What Video Codecs Are Available in Remotion? A Complete Developer Guide

Remotion supports eight video codecs—h264, h265, vp8, vp9, prores, h264-mkv, h264-ts, and gif—with specific availability determined by container format and whether you render locally or via the cloud.

When programmatically generating videos with Remotion, selecting the right codec impacts playback compatibility, file size, and rendering performance. The remotion-dev/remotion repository defines codec support across multiple layers, from core constants in packages/core/src/codec.ts to container-specific mappings and cloud rendering constraints.

Core Video Codecs Supported in Remotion

The validCodecs Constant

The definitive list of video codecs available in Remotion is enumerated in the validCodecs constant located in [packages/core/src/codec.ts]. This array defines every codec that Remotion can output, including specialized variants for specific containers.

The video codecs included in the core list are:

• h264 – Standard H.264/AVC encoding for MP4 containers
• h265 – H.265/HEVC for higher compression efficiency in MP4
• vp8 – Open video codec for WebM containers
• vp9 – Successor to VP8 with better compression for WebM
• prores – Apple ProRes codec for professional editing workflows
• h264-mkv – H.264 variant for Matroska (MKV) containers
• h264-ts – H.264 for MPEG-TS containers
• gif – Animated GIF output format

The core list also includes audio-only codecs (aac, mp3, wav, opus, pcm), though these are excluded when working with video compositions.

Container-Specific Video Codec Availability

Not all codecs work with every container format. The [packages/webcodecs/src/get-available-video-codecs.ts] file provides the getAvailableVideoCodecs function, which returns the subset of codecs compatible with a specific container.

MP4 Container Codecs

When exporting to MP4 format, Remotion supports:

• h264 (default)
• h265

These codecs provide broad browser compatibility (H.264) or improved compression for high-resolution content (H.265).

WebM Container Codecs

For WebM containers, Remotion utilizes open codecs optimized for web delivery:

• vp8 (default)
• vp9

VP9 offers superior compression compared to VP8, though encoding requires more processing time.

Specialized Containers

The h264-mkv and h264-ts codecs enable H.264 encoding within Matroska and MPEG-Transport Stream containers, respectively. The prores codec generates professional-grade output suitable for video editing software, while gif produces animated images without audio.

Querying Video Codecs Programmatically

Remotion exposes several utilities to inspect codec availability at runtime, enabling dynamic configuration based on container selection or rendering environment.

Using getAvailableVideoCodecs

The getAvailableVideoCodecs function in [packages/webcodecs/src/get-available-video-codecs.ts] returns an array of supported video codecs for a given container:

import {getAvailableVideoCodecs} from '@remotion/webcodecs';

const mp4Codecs = getAvailableVideoCodecs({container: 'mp4'});
// → ['h264', 'h265']

const webmCodecs = getAvailableVideoCodecs({container: 'webm'});
// → ['vp8', 'vp9']

const wavCodecs = getAvailableVideoCodecs({container: 'wav'});
// → []

This function filters the core validCodecs list to return only those compatible with the specified container format.

Retrieving Default Codecs

When you need a sensible default for a container without explicit configuration, use getDefaultVideoCodec from [packages/webcodecs/src/get-default-video-codec.ts]:

import {getDefaultVideoCodec} from '@remotion/webcodecs';

const defaultForMp4 = getDefaultVideoCodec({container: 'mp4'});
// → 'h264'

const defaultForWebm = getDefaultVideoCodec({container: 'webm'});
// → 'vp8'

const defaultForWav = getDefaultVideoCodec({container: 'wav'});
// → null

This utility ensures consistent defaults across your application: H.264 for MP4, VP8 for WebM, and no video codec for audio-only WAV containers.

Cloud Rendering and Encodable Codecs

When rendering via Remotion's cloud infrastructure (Mediabunny), not all theoretically supported codecs may be available for every bitrate or quality configuration. The [packages/web-renderer/src/get-encodable-codecs.ts] file provides getEncodableVideoCodecs, which queries the Mediabunny service to determine which codecs can actually be encoded given specific constraints.

import {getEncodableVideoCodecs} from '@remotion/web-renderer';

async function listEncodable() {
  const codecs = await getEncodableVideoCodecs('mp4', {videoBitrate: 'high'});
  console.log('Encodable MP4 codecs:', codecs);
  // Example output: ['h264', 'h265'] (depends on Mediabunny capabilities)
}

listEncodable();

This function filters the core codec list against the cloud service's current capabilities, ensuring you don't attempt to render with a codec that doesn't support your requested bitrate or quality settings.

Summary

• Remotion supports eight video codecs: h264, h265, vp8, vp9, prores, h264-mkv, h264-ts, and gif, defined in [packages/core/src/codec.ts].
• Container compatibility varies: MP4 supports h264 and h265; WebM supports vp8 and vp9; WAV supports none.
• Use getAvailableVideoCodecs from [packages/webcodecs/src/get-available-video-codecs.ts] to query supported codecs for specific containers.
• Default codecs are h264 for MP4 and vp8 for WebM, retrievable via getDefaultVideoCodec.
• Cloud rendering via Mediabunny may restrict available codecs based on bitrate settings; verify with getEncodableVideoCodecs from [packages/web-renderer/src/get-encodable-codecs.ts].

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the default video codec for MP4 exports in Remotion?

The default video codec for MP4 containers is h264. You can retrieve this programmatically using the getDefaultVideoCodec function from @remotion/webcodecs, which returns 'h264' when passed {container: 'mp4'}.

Can I use ProRes codecs with Remotion?

Yes, Remotion includes prores in its core codec list defined in [packages/core/src/codec.ts]. ProRes is available for high-quality professional workflows, though you should verify container compatibility and whether your rendering environment (local vs. cloud via Mediabunny) supports it for your specific bitrate requirements.

How do I check if a specific codec is supported before rendering?

Import the validCodecs array from @remotion/core/codec to validate against the master list of supported codecs. For container-specific validation, use getAvailableVideoCodecs from @remotion/webcodecs to ensure the codec works with your target container format.

Does Remotion support AV1 video codec?

Based on the current source code in [packages/core/src/codec.ts], AV1 is not included in the validCodecs constant. The supported modern codecs include h265 (HEVC) and vp9, which offer comparable compression efficiency to AV1 for most web and professional use cases.

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