kachlan (কচলান) — Bangla for squeezing juice from a lime. Just like wringing every last drop from a lime, kachlan squeezes the excess out of your video files.
Fast video compression CLI powered by ffmpeg. Compress a single file or an entire folder with one command.
No manual setup required! kachlan automatically downloads and installs ffmpeg on first run if it's not already installed.
A graphical desktop app with drag-and-drop, progress bar, and quality controls.
Features:
- 🎯 Drag-and-drop file or folder selection
- 📋 Video list preview before compression
- ⚙️ Quality controls (CRF, speed presets)
- 📁 Custom output path selection
- 📊 Real-time progress tracking
- ✨ Bundled ffmpeg - no manual setup required
| Windows (x64) ✨ Includes ffmpeg |
macOS (Universal) ✨ Includes ffmpeg |
Linux (x64) ✨ Includes ffmpeg |
Windows Installation:
- Download and extract the ZIP file
- Run
kachlan.exe
✨ Includes ffmpeg - ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe are bundled in the ZIP. No separate installation needed!
Linux Installation:
Download the .deb file and install:
sudo apt install ./kachlan-gui_linux_amd64.debOr double-click the .deb file to install via Software Center.
⚠️ Ubuntu Software may show "potentially unsafe" warning because this is not from Ubuntu's official repositories. This is expected for third-party packages. The app is open-source (MIT licensed) and safe to install.
macOS Installation:
Step 1: Download and Install
- Download the DMG file
- Open the DMG
- Drag kachlan to Applications folder
Step 2: Bypass Gatekeeper (Required)
macOS will show "Apple could not verify 'kachlan' is free of malware" when you first open it.
Method 1: System Settings (Easiest)
- Try to open kachlan from Applications
- Click "Done" on the warning dialog
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
- Scroll down to the Security section
- Click "Open Anyway" next to the kachlan message
- Click "Open" in the confirmation dialog
Method 2: Right-Click (Alternative)
- Right-click kachlan in Applications
- Select "Open"
- Click "Open" in the dialog
Method 3: Terminal (Advanced)
sudo spctl --add /Applications/kachlan.app
sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/kachlan.appIf app doesn't appear in Launchpad:
killall Dockℹ️ This is normal for open-source apps without an Apple Developer certificate. The source code is public and safe to review.
Having trouble? Check the Troubleshooting Guide
|
Extract the zip, double-click |
or Apple Silicon | Intel |
Install: |
All releases and architectures
# Go install
go install github.com/kmtusher97/kachlan/cli@latest
# From source
git clone https://github.com/kmtusher97/kachlan.git
cd kachlan/cli
make installkachlan video.mp4
# → video-compressed.mp4kachlan video.mp4 -o output.mp4kachlan ./my-videos/
# → ./my-videos-compressed/ (same structure, all videos compressed)kachlan ./my-videos/ -w 4# Higher quality (lower CRF = bigger file)
kachlan video.mp4 --crf 23
# Lower quality (higher CRF = smaller file)
kachlan video.mp4 --crf 32
# Slower encoding for better compression
kachlan video.mp4 --preset slow| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--crf |
28 |
Quality level (0-51, lower = better quality) |
--preset |
fast |
Encoding speed (ultrafast to veryslow) |
-o, --output |
auto | Output file or folder path |
-w, --workers |
1 |
Parallel compressions (folder mode) |
.mp4 .avi .mov .mkv .wmv .flv .webm .m4v .mpg .mpeg .3gp .ts
kachlan wraps ffmpeg with sensible defaults:
- Video codec: H.264 (libx264)
- Audio codec: AAC
- CRF: 28 (good balance of quality and size)
- Preset: fast
When compressing a folder, kachlan mirrors the directory structure into a new <folder>-compressed directory, preserving the original files untouched.