Video Frame Extractor: frames, thumbnails and scenes from video URLs
Give it links to video files. It runs ffmpeg and returns the frames as JPG or PNG images with one result row per frame: video, timestamp, image link, width, height and size.
What it does
- Four modes: one frame every N seconds, every Nth video frame, a frame at each scene change (plus the first frame), or the exact timestamps you list (seconds or HH:MM:SS).
- Frames are saved to the run's key-value store, and each dataset row carries the image link and its timestamp.
- A status on every video: a bad link, a page URL, a file that is not a video, or a timestamp past the end gets a row with the reason, and the run still finishes. Good frames are always returned.
- Caps so a run cannot surprise you: up to 20 videos, 50 frames per video and 100 frames per run by default (you can raise the frame caps), and a run time budget. Frames wider than your maximum width are scaled down.
- Direct video file URLs only (mp4, webm, mov, mkv and anything ffmpeg reads). It does not download from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or other platforms. Localhost and private addresses are refused.
- Callable by AI assistants through Apify's MCP server.
Try it
Open the actor on the Apify Store: the default input is a short public sample video, so one click on Start returns frames with their timestamps.
Good to know
Scene-change detection is ffmpeg's cut score, so a slow fade or a fast-moving shot can be missed or over-detected; adjust the threshold. Big or high-resolution videos take longer; a video that hits the time limit returns the frames made so far with a note. Up to 500 MB per file.
Price
US$0.002 per frame (US$2 per 1,000), Apify platform usage included; failed, skipped and past-the-end frames are not charged. Set the frame caps low for a first test.
A bug or a feature you need? Open an issue on the Store page.
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