Installing HandBrake on Linux

If in case you install the HandBrake package from your distribution repository or any other third-party repository, delete it before carrying on. See the part with a warning about broken third-party files.

Flathub Flatpak

The most convenient technique for installing HandBrake and managing updates is to install the release published on Flathub. Remember to review Flathub’s Quick Setup page for instructions and processes to enable both Flatpak and Flathub on the Linux distribution.

When Flathub is enabled on the Linux computer, the user can install HandBrake from Flathub itself with the help of Gnome Software GUI (‘gnome-software), or through the command line.

Installing software from Flathub and then Gnome Software is pretty easy and self-explanatory. To install software from the command line for the whole system to use:

flatpak install fr.handbrake.ghb

While installing, you will be asked for the password (assuming you have sudo privilege). When installed, HandBrake is available to all the users of that Linux system.

Installation with no sudo privileges:

flatpak –user install fr.handbrake.ghb

in this case, installed HandBrake will be available only to the user who installed it.

Flatpak Bundles

Alternatively, in an above-mentioned way, users can manually download, verify, and install Flatpak software bundles for HandBrake for Linux which are readily available on the HandBrake for Linux download page. Also available on the HandBrakeCLI download page or the development snapshot builds page.

Install the distribution’s flatpak package before running the commands given below.

After downloading and verifying, get the latest HandBrake GUI release.

flatpak –user install HandBrake-1.4.3-x86_64.flatpak

After downloading and verifying, get the latest HandBrake CLI release

flatpak –user install HandBrakeCLI-1.4.2-x86_64.flatpak

Install any nightly build. For instance, the filename changes nightly

Download the latest version of the snapshot from the [development 

snapshot builds](https://github.com/HandBrake/HandBrake-snapshots)

[^nightly-builds]

flatpak –user install fr.handbrake.ghb-20210720182537-a01549c9c-master-x86_64.flatpak

Launching HandBrake

Double-clicking on the cocktail & pineapple icon will quickly launch HandBrake.

Launching HandBrake Flatpak from the command line

To launch the HandBrake GUI with the help of the command line:

flatpak run fr.handbrake.ghb

The HandBrake GUI Flatpak package includes the CLI which may be run with

flatpak run –command=HandBrakeCLI fr.handbrake.ghb

Additional more HandBrakeCLI options go to the end of the above-mentioned command line.

If you have the stand-alone HandBrakeCLI Flatpak package, it also runs with

flatpak run fr.handbrake.HandBrakeCLI

Flatpak developers have even provided some useful helper scripts that get 

installed with the Flatpak package. However, the PATH environment doesn’t always include the location where these are installed.

If you want to use these mentioned helper scripts, update your PATH (usually operated in a shell initialization file like ~/.bash_profile)

export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.local/share/flatpak/exports/bin:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/bin

By including these directories in your PATH, you can run the GUI

fr.handbrake.ghb

And the CLI may be run with

fr.handbrake.HandBrakeCLI

Next steps

Continue to check for updates.

1. Nightly builds are based on the latest development code of HandBrake software. This includes new and experimental features which are prone to be unstable or different from the ones in the latest release version. Although everyone is welcome and allowed to try them, nightly builds are of the best use for experienced users and developers.

2. HandBrake is not associated or available with any third-party checksum utilities. Get this software strictly from vendors and/or websites you can trust.