HandBrake Web

HandBrake Web wraps HandBrake — the widely used open source video transcoder — in a browser-based interface for headless server use. HandBrake’s desktop application requires a GUI environment to operate, which makes it impractical on a NAS, home server, or any machine you access remotely. HandBrake Web solves this by providing a queue-based conversion interface that runs in any browser.

You submit video files, select a HandBrake preset — the same presets available in the desktop application — and the job enters a queue. HandBrake Web processes jobs sequentially, and you can monitor progress, view conversion logs, and download completed files from the same interface. For batch conversion jobs, you can queue multiple files and let them run unattended.

HandBrake presets are the core of what makes this useful rather than just wrapping raw FFmpeg. HandBrake’s presets encode decades of codec knowledge into sensible defaults for common targets — Plex streaming, web-optimised H.264, AV1 for smaller file sizes — and HandBrake Web exposes all of them. Custom presets you have created in the desktop application can be imported as well.

The tool deploys as a Docker container, which makes it straightforward to add to an existing home media stack alongside Plex, Jellyfin, or a download client. Volume mounts connect HandBrake Web to your media directories, so converted files land directly in your library rather than requiring a separate download and move step. Hardware acceleration for GPU-based transcoding is technically supported but requires additional Docker configuration for GPU passthrough, which is not handled through the web UI itself.