Extract audio from a video as WAV, M4A or FLAC
The ideal audio format depends on what you need: WAV for audio editing, FLAC for lossless archiving, M4A for a small file that plays everywhere. Choose the format, and the command extracts only the audio.
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How to use it
- Install ffmpeg if you haven't already.
- Open a terminal in the folder containing your file.
- Copy the generated command, adjust the file names if needed, then run it.
- Open the resulting file to check the result.
Lossless or lossy?
WAV and FLAC keep the decoded audio exactly as it is: no additional loss. M4A in AAC re-encodes the audio with a slight loss, inaudible at 192 kbps. Copying to M4A is a special case: it takes the audio exactly as it is in the video, with no modification at all, and it's instantaneous.
What about MP3?
MP3 remains the most universal format for music and podcasts. A dedicated page offers several quality levels.
Extract audio from a video as MP3
Frequently asked questions
Which format should I choose?
To rework the audio in Audacity or editing software, choose WAV. To archive losslessly while taking up less space, choose FLAC. To listen or share, choose M4A in AAC, which is small and plays everywhere.
Is WAV better quality than the audio in the video?
No: it can't hold more information than the source. It is simply uncompressed, so it's easy to edit without further loss.
Why does copying to M4A fail?
The audio in your video is not AAC (for example, it's Opus in a WebM or AC3 in an MKV). Choose "M4A – AAC 192 kbps", which re-encodes the audio.