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Rotate a Video 90 Degrees with FFmpeg (transpose)

Turn a sideways or upside-down video upright using FFmpeg's transpose filter without an editor.

WindowsvideoffmpegLow risk
Run ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" -c:a copy output.mp4 — transpose=1 is 90° clockwise, transpose=2 is 90° counter-clockwise.

01Command

Command
$ ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" -c:a copy output.mp4

02What it does

The transpose filter rotates the picture itself, and combining it with -c:a copy leaves the audio untouched. Phone videos recorded sideways usually carry a rotation metadata flag instead of sideways pixels; FFmpeg auto-applies that flag, so check the preview before rotating again. For 180°, chain two rotations with -vf "transpose=1,transpose=1".

03Risk

RiskLow risk
RequirementsFFmpeg is not preinstalled on Windows — install it first with: winget install --id Gyan.FFmpeg
!Warning: Rotating re-encodes the video, so there is a small quality loss — keep the original file.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • FFmpeg Filters Documentation
    FFmpeg Project · vendor-doc · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: Documents the transpose video filter: transpose=1 rotates 90° clockwise, transpose=2 rotates 90° counter-clockwise; hflip/vflip mirror the picture.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Media