name: gst-plugin-finder
description: Find the right GStreamer elements and plugins for a given task. Use when a user needs to identify which GStreamer element handles a specific codec, protocol, effect, or media operation.
GStreamer Plugin Finder
Identify the right GStreamer elements for any multimedia task. Covers codecs, protocols, effects, sources, sinks, and utility elements.
How to Search for Elements
# List all elements
gst-inspect-1.0
# Search by keyword
gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i h264
gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i rtmp
gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i pulse
# Inspect element details
gst-inspect-1.0 x264enc
# List elements in a plugin package
gst-inspect-1.0 --plugin x264
# Check which package provides an element (Debian/Ubuntu)
apt-file search gst-plugin-scanner # Find plugin dirs
apt list --installed 2>/dev/null | grep gstreamer
Element Catalog by Task
Video Decoders
| Codec |
Software |
Hardware (VAAPI) |
Hardware (NVIDIA) |
Hardware (V4L2) |
| H.264 |
avdec_h264 |
vaapih264dec |
nvh264dec |
v4l2h264dec |
| H.265 |
avdec_h265 |
vaapih265dec |
nvh265dec |
v4l2h265dec |
| VP8 |
vp8dec |
vaapivp8dec |
- |
v4l2vp8dec |
| VP9 |
vp9dec |
vaapivp9dec |
nvvp9dec |
v4l2vp9dec |
| AV1 |
av1dec, dav1ddec |
vaapiav1dec |
nvav1dec |
- |
| MPEG-2 |
avdec_mpeg2video |
vaapimpeg2dec |
- |
- |
Video Encoders
| Codec |
Software |
Hardware (VAAPI) |
Hardware (NVIDIA) |
Hardware (V4L2) |
| H.264 |
x264enc |
vaapih264enc |
nvh264enc |
v4l2h264enc |
| H.265 |
x265enc |
vaapih265enc |
nvh265enc |
v4l2h265enc |
| VP8 |
vp8enc |
vaapivp8enc |
- |
- |
| VP9 |
vp9enc |
vaapivp9enc |
nvvp9enc |
- |
| AV1 |
av1enc, svtav1enc |
vaav1enc |
nvav1enc |
- |
| JPEG |
jpegenc |
vaapijpegenc |
- |
v4l2jpegenc |
Audio Codecs
| Codec |
Encoder |
Decoder |
Plugin Package |
| AAC |
voaacenc, fdkaacenc, avenc_aac |
avdec_aac, faad |
gst-plugins-bad, gst-libav |
| MP3 |
lamemp3enc |
mpg123audiodec, avdec_mp3 |
gst-plugins-good/ugly, gst-libav |
| Opus |
opusenc |
opusdec |
gst-plugins-base |
| Vorbis |
vorbisenc |
vorbisdec |
gst-plugins-base |
| FLAC |
flacenc |
flacdec |
gst-plugins-good |
| PCM/WAV |
wavenc |
wavparse |
gst-plugins-good |
Muxers / Demuxers
| Container |
Muxer |
Demuxer |
| MP4/MOV |
mp4mux, qtmux |
qtdemux |
| MKV |
matroskamux |
matroskademux |
| WebM |
webmmux |
matroskademux |
| MPEG-TS |
mpegtsmux |
tsdemux |
| FLV |
flvmux |
flvdemux |
| AVI |
avimux |
avidemux |
| Ogg |
oggmux |
oggdemux |
| WAV |
wavenc |
wavparse |
Source Elements
| Source |
Element |
Notes |
| File |
filesrc |
Any file type |
| URI (auto) |
uridecodebin, urisourcebin |
HTTP, file, RTSP |
| Webcam (Linux) |
v4l2src |
/dev/video* |
| Webcam (macOS) |
avfvideosrc |
- |
| Screen (X11) |
ximagesrc |
X11 screen capture |
| PulseAudio |
pulsesrc |
Linux audio capture |
| PipeWire |
pipewiresrc |
Modern Linux audio/video |
| ALSA |
alsasrc |
Direct ALSA capture |
| RTSP |
rtspsrc |
RTSP client |
| RTMP |
rtmpsrc |
RTMP pull |
| SRT |
srtsrc |
SRT receive |
| UDP/RTP |
udpsrc |
Raw UDP packets |
| Test video |
videotestsrc |
Test patterns |
| Test audio |
audiotestsrc |
Sine wave, noise |
| App (programmatic) |
appsrc |
Push buffers from code |
Sink Elements
| Sink |
Element |
Notes |
| File |
filesink |
Write to file |
| Auto video |
autovideosink |
Best available display |
| Auto audio |
autoaudiosink |
Best available output |
| X11 |
ximagesink, xvimagesink |
X11 display |
| Wayland |
waylandsink |
Wayland display |
| PulseAudio |
pulsesink |
PulseAudio output |
| PipeWire |
pipewiresink |
PipeWire output |
| ALSA |
alsasink |
Direct ALSA output |
| RTMP |
rtmpsink, rtmp2sink |
RTMP push |
| SRT |
srtsink |
SRT send |
| UDP |
udpsink |
Raw UDP output |
| TCP |
tcpserversink, tcpclientsink |
TCP streaming |
| Fake (discard) |
fakesink |
Drop data (testing) |
| App (programmatic) |
appsink |
Receive buffers in code |
| HLS |
hlssink, hlssink2 |
HLS output |
Video Processing
| Task |
Element |
| Color format conversion |
videoconvert |
| Scaling |
videoscale |
| Framerate adjustment |
videorate |
| Cropping |
videocrop |
| Flipping / rotating |
videoflip |
| Compositing / mixing |
compositor |
| Text overlay |
textoverlay, clockoverlay, timeoverlay |
| Image overlay |
gdkpixbufoverlay |
| Color balance |
videobalance |
| Box drawing |
rsvgoverlay |
| Deinterlacing |
deinterlace |
Audio Processing
| Task |
Element |
| Format conversion |
audioconvert |
| Resampling |
audioresample |
| Mixing |
audiomixer |
| Volume control |
volume |
| Equalization |
equalizer-3bands, equalizer-10bands |
| Echo / effects |
audioecho |
| Level metering |
level |
| Noise suppression |
webrtcdsp |
Network / Streaming
| Protocol |
Elements |
| RTP |
rtpbin, rtph264pay/depay, rtpvp8pay/depay, rtpopuspay/depay |
| RTSP |
rtspsrc, rtspclientsink |
| RTMP |
rtmpsrc, rtmpsink, rtmp2src, rtmp2sink |
| SRT |
srtsrc, srtsink |
| WebRTC |
webrtcbin |
| HLS |
hlssink, hlssink2, hlsdemux |
| DASH |
dashdemux, dashsink |
Utility Elements
| Purpose |
Element |
| Thread decoupling |
queue, queue2, multiqueue |
| Branching |
tee |
| Selecting streams |
input-selector, output-selector |
| Caps filtering |
capsfilter |
| Identity / debugging |
identity |
| Valve (block flow) |
valve |
| Type finding |
typefind |
| Auto decoder |
decodebin, decodebin3 |
| Auto playback |
playbin, playbin3 |
| Parse H.264 |
h264parse |
| Parse H.265 |
h265parse |
| Parse AAC |
aacparse |
Plugin Packages (Debian/Ubuntu)
gstreamer1.0-plugins-base # Core elements: playback, conversion, encoding basics
gstreamer1.0-plugins-good # High-quality plugins: matroska, jpeg, png, pulse, v4l2
gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad # Varied quality: x265, opus, srt, webrtc, hls
gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly # Patent-encumbered: x264, mp3, mpeg2
gstreamer1.0-libav # FFmpeg/libav decoders and encoders
gstreamer1.0-vaapi # VAAPI hardware acceleration
gstreamer1.0-tools # gst-launch-1.0, gst-inspect-1.0
libgstreamer1.0-dev # Development headers
Guidelines
- Use
gst-inspect-1.0 ELEMENT to verify an element exists before using it
- Hardware-accelerated elements (
vaapi*, nv*, v4l2*) depend on driver support - fall back to software if unavailable
- When multiple elements do the same thing, prefer: plugins-base > plugins-good > plugins-bad > plugins-ugly > libav
decodebin3 and playbin3 auto-select the best decoder/sink, useful for quick prototyping- For production, pin specific elements rather than relying on auto-selection
By