System requirements

Hardware

The following is the minimum level of hardware HandBrake formally supports.

While it may be technically possible to run HandBrake on hardware not meeting these requirements, it is not recommended.

Notice: Users with Intel CPU’s

If you are using Windows 10 and also have an Intel 12th generation CPU (or newer), we recommend using the “High Performance” power profile in Windows.

In HandBrake Preferences, we also recommend you set the “Priority Level” to “Normal” on the Advanced tab.

This should help maintain performance when HandBrake is not a foreground window.

This should not be necessary if you are running Windows 11.

Hardware encoders

Please see the specific documentation pages for these encoders for further details.

Software

The following describes the level of support available for the current HandBrake version as indicated by the status for each system version.

Status Description Support Level Maintenance
Supported HandBrake is maintained and tested working on these system versions. The HandBrake Team and community members provide volunteer support. Issue reports are welcome and addressed based on team availability.
Deprecated HandBrake might work on these system versions with limitations. No support will be provided. Most issues will likely not be addressed. Please update to enjoy the latest features and bug fixes.
Unsupported HandBrake does not work or is severely limited on these system versions. No support will be provided. No issues will be addressed, regardless of severity. Updating as soon as possible is highly recommended.

BSD and Linux

FreeBSD

HandBrake is supported on FreeBSD stable and maintenance versions.

FreeBSD Version Status Last Compatible Version Notes
FreeBSD 13 Supported
FreeBSD 12 Supported
FreeBSD 11 Unsupported 1.3.3

Fedora

HandBrake is supported on Fedora stable and maintenance versions until their end of life.

Fedora Version Status Last Compatible Version Notes
Fedora 39 Supported
Fedora 38 Supported
Fedora 37 Unsupported HandBrake 1.6.1 End of life.
Fedora 36 Unsupported HandBrake 1.6.1 End of life.
Fedora 35 Unsupported HandBrake 1.5.1 End of life.
Fedora 34 Unsupported HandBrake 1.5.1 End of life.
Fedora 33 Unsupported HandBrake 1.4.2 End of life.
Fedora 32 Unsupported HandBrake 1.4.2 End of life.
Fedora 31 Unsupported HandBrake 1.4.2 End of life.
Fedora 30 Unsupported HandBrake 1.4.2 End of life.
Fedora 29 Unsupported HandBrake 1.3.1 End of life.
Fedora 28 Unsupported HandBrake 1.3.1 End of life.

Ubuntu

HandBrake is supported on the most recent Ubuntu LTS version until a new LTS version is released. Support for older LTS versions may be provided via Flatpak.

Interim (non-LTS) versions are typically supported until their end of life.

Ubuntu Version Status Last Compatible Version Notes
22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish Supported Flatpak, and source.
20.04 LTS Focal Fossa Deprecated Flatpak, and source.
18.04 LTS Bionic Beaver Unsupported HandBrake 1.3.3 Flatpak only.
16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus Unsupported HandBrake 1.1.2 End of life (standard support).
14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr Unsupported HandBrake 1.1.2 End of life (standard support).

Other

While no official support for other systems is provided, HandBrake’s Flatpak binaries are widely compatible, and documentation is provided for compiling from source on a variety of BSDs and Linux distributions. Hardware encoding support may be limited or unavailable on these systems.

See Where to get HandBrake, Building HandBrake for BSD, and Building HandBrake for Linux, for additional details.

Mac

HandBrake is supported on recent versions of macOS, and since version 1.4.0 is a Universal Binary supporting both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

macOS Version Status Last Compatible Version Notes
14 Sonoma Supported Requires HandBrake 1.5.0 or later.
13 Ventura Supported Requires HandBrake 1.5.0 or later.
12 Monterey Supported Requires HandBrake 1.4.0 or later.
11 Big Sur Deprecated Requires HandBrake 1.4.0 or later.
10.15 Catalina Deprecated Requires HandBrake 1.2.2 or later.
10.14 Mojave Deprecated End of life.
10.13 High Sierra Deprecated End of life.
10.12 Sierra Unsupported 1.4.2 End of life.
10.11 El Capitan Unsupported 1.4.2 End of life.
10.10 Yosemite Unsupported 1.1.2 End of life.
10.9 Mavericks Unsupported 1.1.2 End of life.
10.8 Mountain Lion Unsupported 1.1.2 End of life.
10.7 Lion Unsupported 1.1.2 End of life.
10.6 Snow Leopard Unsupported 0.10.5 End of life.

VLC is recommended for viewing media files, notably Matroska (MKV), which is not natively supported on macOS.

Windows

HandBrake requires .NET Desktop Runtime 6.0.x. Please becareful when selecting hte correct version to download. See the links under the “Run Desktop Apps” section in hte middle of the page!

Windows Version Status Last Compatible Version Notes
Windows 11 Supported
Windows 10 Supported 1909 or later.
Windows 8.1 Unsupported 1.3.3 1.4.2 runs with limitations.
Windows 7 SP1 Unsupported 1.3.3 1.4.2 runs with limitations.
Windows Vista Unsupported 1.0.7 End of life.
Windows XP Unsupported 0.9.9 End of life.

Display scaling

Display scaling beyond 100% requires a proportionately higher resolution to fit the higher density interface graphics in the same physical space. For example, HandBrake will fit within the bounds of a 1920x1080 HD resolution display at 100% and 125% scaling, but not at 150% and higher.

Customization to system themes, such as font sizes and padding, may also impact the ability of the window to render in the space provided.

If HandBrake does not fit within the bounds of your display, you can try changing the Scale and Layout setting on Windows, or the Scaling Factor setting on Linux, to a smaller value.