# mltframework/mlt

MLT Multimedia Framework

Repository: https://github.com/mltframework/mlt
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mlt
Homepage: https://www.mltframework.org
Language: C
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Topics: c, c-plus-plus, multimedia, audio, video, video-processing, audio-processing, ffmpeg, qt, framework, frei0r, ladspa, opengl, sdl2
Last push: 2026-08-26T16:09:43+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 92/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 78, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5255, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 70, "gap_med": 85.5, "n_releases_24m": 9}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1833, forks 376 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:41.895095+00:00)

## What it is
MLT is an LGPL multimedia framework for authoring, managing, and running multitrack audio/video compositions, originally built for television broadcasting. It serves as the engine behind non-linear video editors like Shotcut and provides a plugin-based C API with bindings for many languages, plus the melt command-line player.

## Use cases
- build a non-linear video editor application
- transcode and process video files from the command line
- author multitrack audio/video compositions programmatically
- apply filters, transitions, and keyframe animations to video
- stream audio/video over HTTP or multicast
- render video headlessly on a server
- add motion tracking or stabilization to video pipelines

## When to choose
- you need a proven engine for a video editing or media playback application
- you want FFmpeg-compatible codec support with frame-accurate seeking
- you need cross-platform C/C++ multimedia processing with scripting bindings
- you are building Shotcut, Kdenlive-style editors or broadcast tooling

## When to avoid
- you only need simple one-off video conversions (use FFmpeg directly)
- you want a ready-made end-user video editor rather than a framework
- you need a high-level managed-language or web-based media pipeline

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: video-processing, audio-processing, graphics, plugin-system, cli
- domain: media, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, cpp, c, cross-platform
- tags: multimedia, nonlinear-video-editing, ffmpeg, shotcut-engine, broadcasting, keyframes, transcoding, melt, video, audio, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mltframework/mlt (main) score 92

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:41.895095+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:18:38.385851+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mltframework/mlt (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:41.895095+00:00, sha a0e3e4237922)
  - homepage: https://www.mltframework.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:57:52.173885+00:00, sha 7687cf1d88c4)
  - site_page: https://www.mltframework.org/features (fetched 2026-08-29T10:57:52.183357+00:00, sha 50027ce5f475)
  - site_page: https://www.mltframework.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:57:52.185242+00:00, sha b68edffcd5f9)
  - site_page: https://www.mltframework.org/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T10:57:52.187006+00:00, sha 847762f6abb9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.