Installing ffmpeg for CogVideoX on MacOS

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After a lot of time, trial, and error, I almost have CogVideo running locally on my Mac Studio. There’s just one more error I’m receiving and I can’t quite resolve it.

ffmpeg is required for video outputs and could not be found.
In order to use video outputs, you must either:

  • Install imageio-ffmpeg with pip,
  • Place a ffmpeg executable in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/StabilityMatrix/Packages/ComfyUI, or
  • Install ffmpeg and add it to the system path.

I installed ffmpeg using Homebrew, but ComfyUI still doesn’t see it as being there. I tried to install imageio-ffmpeg with pip, but I get the following error:

File “”, line 1

pip install ffmpeg

^^^^^^^

I’m stumped… and frustrated because I feel like I’m so close. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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You will need to manually install ffmpeg in the .venv inside the ComfyUI folder. Go to your ComfyUI folder that has the models, input, output folders. Then press the keys command+shift+period, this will make the invisible files and folders visible. The folder .venv will be greyed, but you can double click it to open it. Inside is the folder bin, this is where you need to put the ffmpeg file. To make the files and folders invisible again press the same command+shift+period key combination.

You will need to install the Apple Silicon version of ffmpeg. It is available here: https://www.osxexperts.net/ Download ffmpeg 7.1

When you first try to run the workflow using ffmpeg, you will likely get the error " ffmpeg Not Opened". This is due to Apple’s security measure.

You can bypass this security check by following these steps:

Go to “System Preferences” > “Security & Privacy”:

Click the “General” tab.
At the bottom of the window, you’ll see a message about ffmpeg being blocked. Click “Allow Anyway” next to this message.
Manually open ffmpeg:

Navigate to the folder where ffmpeg is located (e.g., your ComfyUI Desktop folder).
Right-click on the ffmpeg file and choose “Open” from the context menu.
A warning will appear, but this time, you’ll have an option to “Open” anyway.

Hopefully, this will solve your ffmpeg issue.

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