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MKVToolNix

Getting started

MKVToolNix is a set of tools to create, alter and inspect matroska files.

References


  1. Import public GPG key

    Terminal window
    sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/gpg-pub-moritzbunkus.gpg https://mkvtoolnix.download/gpg-pub-moritzbunkus.gpg

  2. Add to apt source

    Terminal window
    echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/gpg-pub-moritzbunkus.gpg] https://mkvtoolnix.download/ubuntu/ noble main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mkvtoolnix.download.list

  3. Install

    Terminal window
    sudo apt install mkvtoolnix mkvtoolnix-gui

  4. Preferences

    GUI

    Warnings

    • Warn before closing modified tabs
    • Warn before aborting running jobs
    • Warn before overwriting existing items (files, jobs etc.)

    Often used selections

    Languages

    • Selected
      • English (en; eng)
      • Undetermined (und)

    Countries & regions

    • Selected
      • United States of America (us; 840)

    Multiplexer

    General options

    • Clearing settings automatically: Close current settings
    • Warn about missing audio tracks: If audio tracks are present but none is enabled
    • Process priority: Lower priority
    • Probe range percentage: 0.30
    • Location of MediaInfo GUI: blank (default)
    • Ensure at least one track of each type has its “track enabled” flag set

    Adding files

    • When adding multiple files via “add source files”: Create one new multiplex settings tab for each file
    • When adding files via drag & drop/copy & paste: Create one new multiplex settings tab for each file
    • When adding directories via drag & drop/copy & paste: Create a new multiplex settings tab for each directory
    • Always create new multiplex settings for files containing video tracks
    • Sort files & tracks by track type when adding files
    • Detect file name sequences when adding multiple files

    Attachments

    • Always skip while attaching new files when attachment with same name exists

    Default values

    Defaults for newly added tracks

    • Automatically set the file title from source files
    • Automatically clear the file title when the last file is removed
    • Automatically set track delays from source file name
    • Disable “default track” flag for subtitle tracks
    • Disable additional lossless compression for all track types
    • Enable dialog normalization gain removal for audio tracks
    • Derive “forced display” flag for subtitles from file names: [[\](){}.+=#-]forced[[\](){}.+=#-]
    • Derive “hearing impair” flag for audio/subtitles from file names: [[\](){}.+=#-](cc | sdh)[[\](){}.+=#-]
    • Default subtitle charset to set: - No selection by default -

    Default track languages to set

    • Audio tracks: English (en)
    • Video tracks: English (en)
    • Subtitle tracks: English (en)
    • When to set the language: Also if the language is 'undetermined' ('und')

    Deriving track languages

    Deriving track languages from file names

    • Audio tracks: Also if the language is 'undetermined' ('und')
    • Video tracks: Never
    • Subtitle tracks: Also if the language is 'undetermined' ('und')

    Destination file name

    Destination file name

    • Automatically set the destination file name
    • Only use the first source file that contains a video track
    • Use the title as the base file name if a title is set
    • Use the input file’s directory name instead of the file name

    Destination directory

    • Directory relative to first source file’s directory: ./new
    • Ensure the file name is unique
    • Automatically clear the destination file name when the last file is removed

    Enabling items

    Enable copying of items by their type

    • Selected
      • Audio
      • Chapters
      • Global tags
      • Subtitles
      • Video

    Enable copying of tracks by their language

    • Only enable copying of tracks with specific languages by default
    • Selected
      • English (en; eng)

    General options

    • Always enable copying for all tracks of the following types regardless of their language:
      • Video
      • Audio
      • Subtitles
    • Always enable copying of forced subtitle tracks

    Jobs & job queue

    Jobs and job output

    • Always switch to the job output tool after starting one immediately
    • Always use a default description when adding a job to the queue
    • Show output of all jobs instead of current job only
    • Reset the warning and error counters on exit
    • Remove the output file when a job ends with errors or when it is aborted
    • Remove jobs from queue after completion: Only if the job completed successfully
    • Remove completed jobs from queue on exit
    • Remove completed jobs older than x days: 14 days
    • Maximum number of concurrent jobs: 1