FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Pandoc: The Engines Behind File Conversion
An inside look at the open-source engines that power Filoshi's 500+ format conversions — and why we chose each one.
Filoshi doesn't reinvent the wheel. Instead, it stands on the shoulders of giants — battle-tested open-source engines that have been processing files for decades. Here's what powers each conversion under the hood.
FFmpeg — The Media Swiss Army Knife
FFmpeg handles all video and audio conversions. It's the same engine used by YouTube, VLC, OBS, and virtually every media tool on the planet.
- What it converts: MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WebM, MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, OGG, and hundreds more
- Why it's great: Fastest media conversion engine available. Supports hardware acceleration (NVENC, QSV, VideoToolbox). Can remux, transcode, trim, and merge
- In Filoshi: We use FFmpeg's libraries directly via Rust bindings, not the command-line tool. This means tighter integration, better progress tracking, and no spawning external processes
ImageMagick — The Image Powerhouse
ImageMagick handles image format conversions, especially the less common formats that browser-based tools can't touch.
- What it converts: HEIC, TIFF, BMP, ICO, WebP, AVIF, RAW formats (CR2, NEF, ARW), PSD, SVG, and more
- Why it's great: Supports 200+ image formats. Can handle batch operations, metadata preservation, and color space conversions
- In Filoshi: We use the MagickWand C API directly for maximum performance
Pandoc — The Document Wizard
Pandoc is the universal document converter, handling structured text formats with remarkable accuracy.
- What it converts: DOCX, PDF, EPUB, Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, ODT, RTF, and more
- Why it's great: Preserves document structure (headings, lists, tables, footnotes) across formats. Written in Haskell with formal parsing
- In Filoshi: We bundle Pandoc as a static binary for each platform, ensuring consistent behavior
Why Not One Engine for Everything?
Each engine is a specialist. FFmpeg knows nothing about DOCX files. Pandoc can't decode H.265 video. ImageMagick doesn't understand FLAC audio. By using the right tool for each job, Filoshi delivers better results than any single-engine solution could.
The result: 500+ format conversion pairs, all running locally on your machine, powered by the same engines trusted by professionals worldwide.
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