diff --git a/libavfilter/avfilter.c b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
index 2d935cf576..5dcb548e90 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfilter.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 
 #include "audio.h"
 #include "avfilter.h"
+#include "avfilter_internal.h"
 #include "filters.h"
 #include "formats.h"
 #include "framequeue.h"
diff --git a/libavfilter/avfilter_internal.h b/libavfilter/avfilter_internal.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3dd51fb993
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libavfilter/avfilter_internal.h
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of FFmpeg.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with FFmpeg; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+/*
+ * APIs internal to the generic filter(graph) layer.
+ *
+ * MUST NOT be included by individual filters.
+ */
+
+#ifndef AVFILTER_AVFILTER_INTERNAL_H
+#define AVFILTER_AVFILTER_INTERNAL_H
+
+#include "avfilter.h"
+#include "framequeue.h"
+
+typedef struct AVFilterCommand {
+    double time;                ///< time expressed in seconds
+    char *command;              ///< command
+    char *arg;                  ///< optional argument for the command
+    int flags;
+    struct AVFilterCommand *next;
+} AVFilterCommand;
+
+struct AVFilterGraphInternal {
+    void *thread;
+    avfilter_execute_func *thread_execute;
+    FFFrameQueueGlobal frame_queues;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Update the position of a link in the age heap.
+ */
+void ff_avfilter_graph_update_heap(AVFilterGraph *graph, AVFilterLink *link);
+
+/**
+ * Allocate a new filter context and return it.
+ *
+ * @param filter what filter to create an instance of
+ * @param inst_name name to give to the new filter context
+ *
+ * @return newly created filter context or NULL on failure
+ */
+AVFilterContext *ff_filter_alloc(const AVFilter *filter, const char *inst_name);
+
+/**
+ * Remove a filter from a graph;
+ */
+void ff_filter_graph_remove_filter(AVFilterGraph *graph, AVFilterContext *filter);
+
+int ff_filter_activate(AVFilterContext *filter);
+
+/**
+ * Parse filter options into a dictionary.
+ *
+ * @param logctx context for logging
+ * @param priv_class a filter's private class for shorthand options or NULL
+ * @param options dictionary to store parsed options in
+ * @param args options string to parse
+ *
+ * @return a non-negative number on success, a negative error code on failure
+ */
+int ff_filter_opt_parse(void *logctx, const AVClass *priv_class,
+                        AVDictionary **options, const char *args);
+
+int ff_graph_thread_init(AVFilterGraph *graph);
+
+void ff_graph_thread_free(AVFilterGraph *graph);
+
+#endif /* AVFILTER_AVFILTER_INTERNAL_H */
diff --git a/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c b/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
index ea0d7713e3..df22de03a0 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@
 
 
 #include "avfilter.h"
+#include "avfilter_internal.h"
 #include "buffersink.h"
 #include "formats.h"
 #include "framequeue.h"
 #include "internal.h"
 #include "link_internal.h"
-#include "thread.h"
 
 #define OFFSET(x) offsetof(AVFilterGraph, x)
 #define F AV_OPT_FLAG_FILTERING_PARAM
diff --git a/libavfilter/graphparser.c b/libavfilter/graphparser.c
index 229e647c0a..5d6dcdb9d3 100644
--- a/libavfilter/graphparser.c
+++ b/libavfilter/graphparser.c
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include "libavutil/opt.h"
 
 #include "avfilter.h"
+#include "avfilter_internal.h"
 #include "internal.h"
 
 #define WHITESPACES " \n\t\r"
diff --git a/libavfilter/internal.h b/libavfilter/internal.h
index 3d46923cad..0e3f68d1f4 100644
--- a/libavfilter/internal.h
+++ b/libavfilter/internal.h
@@ -26,20 +26,6 @@
 
 #include "libavutil/internal.h"
 #include "avfilter.h"
-#include "framequeue.h"
-
-typedef struct AVFilterCommand {
-    double time;                ///< time expressed in seconds
-    char *command;              ///< command
-    char *arg;                  ///< optional argument for the command
-    int flags;
-    struct AVFilterCommand *next;
-} AVFilterCommand;
-
-/**
- * Update the position of a link in the age heap.
- */
-void ff_avfilter_graph_update_heap(AVFilterGraph *graph, AVFilterLink *link);
 
 /**
  * A filter pad used for either input or output.
@@ -127,12 +113,6 @@ struct AVFilterPad {
     int (*config_props)(AVFilterLink *link);
 };
 
-struct AVFilterGraphInternal {
-    void *thread;
-    avfilter_execute_func *thread_execute;
-    FFFrameQueueGlobal frame_queues;
-};
-
 typedef struct FFFilterContext {
     /**
      * The public AVFilterContext. See avfilter.h for it.
@@ -356,23 +336,6 @@ int ff_request_frame(AVFilterLink *link);
  */
 int ff_filter_frame(AVFilterLink *link, AVFrame *frame);
 
-/**
- * Allocate a new filter context and return it.
- *
- * @param filter what filter to create an instance of
- * @param inst_name name to give to the new filter context
- *
- * @return newly created filter context or NULL on failure
- */
-AVFilterContext *ff_filter_alloc(const AVFilter *filter, const char *inst_name);
-
-int ff_filter_activate(AVFilterContext *filter);
-
-/**
- * Remove a filter from a graph;
- */
-void ff_filter_graph_remove_filter(AVFilterGraph *graph, AVFilterContext *filter);
-
 /**
  * The filter is aware of hardware frames, and any hardware frame context
  * should not be automatically propagated through it.
@@ -415,17 +378,4 @@ int ff_filter_process_command(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *cmd,
 int ff_filter_init_hw_frames(AVFilterContext *avctx, AVFilterLink *link,
                              int default_pool_size);
 
-/**
- * Parse filter options into a dictionary.
- *
- * @param logctx context for logging
- * @param priv_class a filter's private class for shorthand options or NULL
- * @param options dictionary to store parsed options in
- * @param args options string to parse
- *
- * @return a non-negative number on success, a negative error code on failure
- */
-int ff_filter_opt_parse(void *logctx, const AVClass *priv_class,
-                        AVDictionary **options, const char *args);
-
 #endif /* AVFILTER_INTERNAL_H */
diff --git a/libavfilter/pthread.c b/libavfilter/pthread.c
index 1a063d3cc0..a0336a8e04 100644
--- a/libavfilter/pthread.c
+++ b/libavfilter/pthread.c
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@
 #include "libavutil/slicethread.h"
 
 #include "avfilter.h"
-#include "internal.h"
-#include "thread.h"
+#include "avfilter_internal.h"
 
 typedef struct ThreadContext {
     AVFilterGraph *graph;
diff --git a/libavfilter/thread.h b/libavfilter/thread.h
deleted file mode 100644
index c709f17a33..0000000000
--- a/libavfilter/thread.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * This file is part of FFmpeg.
- *
- * FFmpeg is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
- * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
- *
- * FFmpeg is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
- * Lesser General Public License for more details.
- *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
- * License along with FFmpeg; if not, write to the Free Software
- * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
- */
-
-#ifndef AVFILTER_THREAD_H
-#define AVFILTER_THREAD_H
-
-#include "avfilter.h"
-
-int ff_graph_thread_init(AVFilterGraph *graph);
-
-void ff_graph_thread_free(AVFilterGraph *graph);
-
-#endif /* AVFILTER_THREAD_H */
