From 98b757a9b19b1a76b28386735c7a2583e80ea4a4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Fabrice Quenneville <fabquenneville@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 17 May 2026 05:12:50 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] feat: add video_repackage_mkv.py script

Add a Python utility to recursively repackage non-MKV video files into Matroska containers using FFmpeg, preserving all original streams and metadata without re-encoding.
---
 README.md                      |   1 +
 scripts/video_repackage_mkv.py | 139 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 140 insertions(+)
 create mode 100755 scripts/video_repackage_mkv.py

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 77a728f..f757536 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ This repository is structured into several key directories:
   - `video_autoreduce_rename.py`: A script for automated renaming of video files post resolution reduction.
   - `video_manage_audio.py`: A script for removing audio from video files.
   - `video_manage_subtitles.py`: A script for removing subtitles from video files.
+  - `video_repackage_mkv.py`: Recursively repackage non-MKV video files into Matroska containers.
 
 - **notes/**: A collection of markdown files containing notes on various topics, including:
   - `brother.md`: Brother printer setup and troubleshooting on Linux.
diff --git a/scripts/video_repackage_mkv.py b/scripts/video_repackage_mkv.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..fa5851f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/video_repackage_mkv.py
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""A utility script to repackage video files into MKV containers using FFmpeg.
+
+This script recursively scans a specified directory for non-MKV video files
+and uses FFmpeg to repackage them into '.mkv' containers. It explicitly maps
+all streams (video, audio, subtitles, data) and preserves all metadata without
+re-encoding. It includes options to automatically delete the source files upon
+successful conversion.
+"""
+
+import argparse
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Sequence
+
+# Define the targeted non-MKV extensions (case-insensitive handling below)
+TARGET_EXTENSIONS = {".mp4", ".m4v", ".flv", ".avi", ".mov", ".wmv"}
+
+
+def parse_args(args: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> argparse.Namespace:
+    """Parse command-line arguments for the repackaging utility.
+
+    Args:
+        args: Optional sequence of strings to parse. If None, sys.argv is used.
+
+    Returns:
+        An argparse.Namespace object containing the parsed arguments.
+    """
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Recursively repackage non-MKV video files into MKV containers, preserving all streams and metadata."
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-i",
+        "--input",
+        type=Path,
+        default=Path.cwd(),
+        help="Path to the root directory to scan for video files (default: current working directory).",
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-d",
+        "--delete",
+        action="store_true",
+        default=False,
+        help="Delete the original video files upon successful conversion.",
+    )
+
+    # Enable argcomplete support if the module is available
+    try:
+        import argcomplete
+
+        argcomplete.autocomplete(parser)
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+
+    return parser.parse_args(args)
+
+
+def repackage_to_mkv(input_dir: Path, delete_source: bool) -> None:
+    """Recursively scan the input directory and repackage non-MKV videos to MKV.
+
+    Args:
+        input_dir: The root Path directory to scan.
+        delete_source: If True, deletes the original video file after a
+            successful FFmpeg operation.
+    """
+    if not input_dir.is_dir():
+        print(f"Error: The directory '{input_dir}' does not exist.")
+        return
+
+    print(f"Scanning '{input_dir}' recursively for video files...")
+
+    video_files = [
+        p
+        for p in input_dir.rglob("*")
+        if p.is_file() and p.suffix.lower() in TARGET_EXTENSIONS
+    ]
+
+    if not video_files:
+        print("No matching video files found.")
+        return
+
+    print(f"Found {len(video_files)} files to process.\n")
+
+    for file_path in video_files:
+        output_path = file_path.with_suffix(".mkv")
+
+        if output_path.exists():
+            print(
+                f"Warning: Destination {output_path.name} already exists. Skipping to avoid accidental overwrite."
+            )
+            print("-" * 40)
+            continue
+
+        cmd = [
+            "ffmpeg",
+            "-i",
+            str(file_path),
+            "-map",
+            "0",
+            "-c",
+            "copy",
+            "-map_metadata",
+            "0",
+            str(output_path),
+            "-loglevel",
+            "error",
+            "-y",
+        ]
+
+        # Display the relative path from the input directory so it's easier to track progress
+        relative_display = file_path.relative_to(input_dir)
+        print(f"Processing: {relative_display} -> {output_path.name}...")
+
+        try:
+            subprocess.run(cmd, check=True)
+            print(f"Successfully converted: {file_path.name}")
+
+            if delete_source:
+                file_path.unlink()
+                print(f"Deleted original file: {file_path.name}")
+
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+            print(f"Failed to convert: {file_path.name}")
+        except OSError as e:
+            print(f"System error processing {file_path.name}: {e}")
+
+        print("-" * 40)
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    """Main execution entry point."""
+    args = parse_args()
+    repackage_to_mkv(input_dir=args.input, delete_source=args.delete)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()