Converts subtitles in a video from any format to plain text using ffmpeg

convert-subtitles.py

"""
Converts subtitles in a video from any format to plain text using ffmpeg.

Reads all files that match a glob pattern.
Writes output to current directory unless specified otherwise.

Usage: convert-subtitles.py <input_pattern> [output_folder]
Example: convert-subtitles.py ~/Videos/*.mkv
"""
import glob
import os
import sys


def convert_subtitles(input_pattern, output_folder):
    input_filenames = [
        filename
        for filename in glob.glob(input_pattern)
        if os.path.isfile(filename)
    ]
    if len(input_filenames) == 0:
        print('No files to process. Exiting.')
        return

    print('Converting subtitles in the following files:')
    for filename in input_filenames:
        print('    {}'.format(filename))

    cmd_template = 'ffmpeg -i "{}" -c:v copy -c:a copy -c:s text -map 0 "{}"'
    for i, filename in enumerate(input_filenames):
        print('[{}/{}] Processing "{}"'.format(i + 1, len(input_filenames), filename))
        cmd = cmd_template.format(filename, os.path.join(output_folder, os.path.basename(filename)))
        print('Executing: {}'.format(cmd))
        os.system(cmd)


def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print('Usage: convert-subtitles.py <input_pattern> [output_folder]')
        sys.exit(1)

    args = sys.argv[1:]
    input_pattern = args[0]
    output_folder = os.curdir if len(args) <= 1 else args[1]
    convert_subtitles(input_pattern, os.path.abspath(output_folder))


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()