GPAC Open-Source Multimedia Framework Nears 100 Million Downloads
Marking over two decades of innovation, the milestone reflects global developer engagement with GPAC technologies including MP4Box and MP4Box.js
Paris, France — 10th June 2025 —GPAC, the open-source multimedia framework supported by a global community of contributors and led in part by Motion Spell, has announced today that the project is on track to surpass 100 million cumulative downloads, a major milestone that reflects the long-standing global engagement with its powerful set of tools — including MP4Box and MP4Box.js. This achievement highlights over two decades of innovation and developer adoption across diverse use cases, from academic research to real-time media workflows.
Originally developed at École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST), under the direction of Jean le Feuvre, GPAC has evolved into a modular, lightweight framework for multimedia packaging, streaming, and playback. With components now integrated into browsers, development pipelines, and experimental streaming platforms, GPAC continues to support a wide variety of open-source and commercial projects.
GPAC’s evolution from an academic research project into a trusted toolset for packaging, streaming, and media experimentation has been quietly remarkable.
While open-source projects often lack precise usage attribution, the aggregated download metrics across GitHub, npm, and other platforms suggest an active and diverse ecosystem — ranging from universities and individual developers to companies building next-generation media pipelines.
In recent years, growth has accelerated through GPAC’s role in browser-based applications (such as MP4Box.js), research and prototyping, and advanced media packaging needs, including support for AV1, CMAF, low-latency streaming, and multicast ABR.
“This milestone reflects the trust and enthusiasm of a global community of developers who value performance, modularity, and transparency in their ultramedia workflows,” said Romain Bouqueau, CEO of Motion Spell, the company that contributes significantly to the GPAC codebase and offers professional support and integration services. “GPAC continues to grow because it solves real-world media challenges — and we’re proud to support that journey.”
“What began as a research initiative at Télécom Paris over two decades ago has grown into one of the most versatile open-source multimedia frameworks in the world”, said Jean Le Feuvre, Research Director at Telecom Paris Multimedia Lab and creator of GPAC. “The GPAC project continues to demonstrate how academic innovation can translate into practical, global impact. Reaching 100 million downloads is a testament not only to the software’s relevance, but to the dedication of the community that has kept it thriving for 22 years.”
To mark this milestone, Motion Spell invites developers and media professionals to share how they use GPAC technologies. These stories will help showcase the diversity of the community and inspire new applications in the evolving media landscape.
About GPAC
GPAC is a powerful open-source multimedia framework for research, development, and production. Originally created in 2000 at Télécom Paris (formerly ENST), GPAC has become a foundational toolkit in the media technology ecosystem, trusted by developers and researchers worldwide.
Designed to be lightweight, modular, and highly scriptable, GPAC supports a wide range of applications including video packaging, streaming, playback, and advanced multimedia processing. Its components — including MP4Box, GPAC Filters, and MP4Box.js — are widely used for ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF) manipulation, adaptive bitrate packaging (DASH/CMAF), browser-based video workflows, and experimental streaming architectures.
Actively maintained by a global community of contributors and institutions, GPAC is also supported commercially by Motion Spell, a professional services company specializing in streaming video technologies. GPAC has been integrated into numerous research projects, streaming testbeds, video labs, and production pipelines around the world. It is available under the LGPL license.
Learn more at https://gpac.io
About Motion Spell
Motion Spell is the expert services company behind GPAC, helping businesses operationalize open-source media tools for demanding commercial workflows. Led by Romain Bouqueau, one of GPAC’s principal architects and an expert in advanced multimedia streaming, transcoding, packaging and delivery. Motion Spell enables its clients to leverage the full potential of GPAC for deploying state-of-the-art multimedia solutions. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services, including professional consulting, integration support, commercial licensing, training and bespoke solutions. With a strong focus on innovation, R&D and standards, Motion Spell is dedicated to empowering clients with efficient, flexible multimedia solutions. The company’s commitment to redefining industry trends and providing operational flexibility ensures a robust return on investment for its clients. The company is based in Paris, France. For more information: www.motionspell.com
