# Right-click to "Shrink Video" on Mac

I frequently upload screen recordings on my work in progress to our GitHub issues / PRs, but often hit the max file size of 10mb when demonstrating complicated features. I tried a few solutions including the built in "Encode Selected Video Files" which uses Quicktime, but that reduced the resolution of the video and I knew there was a better solution. 

There was! `ffmpeg` is a super powerful CLI that allows extremely flexible video processing. I was able to run this command in the terminal `ffmpeg -i ./path/to/my/bigvideo.mp4 ./path/to/my/shrunkenVideo.mp4` and it would shrink it nicely. 

However, I personally hate switching contexts between GUI stuff (screen recordings, browser based tools, etc) and CLI stuff (like ffmpeg). I wanted to be able to simply right-click on the video file in question on my desktop and click "Shrink Video". 

Enter Automator Quick Actions! Here's how I configured my right-click "Shrink Video" option:

1. Open Automator from your Applications
2. Select the gear icon "Quick Action" and click "Choose"
3. Scroll down the list and drag "Run Shell Script" (with a little terminal icon) onto the right-hand "workflow" box
4. Make the phrase say: "Workflow receives current `movie files` in `Finder.app`"
5. Inside the "Run Shell Script" box, select "Pass Input: `as arguments`"
6. Paste this script in the text box:
``` bash
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH
for f in "$@"
do
	cd ~/Desktop
	ffmpeg -i "$f" "$f"-shrunk.mp4
done
```
7.  `CMD-S` to save; I used the quick action name "Shrink Video"
8. Find a video file, right-click on it, and the new Option should appear under "Quick Actions" and/or "Services". 

![Screen Shot 2021-12-29 at 9.52.40 PM.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1640840046221/4djOapC8-.png)

Next step: figure out the flags in `ffmpeg` to limit the output size to 10mb, compressing the original file as much as necessary to make it fit.