diff --git a/tools/mtmd/CMakeLists.txt b/tools/mtmd/CMakeLists.txt
index ea684d9f15..d0329ca567 100644
--- a/tools/mtmd/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tools/mtmd/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 # mtmd
 
-set(MTMD_VIDEO ON CACHE BOOL "enable video support in mtmd (requires ffmpeg binary in PATH)")
+set(MTMD_VIDEO_HELP "enable video support in mtmd (requires ffmpeg binary in PATH)")
+
+set(MTMD_VIDEO ON CACHE BOOL "${MTMD_VIDEO_HELP}")
 # TODO: add MTMD_VIDEO_METHOD in the future to select between ffmpeg and other backends
 
+if (MTMD_VIDEO AND NOT LLAMA_SUBPROCESS)
+    message(STATUS "Disabling MTMD_VIDEO because LLAMA_SUBPROCESS is OFF")
+    set(MTMD_VIDEO OFF CACHE BOOL "${MTMD_VIDEO_HELP}" FORCE)
+endif()
+
 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
 
 add_library(mtmd