change output order of FFprobe

Question

How can I change the output order of FFprobe?

ffprobe -hide_banner -show_streams -show_format space.mkv -of json=c=0 -o output.json creates a json output file with the streams sections first and the format section last.

I need the reverse order (format section first, streams section last).

But reordering the parameters (i.e. -show_format -show_streams) has no effect unfortunately.

This is the output of the command above:

{
    "streams": [
        {
            "index": 0,
            "codec_name": "h264",
            "codec_long_name": "H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10",
            "profile": "Main",
            "codec_type": "video",
            "codec_tag_string": "[0][0][0][0]",
            "codec_tag": "0x0000",
            "width": 256,
            "height": 144,
            "coded_width": 256,
            "coded_height": 144,
            "closed_captions": 0,
            "film_grain": 0,
            "has_b_frames": 1,
            "sample_aspect_ratio": "1:1",
            "display_aspect_ratio": "16:9",
            "pix_fmt": "yuv420p",
            "level": 11,
            "color_range": "tv",
            "color_space": "bt709",
            "color_transfer": "bt709",
            "color_primaries": "bt709",
            "chroma_location": "left",
            "field_order": "progressive",
            "refs": 1,
            "is_avc": "true",
            "nal_length_size": "4",
            "r_frame_rate": "3737/250",
            "avg_frame_rate": "3737/250",
            "time_base": "1/1000",
            "start_pts": 0,
            "start_time": "0.000000",
            "bits_per_raw_sample": "8",
            "extradata_size": 41,
            "disposition": {
                "default": 1,
                "dub": 0,
                "original": 0,
                "comment": 0,
                "lyrics": 0,
                "karaoke": 0,
                "forced": 0,
                "hearing_impaired": 0,
                "visual_impaired": 0,
                "clean_effects": 0,
                "attached_pic": 0,
                "timed_thumbnails": 0,
                "captions": 0,
                "descriptions": 0,
                "metadata": 0,
                "dependent": 0,
                "still_image": 0
            },
            "tags": {
                "HANDLER_NAME": "ISO Media file produced by Google Inc.",
                "VENDOR_ID": "[0][0][0][0]",
                "DURATION": "00:10:53.276000000"
            }
        },
        {
            "index": 1,
            "codec_name": "aac",
            "codec_long_name": "AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)",
            "profile": "HE-AAC",
            "codec_type": "audio",
            "codec_tag_string": "[0][0][0][0]",
            "codec_tag": "0x0000",
            "sample_fmt": "fltp",
            "sample_rate": "44100",
            "channels": 2,
            "channel_layout": "stereo",
            "bits_per_sample": 0,
            "initial_padding": 0,
            "r_frame_rate": "0/0",
            "avg_frame_rate": "0/0",
            "time_base": "1/1000",
            "start_pts": 0,
            "start_time": "0.000000",
            "extradata_size": 25,
            "disposition": {
                "default": 1,
                "dub": 0,
                "original": 0,
                "comment": 0,
                "lyrics": 0,
                "karaoke": 0,
                "forced": 0,
                "hearing_impaired": 0,
                "visual_impaired": 0,
                "clean_effects": 0,
                "attached_pic": 0,
                "timed_thumbnails": 0,
                "captions": 0,
                "descriptions": 0,
                "metadata": 0,
                "dependent": 0,
                "still_image": 0
            },
            "tags": {
                "HANDLER_NAME": "ISO Media file produced by Google Inc.",
                "VENDOR_ID": "[0][0][0][0]",
                "DURATION": "00:10:53.409000000"
            }
        }
    ],
    "format": {
        "filename": "space.mkv",
        "nb_streams": 2,
        "nb_programs": 0,
        "format_name": "matroska,webm",
        "format_long_name": "Matroska / WebM",
        "start_time": "0.000000",
        "duration": "653.409000",
        "size": "5252652",
        "bit_rate": "64310",
        "probe_score": 100,
        "tags": {
            "title": "SpaceX Starship explodes on first launch attempt",
            "COMMENT": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk1BViilFFk",
            "COMPATIBLE_BRANDS": "iso6avc1mp41",
            "MAJOR_BRAND": "dash",
            "MINOR_VERSION": "0",
            "ARTIST": "CNN",
            "DATE": "20230420",
            "DESCRIPTION": "SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launch pad on the coast of South Texas, but exploded midair before stage separation. #CNN #News",
            "SYNOPSIS": "SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launch pad on the coast of South Texas, but exploded midair before stage separation. #CNN #News",
            "PURL": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk1BViilFFk",
            "ENCODER": "Lavf60.4.101"
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

The order in which sections are printed is hard-coded and insensitive to user specification.

This is the layout in the source.

if (do_read_frames || do_read_packets) {
...
}

if (do_show_programs) {
...
}

if (do_show_streams) {
...
}
if (do_show_chapters) {
...
}
if (do_show_format) {
...
}