# Aviator

Canonical URL: https://encode.wiki/tools/utilities/aviator/
Content version: ca42e61ede0a24f789d7287a0001244ad22f4abf
Status: current
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Checksum (SHA-256): 0f994185d2ccecd1104fa5a2c3f47d68f8c9bb28ccf0e522d32a978871c2c3eb

> **Repository:** [gianni-rosato/aviator](https://github.com/gianni-rosato/aviator). A lightweight, Flatpak-first, easy-to-use GUI utility for encoding with SVT-AV1 & Opus. Latest release: [0.6.0](https://github.com/gianni-rosato/aviator/releases/tag/0.6.0), Mar 12, 2024. Last commit: Apr 25, 2026. License: GPL-3.0. Stars: 252.

Aviator is a GUI by Gianni Rosato and Nate Sales for encoding [AV1](/codecs/video/av1/) video and [Opus](/codecs/audio/opus/) audio on Linux. It is aimed at people who want a good AV1 encode without learning encoder options: open a file, adjust a few sliders, and encode. It uses the [SVT-AV1-HDR](/tools/software-encoders/svt-av1-hdr/) fork (older versions used SVT-AV1-PSY) and a bundled FFmpeg.

<img
  width="640"
  height="360"
  src="/media/content/eed5b552abac5aec-aviator_splash2.avif"
  alt="Aviator splash screen"
/>

## Install it

Aviator is distributed as a Flatpak on [Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/net.natesales.Aviator), which ships its own encoder and FFmpeg builds:

```sh
flatpak install flathub net.natesales.Aviator
```

Flathub carries version 0.7.0 (2025); the last tagged GitHub release is older (0.6.0). Third-party packages, such as AUR builds, are not supported upstream. Building from source needs `flatpak-builder`, Python 3 and GCC (`git clone https://github.com/gianni-rosato/aviator && cd aviator && make`). There is no Windows version.

## Settings

<img
  width="678"
  height="567"
  src="/media/content/ece5a00d49f03917-aviator_video.webp"
  alt="Aviator video settings"
  loading="lazy"
/>

- **Video:** resolution defaults to the source (changing one dimension keeps the aspect ratio), preset 6 and CRF 32. Lower CRF means higher quality and larger files. **Grain Synth** adds AV1 film-grain synthesis, which lets grainy sources be encoded efficiently; **Denoise** removes the source noise before grain is added back.
- **Audio:** always re-encoded to Opus, 80 kbit/s by default, unless **Copy Audio** is on. **Downmix to Stereo** folds surround tracks down to two channels; volume and loudness normalisation are also available.
- **Output:** Matroska by default, or WebM. WebM drops subtitles and is unavailable with Copy Audio, since the copied audio might not be WebM-compatible.

<img
  width="678"
  height="567"
  src="/media/content/53975d6780beb6c9-aviator_audio.webp"
  alt="Aviator audio settings"
  loading="lazy"
/>

For per-scene parallel encoding and more control, see [Av1an](/tools/utilities/av1an/).