MKVToolNix
Builds, inspects and edits MKV files: add subtitles, drop a track, fix chapters, all without re-encoding.
These buttons open the developer's own site, repository or store listing in a new tab. wares.gg does not host downloads.
5 more ways to get MKVToolNix
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by Moritz Bunkus. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install mkvtoolnix - Homebrew
brew install mkvtoolnix - Flathub
flatpak install flathub org.bunkus.mkvtoolnix-gui
About MKVToolNix
MKVToolNix works on the container rather than the video inside it. Adding a subtitle file, removing a commentary track, setting the default audio language, fixing chapter markers or splitting a file by time all happen by rewriting the container, which takes seconds and loses nothing.
The suite is a graphical multiplexer, a header editor, an info viewer and command line equivalents. It reads MP4, AVI, MPEG and many other sources and writes Matroska, which is why it is the standard tool for tidying up a video library.
Strengths
- Adds, removes and retags tracks without re-encoding anything
- Header editor for fixing default track flags and languages
- Splits and merges by time, size or chapter
- Command line tools that match the graphical ones for batch work
Limitations
- Matroska output only
- Cannot change the video or audio encoding at all
- The interface exposes a lot of container detail at once
- Chapter and tag editing uses XML
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the GPL 2.0.
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Developer
- Moritz Bunkus
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Fixing the tracks, subtitles and chapters of a video without touching the picture
- Categories
- Video editing
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Video); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Alternatives to MKVToolNix
Compare allSoftware that can replace MKVToolNix for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
FFmpeg
The command that converts, cuts, streams and inspects essentially any audio or video file in existence.
FFmpeg can remux and edit tracks without re-encoding in any container, not only Matroska, but it is command line only with no graphical header editor.
Shutter Encoder
A professional transcoding and media processing front end for FFmpeg, with batch queues, presets and genuinely lossless operations.
Shutter Encoder offers remux, stream extraction and audio replacement across formats plus transcoding, but it has no header editor for track flags and chapters.
LosslessCut
Trims and joins video and audio without re-encoding, so a cut takes seconds instead of an hour.
LosslessCut merges files, extracts tracks and repairs containers without re-encoding, but it focuses on cutting and lacks chapter and header editing.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
HandBrake
A video converter that turns files and unprotected discs into MP4, MKV or WebM with presets for common devices.
Subtitle Edit
Creates, retimes, translates and fixes subtitles, with a waveform so you can see where the speech is.
MediaInfo
Tells you exactly what is inside a video or audio file: codecs, bitrates, resolution, frame rate, subtitle and audio tracks.
MakeMKV
Turns a DVD or Blu-ray you own into an MKV file, keeping every track and chapter exactly as it was.
