override.
Settings are stored in YAML at ~/.config/fileconverter/settings.yaml. Example preset:
presets:
- name: "Video/To Mp4 (720p)"
output_type: mp4
input_types: [avi, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, wmv]
output_template: "(p)(f)"
input_post_action: none
settings:
enable_audio: true
video_quality: 28
video_encoding_speed: medium
video_scale: 0.5
audio_bitrate: 128| Variable | Meaning |
|---|---|
(p) or (path) |
Parent directory of input file |
(f) or (filename) |
Input filename without extension |
(F) |
Input filename uppercase |
(o) or (outputext) |
Output extension |
(i) or (inputext) |
Input extension |
(p:d) |
~/Documents/ |
(p:m) |
~/Music/ |
(p:v) |
~/Videos/ |
(p:p) |
~/Pictures/ |
(d0), (d1) |
Directory hierarchy levels |
(n:i) |
File number in batch |
(n:c) |
Total files in batch |
(d:FORMAT) |
Current date/time |
Default template is (p)(f) (same folder, same name, new extension). If the output file already exists, a number is appended automatically: file (2).mp4.
The UI is available in 29 languages. On first launch it picks your system language automatically; you can override it from Settings → Language (the setting is saved in ~/.config/fileconverter/settings.yaml and the window rebuilds instantly in the new language).
Shipped locales: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil & Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic & Latin), Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.
To add or update a translation, edit locales/build.py and run python3 locales/build.py. That regenerates each .po and compiles .mo catalogs into locales/<lang>/LC_MESSAGES/.
GPU-accelerated video encoding for MP4 and MKV output:
| Mode | GPU | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Off | None | Software encoding (default, always works) |
| Auto | Auto-detect | Probes your system, picks the best available |
| NVENC | NVIDIA | Requires NVIDIA GPU + drivers |
| VAAPI | AMD / Intel | Works with Mesa drivers on most Linux systems |
hardware_acceleration: auto # off | auto | nvenc | vaapiIf hardware encoding fails, the app falls back to software encoding automatically.
git clone https://github.com/AlexDevFlow/Media-Converter.git
cd Media-Converter
./install.shTo build the standalone binary:
./build.shProduces dist/fileconverter, a standalone executable that bundles Python and all dependencies.
fileconverter --uninstallRemoves context menu entries, desktop entry, launcher scripts, and config directory. Does not remove the binary itself.
The context menu doesn't appear after install.
Restart your file manager: nautilus -q (for GNOME). Then reopen it.
"No compatible presets" when right-clicking. The file extension isn't in any preset's input list. Open settings and add it, or use the terminal.
Custom FFmpeg commands.
In a preset's settings, set enable_ffmpeg_custom_command: true and ffmpeg_custom_command: "<your args>". The command is inserted between -i input and the output path.
Preset folders in the context menu.
Use / in the preset name. Video/To Mp4 creates a "Video" submenu containing "To Mp4".
Wayland support. Yes. GTK 4 supports Wayland natively.
- Original File Converter by Adrien Allard (Tichau)
- FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Ghostscript, LibreOffice
GPLv3. Same as the original File Converter.