new way to specify extra options

README.md

@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ You can (if you really need to!) also overwrite your input file. Warning, this w
 
 If you need some fancy extra options, such as setting `vbr` for the `libfdk_aac` encoder, pass them to the `-e`/`--extra-options` argument:
 
-    ffmpeg-normalize input.m4a -c:a libfdk_aac -e '["-vbr": "3"]' -o output.m4a
+    ffmpeg-normalize input.m4a -c:a libfdk_aac -e='-vbr 3' -o output.m4a
 
 Further examples? Please submit a PR so I can collect them.
 
@@ -175,9 +175,15 @@ Output Format:
 
 - `-e EXTRA_OUTPUT_OPTIONS, --extra-output-options EXTRA_OUTPUT_OPTIONS`: Extra output options list.
 
-    A JSON-formatted list of ffmpeg command line arguments. Wrap in quotes to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes inside string.
+    A list of extra ffmpeg command line arguments.
 
-    Example: `-e '[ "-vbr", "3" ]'`
+    You can either use a JSON-formatted list, or a simple string of space-
+    separated arguments. If JSON is used, you need to wrap the argument in
+    quotes to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes
+    inside the string. If a simple string is used, you need to specify the
+    argument with `-e=`.
+
+    Examples: `-e '[ "-vbr", "3" ]'` or `-e="-vbr 3"`
 
 - `-ofmt OUTPUT_FORMAT, --output-format OUTPUT_FORMAT`: Media format to use for output file(s).
 

ffmpeg_normalize/__main__.py

@@ -258,11 +258,15 @@ def create_parser():
         help=textwrap.dedent("""\
         Extra output options list.
 
-        A JSON-formatted list of ffmpeg command line arguments. Wrap in quotes
-        to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes inside
-        string.
+        A list of extra ffmpeg command line arguments.
 
-        Example: `-e '[ "-vbr", "3" ]'`
+        You can either use a JSON-formatted list, or a simple string of space-
+        separated arguments. If JSON is used, you need to wrap the argument in
+        quotes to prevent shell expansion and to preserve literal quotes
+        inside the string. If a simple string is used, you need to specify the
+        argument with `-e=`.
+
+        Examples: `-e '[ "-vbr", "3" ]'` or `-e="-vbr 3"`
         """)
     )
     group_format.add_argument(

ffmpeg_normalize/_ffmpeg_normalize.py

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 import json
 from numbers import Number
 from tqdm import tqdm
+import shlex
+
+try:
+    from json.decoder import JSONDecodeError
+except ImportError:
+    JSONDecodeError = ValueError
 
 from ._cmd_utils import get_ffmpeg_exe, ffmpeg_has_loudnorm
 from ._media_file import MediaFile
@@ -107,7 +113,13 @@ def __init__(
         if extra_output_options:
             try:
                 if isinstance(extra_output_options, str):
-                    self.extra_output_options = [str(s) for s in json.loads(extra_output_options)]
+                    if extra_output_options.startswith('['):
+                        try:
+                            self.extra_output_options = [str(s) for s in json.loads(extra_output_options)]
+                        except JSONDecodeError as e:
+                            self.extra_output_options = shlex.split(extra_output_options)
+                    else:
+                        self.extra_output_options = shlex.split(extra_output_options)
                 elif isinstance(extra_output_options, list):
                     self.extra_output_options = extra_output_options
             except Exception as e:

test/test.py

@@ -14,17 +14,22 @@
 
 sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__) + '/../'))
 
-def ffmpeg_normalize_call(args, env=None):
-    cmd = [sys.executable, '-m', 'ffmpeg_normalize']
-    cmd.extend(args)
-    print()
-    print(" ".join(cmd))
+def ffmpeg_normalize_call(args, env=None, raw=False):
+    if not raw:
+        cmd = [sys.executable, '-m', 'ffmpeg_normalize']
+        cmd.extend(args)
+        print()
+        print(" ".join(cmd))
+    else:
+        cmd = sys.executable + ' -m ffmpeg_normalize ' + args
+        print(cmd)
     p = subprocess.Popen(
         cmd,
         stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
         stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
         universal_newlines=True,
-        env=env
+        env=env,
+        shell=raw
     )
     stdout, stderr = p.communicate()
 
@@ -87,10 +92,14 @@ def test_vcodec(self):
         ffmpeg_normalize_call(['test/test.mp4', '-c:v', 'libx264'])
         self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('normalized/test.mkv'))
 
-    def test_extra_options(self):
+    def test_extra_options_json(self):
         ffmpeg_normalize_call(['test/test.mp4', '-c:a', 'aac', '-e', '[ "-vbr", "3" ]'])
         self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('normalized/test.mkv'))
 
+    def test_extra_options_normal(self):
+        output, _ = ffmpeg_normalize_call('test/test.mp4 -c:a aac -e="-vbr 3"', raw=True)
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('normalized/test.mkv'))
+
     def test_ofmt_fail(self):
         Path('normalized').mkdir(exist_ok=True)
         output, _ = ffmpeg_normalize_call(['test/test.mp4', '-ofmt', 'mp3', '-o', 'normalized/test.mp3', '-vn', '-sn'])