Handbrake is a highly advanced open source video transcoder with which you can encode your videos to different formats and codecs so that you can play them on different devices such as Mobile Phones, TVs, Game Consoles etc.
It is a really simple application, but you can go to lengths to customize every single preset and change how your media is encoded. For beginners, the application also ships with a lot of presets for different devices so you can get started easily. Obviously, since Handbrake is a pretty famous application, you can find a lot of guide videos on sites like YouTube for tutorials and various tips and tricks in this application.
This guide walks through every method that still works today, plus how to keep HandBrake updated once it is running.
Features of Handbrake
Some of the features offered by this application are listed below:
- For beginner users, Handbrake provides a lot of presets from where you can choose different settings optimized for different devices, therefore working on videos and encoding them is just easy. Of course, advance settings exists for mature users.
- It supports input from various sources such as DVD or BluRays (without DRM protection) so that you can convert your physical media into digital media.
- Apart from that, this application supports output in various video codecs such as AV1, H.265, H.264, MPEG-4 and audio codecs including AAC, MP3, FLAC, AC3, Opus etc.
- Other useful features include Chapter and Title management, batch selection and queuing encodes, Adding subtitles, Video filters etc.
Installing Handbrake on Linux
Handbrake can be easily installed on every major Linux distribution. Depending upon your OS family, you can write the following commands in the Terminal window:
On Fedora Workstation
It can be easily installed on a Fedora workstation or any of its derivative distribution such as Nobara using the DNF command:
sudo dnf install handbrake
Note that this command will only install the command line edition of Handrake, if you need the GUI as well, then you can check out the ‘Flatpak’ edition of the application. Installation steps listed below.
On Debian and Ubuntu based distributions
On Debian and Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint, Zorin OS or Pop_OS, if you want to install the latest version of Handbrake, then you will need to add a PPA to your system. To do that, just open a Terminal window and type the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases
Now, just update the local package cache on your system using the following command:
sudo apt update
Finally, type the following command to install it on your PC:
sudo apt install handbrake-gtk
On Arch Linux
This program is hosted in the Arch User Repository (AUR) and hence can be easily installed on any Arch Linux based distribution such as Manjaro or Endeavor OS using an AUR helper such as yay or paru.
yay -S handbrake-full
Flatpak Edition
If your distribution is not mentioned here, or you just want a sandboxed application using the Flatpak packaging format, then this method is for you. Just open a Terminal window and type the following command to install Handbrake using Flatpak:
flatpak install flathub fr.handbrake.ghb
Nowadays, many distributions have enabled Flatpak by default, however just in case if it is not, then you can use this guide to install and enable Flatpak on your system.
Turning on hardware accelerated encoding
Software encoding through x264 or x265 uses the CPU for every frame, which works everywhere but takes real time on long videos. HandBrake on Linux can hand that work off to the GPU instead, cutting encode time noticeably on supported hardware.
- Intel GPUs use Quick Sync Video through VAAPI
- AMD GPUs use VCN, with AV1 support added for RDNA 3 cards like the RX 7900 XTX starting in HandBrake 1.7
- Nvidia GPUs use NVENC, also available since HandBrake 1.7 on 40 series cards
Enable it inside HandBrake by opening the Video tab and picking a codec from the Hardware category in the encoder list. If the hardware option is missing, the VAAPI or NVENC drivers likely need installing first. Fedora on RPM Fusion and Arch tend to have the smoothest path here since both package Mesa’s VAAPI drivers directly. The Flatpak build sandboxes GPU access separately, so hardware encoders sometimes need an extra permission grant through Flatseal if they do not show up on their own.
Updating HandBrake on Linux
How updates arrive depends entirely on which method installed HandBrake in the first place, since each path tracks a different upstream.
- Flatpak:
flatpak update fr.handbrake.ghbpulls the newest Flathub build - Ubuntu PPA:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgradepicks up new PPA releases automatically - Ubuntu universe: the same apt upgrade command applies, though updates land later than the PPA
- Fedora RPM Fusion:
sudo dnf upgraderefreshes HandBrake alongside the rest of the system - Arch:
sudo pacman -Syucovers it, since HandBrake now lives in the regular extra repository
HandBrake itself also checks for updates on launch and links to the downloads page when a new release is out, though that notice only points Linux users toward Flatpak or the source tarball rather than installing anything directly.
Uninstalling HandBrake on Linux
Removing HandBrake follows whichever install method brought it in, and cleaning up fully means clearing cached presets too.
Flatpak
flatpak uninstall --delete-data fr.handbrake.ghb
flatpak uninstall --unused
The second command clears leftover runtime libraries that only HandBrake was using.
APT or PPA
sudo apt remove --autoremove handbrake
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/handbrake
Skip the second line if HandBrake came from the universe repository instead of the PPA, since there is no PPA to remove in that case.
DNF
sudo dnf remove HandBrake-gui HandBrake-cli
This removes both the GUI and CLI packages installed through RPM Fusion.
Pacman
sudo pacman -Rns handbrake
The -Rns flags remove the package along with any dependencies pacman installed just for it and no longer needs.
Using HandBrake from the command line
Every install method above also includes HandBrakeCLI, the same encoding engine as the GUI without the interface, which is useful for batch jobs or scripts that need to run unattended.
HandBrakeCLI -i input.mkv -o output.mp4 -e x264 -q 22 --preset "Fast 1080p30"
The -e flag sets the video encoder, -q sets quality on a lower-is-better scale and --preset loads one of HandBrake’s built-in presets by name. Run HandBrakeCLI --preset-list to see every preset available, or HandBrakeCLI --help for the full flag reference. On Fedora, the RPM Fusion package splits this into HandBrake-cli specifically, so it needs installing separately from the GUI package if only the command-line tool is wanted.
Encoding every file in a folder in one pass just needs a small loop, since HandBrakeCLI does not have a built-in batch mode of its own.
for f in *.mkv; do
HandBrakeCLI -i "$f" -o "${f%.mkv}.mp4" -e x264 -q 22 --preset "Fast 1080p30"
done
Checking your installed HandBrake version
Confirming which HandBrake build is actually running matters more on Linux than elsewhere, since five different install methods can each land on a different version.
- Flatpak:
flatpak info fr.handbrake.ghbshows the installed version and branch - APT or PPA:
apt list --installed | grep handbrakeprints the installed package version - DNF:
dnf list installed HandBrake-guishows the same for Fedora - Pacman:
pacman -Qi handbrakeprints the exact build
Compare the result against the version listed on the downloads page to spot whether an update is overdue. The universe repository build on Ubuntu is usually the one that falls behind first, sometimes by a year or more, since it only refreshes on Ubuntu’s own release schedule rather than tracking HandBrake directly.
Fixing common Linux install issues
A handful of errors show up often enough across these install methods to cover directly.
- GPG key errors on the Ubuntu PPA: install software-properties-common first, since the add-apt-repository command itself lives in that package on minimal Ubuntu installs
- Flatpak cannot see files outside the home folder: the sandbox blocks external drives by default, open Flatseal, find HandBrake under Filesystem and grant access to the folder needed
- RPM Fusion prompts to import a GPG key on first install: this is expected, type y to accept it since this is the key RPM Fusion signs every package with
- Hardware encoders missing from the Video tab: this almost always means the VAAPI or NVENC driver is not installed yet, not a HandBrake bug
Key takeaways
- Fedora needs RPM Fusion enabled first, since HandBrake is not in Fedora’s default repos
- The old stebbins PPA is dead, use ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/handbrake for current Ubuntu builds instead
- Debian and Ubuntu’s universe repository installs HandBrake directly but lags behind new releases
- Arch now ships HandBrake in the extra repository, no AUR helper required
- Flatpak is the only Linux build published directly by the HandBrake team
- GPU encoding through VAAPI or NVENC cuts encode time significantly on supported hardware
- HandBrakeCLI ships with every install method for scripted or batch encoding
Frequently asked questions
Why does sudo apt install handbrake install an old version on Ubuntu?
Ubuntu’s universe repository only refreshes HandBrake occasionally, so it can trail the latest upstream release by a full version. Add the ubuntuhandbook1 PPA or use Flatpak for current builds.
Does the stebbins PPA still work for installing HandBrake?
No, ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases is locked and no longer updates. Use ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/handbrake instead, or install through Flatpak for a build the HandBrake team maintains directly.
Is HandBrake available in the Arch User Repository?
HandBrake moved out of the AUR into Arch’s official extra repository, so pacman -S handbrake installs it directly without needing yay or paru at all.
Why is HandBrake not in Fedora’s default repositories?
HandBrake bundles codecs that Fedora excludes from its main repos for patent reasons. Enable RPM Fusion Free first, then install HandBrake-gui and HandBrake-cli through DNF as usual.
Does HandBrake support hardware encoding on Linux?
Yes, through VAAPI for Intel and AMD GPUs and NVENC for Nvidia cards. AMD’s RDNA 3 GPUs gained AV1 hardware encoding support starting with HandBrake 1.7.
Can HandBrake rip encrypted DVDs on Linux?
Yes, with libdvdcss installed separately, since HandBrake does not bundle DVD decryption itself. Most distributions keep libdvdcss out of default repos for the same licensing reasons as some codecs.
What is the difference between HandBrake-gui and HandBrake-cli on Fedora?
HandBrake-gui installs the graphical app opened as HandBrake or ghb, while HandBrake-cli installs only HandBrakeCLI, the command-line encoder used for scripts and batch jobs.
Conclusion
HandBrake’s install story on Linux changes more often than the app itself, mostly around which repository currently has the freshest build. Flatpak is the safest default when in doubt, since it comes straight from the HandBrake team and updates the same way regardless of distribution. The official HandBrake documentation covers presets, filters and everything else for anyone ready to go beyond installation.