How to go frame by frame in VLC Media Player

Press the E key to pause and step forward one frame at a time in VLC Media Player. The on-screen button for the same action is hidden by default. The button needs a quick toggle to show up; the E key works immediately.

Method 1: The one-key keyboard shortcut

The fastest way is VLC's built-in keyboard shortcut. No setup needed; it works while the video plays.

Open your video inside VLC Media Player.
Press E when you reach the frame you want to look at.
Press E key repeatedly to go frame by frame or hold it down to advance slowly.

The first tap pauses the video. Each tap after that moves the video forward one frame. A small "Next frame" label flashes in the top-right corner.

Method 2: Enable the on-screen "Advanced Controls" button

If you prefer a mouse, you can show VLC's hidden toolbar with a frame-by-frame button.

Click on View in the top menu bar.
Select Advanced Controls from the dropdown menu. (A checkmark should appear next to it).
Look just above the Play/Pause button in the bottom-left corner. A new row of four icons appears.
Click the rightmost icon (a small vertical line next to a right-pointing arrow). This is the Frame-by-Frame button.

Can you go backward frame by frame?

No. VLC does not step backward one frame at a time. This is a core limitation of how digital video files are encoded. Video files store a full picture only about once per second and fill the gaps with small changes between frames. Going backward would require a lot of processing, so most players skip it.

The Workaround: If you skip past the frame you want, do this:

Press the < (left arrow key) on your keyboard to instantly jump backward by 10 seconds.
Let the video play for a moment, tap the Space bar (space key) to pause it just before your target mark, and use the E key or VLC frame-by-frame button to step forward precisely again.

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