mkv-track-list

MKV Track List

Read the track structure of a Matroska container without modifying it. Produces a clean, human-readable table of all tracks, their codecs, languages, and metadata.

When to use

• User wants to see what audio, subtitle, and video tracks are in an MKV
• Before running mkv-strip-tracks, mkv-set-default-track, or mkv-extract-track, inspect the source
• Verify language tags and default-track flags on multi-language masters

Inputs to gather

• File — path to MKV file (required)

Procedure

1. Check mkvtoolnix is installed

if ! command -v mkvmerge >/dev/null; then
  echo "mkvtoolnix not installed. Install: apt install mkvtoolnix"
  exit 1
fi

2. Run mkvmerge -i and parse output

mkvmerge -i "$FILE" > /tmp/mkv_info.txt

The output includes lines like:

Track ID 0: video (V_UNCOMPRESSED, 1920x1080, 25.000 fps)
Track ID 1: audio (A_AAC, 2 channels, 48000 Hz, 'English')
Track ID 2: subtitles (S_TEXT/UTF8, 'English', default)

3. Parse and tabulate

Extract and format as a table with columns: Track # | Type | Codec | Language | Default? | Title

Example:

Track # │ Type     │ Codec              │ Language  │ Default │ Title
────────┼──────────┼────────────────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────
0       │ Video    │ H.265 (HEVC)       │ —         │ yes     │
1       │ Audio    │ AAC Stereo         │ English   │ yes     │ Commentary
2       │ Audio    │ AAC 5.1            │ Hebrew    │ no      │
3       │ Subs     │ UTF-8 text         │ English   │ no      │
4       │ Subs     │ UTF-8 text         │ Hebrew    │ yes     │

4. Show summary

Count total tracks by type and note any atypical flags (multiple default tracks in one type, etc.).

Output / side effects

Prints a formatted table to stdout. No files created or modified.

Notes

• mkvmerge is fast and non-destructive — safe to run on any MKV.
• Language codes are ISO 639-2 (three letters: eng, heb, fra, etc.). If a track has no language tag, show —.
• The "Default" column indicates the default_track flag for that track within its type (one default audio, one default subtitle, etc.).
• For detailed JSON output, use mkvinfo --json $FILE (if mkvtoolnix ≥ 75) — this skill aims for human readability instead.