--- title: "The 16-Year-Olds Writing Assembly for FFmpeg While Security Researchers Generate Hype" author: "Cutsio Team" date: "2026-05-14" lastmod: "2026-05-14" category: "Video Technology" excerpt: "While security researchers make headlines with branded vulnerabilities, teenagers are writing thousands of lines of hand-optimized assembly for FFmpeg — and quietly fixing bugs that run on billions of devices. The contrast reveals what open source meritocracy actually looks like." tags: ["FFmpeg", "Assembly", "Teenage Developers", "Open Source", "Meritocracy"] --- ## Do teenagers really write production assembly code for FFmpeg? Yes, teenagers have written thousands of lines of hand-optimized assembly code for FFmpeg that ships to billions of devices, and the project explicitly celebrates this as proof that the only thing that matters is the quality of your code, not your age, credentials, or employer. The most famous example that the FFmpeg account has highlighted is Ruikai Peng, a 16-year-old whose early contributions to FFmpeg involved finding and fixing real issues in the codebase. Unlike the security researchers who generate branded websites, catchy names, and alarming CVEs for the vulnerabilities they discover, Ruikai found issues, fixed them in three days, and moved on. No drama. No press releases. Just excellent engineering. The contrast was intentional. Kieran Kunhya, who runs the FFmpeg account, posted about Ruikai's work alongside the ongoing debate about AI-generated security reports. "The kids are all right," he wrote. The point was clear: while the security industry creates elaborate incentives for finding bugs and publicizing them, the actual work of making software better — the fixing, the optimizing, the maintaining — is being done by people who do not need the external validation. The history of teenage contributors in the FFmpeg and VLC ecosystem goes back decades. Daniel Kang wrote significant amounts of assembly code for FFmpeg as a high schooler. Felix started working on VLC's Mac and iOS support at 16, and he is still the maintainer of those platforms today. Edward Wong was 14 when he started contributing through Google Summer of Code and stayed with the project for three years. ## What does the assembly-written-by-teenagers stat actually mean? The stat "teenagers have written more assembly in FFmpeg than Google engineers" is a pointed response to someone who suggested that running an open source project required particular credentials or corporate affiliations — it means that the project evaluates contributions solely on technical merit, and teenagers who learn assembly can contribute at the same level as senior industry engineers. The quote went viral in response to a Google employee who suggested there were better ways to run an open source project. Kieran responded by highlighting that the project's teenage contributors had written more hand-optimized assembly than engineers at one of the most prestigious technology companies in the world. The point was not that Google engineers are incompetent. It was that FFmpeg's meritocracy is genuine. The project does not care if you are a 16-year-old in your bedroom or a senior engineer at Google. It cares about your code. A teenager who learns SIMD assembly, studies the FFmpeg coding standards, and submits patches that survive code review will see their code running on billions of devices. A Google engineer who submits a poorly structured patch will get it rejected. This creates an environment that is uniquely empowering for young developers. "There are no barriers," Kieran explained. "There are no barriers to you have to study at college under this person and understand these. You can learn C. You can learn assembly. You can contribute to world-class technologies." ## Who are some of the teenage contributors in the FFmpeg and VLC community? Notable teenage contributors include Ruikai Peng (16, contributed assembly and bug fixes to FFmpeg), Daniel Kang (high schooler, wrote assembly code for FFmpeg), Felix (16, started maintaining VLC on Mac and iOS, still does it years later), and Edward Wong (14, Google Summer of Code participant who stayed with VideoLAN for three years). Each of these stories challenges the assumption that low-level systems programming requires years of formal education or industry experience. Felix's story is particularly remarkable. He started contributing to VLC as a hobby at 16. Over time, he became the primary maintainer for VLC on macOS and iOS. This means every VLC user on a Mac or iPhone is using software that a person who started contributing as a teenager is responsible for maintaining. Two decades later, he is still a core part of the team. Edward Wong was 14 when he participated in Google Code-in, a program that paired high school students with open source projects. He wrote assembly code for x264 and VLC. He stayed with VideoLAN for three years. His contributions are shipping to this day. These stories are not exceptions. They are evidence of a deliberate cultural choice. The FFmpeg and VLC communities actively welcome young contributors because they understand that passion and ability are not correlated with age or credentials. The only thing that matters is whether you can write excellent code. ## How does the FFmpeg community's meritocracy work in practice? FFmpeg's meritocracy works by evaluating every contribution solely on its technical quality, enforced through rigorous code review by a core team of long-term maintainers who will have to support every accepted line of code for years to come. The process is straightforward but demanding. A contributor submits a patch to the mailing list or through the project's review system. The patch is reviewed by one or more maintainers. They examine the code quality, the algorithmic approach, the test coverage, and the documentation. They provide feedback. The contributor revises. The cycle continues until the patch meets the project's standards. The standards are high. "The core community of VLC is five people. The core community of FFmpeg is ten to fifteen. We are the ones going to maintain your code," JB Kempf explained. "It needs to be maintainable. It needs to be excellent. Sometimes that means you need to rework your work because it was good, but it is not excellent." This rigor can feel harsh to first-time contributors. A teenager who submits their first patch might receive feedback pointing out multiple issues. The tone can be direct. But the feedback is always about the code, not the person. The project does not care about your background. It cares that your code meets the standard, because the maintainers will be living with it for years. The teenage contributors who succeed in this environment are the ones who understand that the harshness is a form of respect. The maintainers are investing time in reviewing their code because they believe the contributor can meet the standard. If they did not think the contributor was capable, they would not bother. ## What does this contrast reveal about the security industry? The contrast between teenage contributors and security researchers reveals that the open source ecosystem has misaligned incentives: finding vulnerabilities is rewarded with fame, money, and career advancement, while fixing them quietly gets no recognition at all. Alex Strange, a former FFmpeg developer, articulated this perfectly in his widely shared Hacker News post. "Security people are rampant self-promoters. Imagine you are a humble volunteer open source developer. If a security researcher finds a bug in your code, they are going to make up a cute name for it, start a website with a logo. Google is going to give them a million-dollar bounty. They are going to go to DEF CON and get a prize, and I assume go to some kind of secret security people orgy where everyone is dressed like they are in The Matrix. Nobody is going to do any of that for you when you fix it." The contrast with the teenage contributors is stark. Ruikai Peng found an issue and fixed it in three days. He did not create a CVE. He did not design a logo. He did not issue a press release. He fixed the bug and moved on to the next one. The FFmpeg account celebrated his work because it represents the values the community wants to promote: find problems, fix them, and do not make the fix about yourself. This is not to say that security research is unimportant. Finding vulnerabilities is essential work. The problem is that the ecosystem rewards discovery far more than remediation, and this imbalance distorts priorities. Vulnerabilities on obscure decades-old codecs get branded and publicized. The actual work of making FFmpeg better — the assembly optimization, the refactoring, the new codec support — gets none of the same attention. ## What can young developers learn from the FFmpeg community? Young developers can learn that the FFmpeg community offers an unparalleled education in real-world software engineering — the code review process is brutal but transformative, the technical depth is unmatched, and the satisfaction of seeing your code run on billions of devices is incomparable. "When you join FFmpeg, you learn from the best," JB Kempf explained. "We are the best teachers you have ever had in programming. If you are good in C, in FFmpeg, if you know how to write assembly, I assure you you are going to be one of the best programmers ever." The learning-by-review model is uniquely effective. Every patch gets scrutinized by engineers who have been working on multimedia for decades. They point out not just what is wrong, but why it is wrong and how to fix it properly. The review comments themselves are a masterclass in software engineering. Andrew Kelley, the creator of the Zig programming language, is a notable example of an engineer who came through the FFmpeg school. His experience working on FFmpeg shaped his approach to systems programming and directly influenced the design of Zig. The advice from the community to aspiring contributors is simple: work on something you love. "The first reason people come to VLC and FFmpeg is because they love video," JB says. "They love watching anime, they love movies, they love the technology. Work on something you love." | Contributor | Age When Started | Contribution | Impact | |---|---|---|---| | Ruikai Peng | 16 | Assembly code and bug fixes | Code runs on billions of devices | | Daniel Kang | High school | Assembly optimization | Performance-critical code paths | | Felix | 16 | Mac/iOS VLC support | Primary maintainer years later | | Edward Wong | 14 | Assembly for x264 and VLC | Three years of sustained contribution |

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## FAQ **How can a teenager learn to write assembly for FFmpeg?** Start by learning C from the K&R book, then study SIMD programming for x86 or ARM. Read the FFmpeg developer documentation, join the mailing list, and submit small patches. The community reviews every contribution and provides detailed feedback. **Is the FFmpeg code review process really harsh?** The code review process is demanding but fair. Reviewers focus entirely on code quality, not the contributor's background. The harshness is a form of respect — reviewers invest time because they believe the contributor can meet the standard. **Do teenage contributors get paid for their work?** Most FFmpeg contributors, including teenagers, work as volunteers. Some participate in programs like Google Summer of Code or Google Code-in, which provide stipends for open source contributions. **How long does it take for a teenager to become a core FFmpeg contributor?** Becoming a core contributor typically takes years of sustained contributions. Most contributors do not become long-term maintainers. The project explicitly notes that only about 1% of contributors stay permanently. **What is the best advice for a young developer who wants to contribute to FFmpeg?** Work on something you love. The FFmpeg community recommends starting with a format or codec that interests you personally, learning the codebase through that lens, and submitting small, well-tested patches.