diff --git a/doc/filters.texi b/doc/filters.texi
index c27a58febc20163f517f9ec1aed0a2c0c4a9170c..a71a145941d9c48b02978a3478dad7e5b6e3ea11 100644
--- a/doc/filters.texi
+++ b/doc/filters.texi
@@ -1245,7 +1245,7 @@ Number of input streams. Defaults to 2.
 Desired output channel layout. Defaults to stereo.
 
 @item map
-Map channels from inputs to output. The argument is a comma-separated list of
+Map channels from inputs to output. The argument is a '|'-separated list of
 mappings, each in the @code{@var{input_idx}.@var{in_channel}-@var{out_channel}}
 form. @var{input_idx} is the 0-based index of the input stream. @var{in_channel}
 can be either the name of the input channel (e.g. FL for front left) or its
@@ -1265,7 +1265,7 @@ ffmpeg -i INPUT1 -i INPUT2 -i INPUT3 -filter_complex join=inputs=3 OUTPUT
 To build a 5.1 output from 6 single-channel streams:
 @example
 ffmpeg -i fl -i fr -i fc -i sl -i sr -i lfe -filter_complex
-'join=inputs=6:channel_layout=5.1:map=0.0-FL\,1.0-FR\,2.0-FC\,3.0-SL\,4.0-SR\,5.0-LFE'
+'join=inputs=6:channel_layout=5.1:map=0.0-FL|1.0-FR|2.0-FC|3.0-SL|4.0-SR|5.0-LFE'
 out
 @end example
 
diff --git a/libavfilter/af_join.c b/libavfilter/af_join.c
index ac3b76ca9d15cb434a71fa3e11dc6ff6eff6450b..cba400225b3ff8b6cdd783e975b97dfc73849992 100644
--- a/libavfilter/af_join.c
+++ b/libavfilter/af_join.c
@@ -103,14 +103,23 @@ static int filter_frame(AVFilterLink *link, AVFrame *frame)
 static int parse_maps(AVFilterContext *ctx)
 {
     JoinContext *s = ctx->priv;
+    char separator = '|';
     char *cur      = s->map;
 
+#if FF_API_OLD_FILTER_OPTS
+    if (cur && strchr(cur, ',')) {
+        av_log(ctx, AV_LOG_WARNING, "This syntax is deprecated, use '|' to "
+               "separate the mappings.\n");
+        separator = ',';
+    }
+#endif
+
     while (cur && *cur) {
         char *sep, *next, *p;
         uint64_t in_channel = 0, out_channel = 0;
         int input_idx, out_ch_idx, in_ch_idx;
 
-        next = strchr(cur, ',');
+        next = strchr(cur, separator);
         if (next)
             *next++ = 0;
 
@@ -183,11 +192,6 @@ static int join_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args)
     JoinContext *s = ctx->priv;
     int ret, i;
 
-    s->class = &join_class;
-    av_opt_set_defaults(s);
-    if ((ret = av_set_options_string(s, args, "=", ":")) < 0)
-        return ret;
-
     if (!(s->channel_layout = av_get_channel_layout(s->channel_layout_str))) {
         av_log(ctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Error parsing channel layout '%s'.\n",
                s->channel_layout_str);
@@ -513,6 +517,7 @@ AVFilter avfilter_af_join = {
     .description    = NULL_IF_CONFIG_SMALL("Join multiple audio streams into "
                                            "multi-channel output"),
     .priv_size      = sizeof(JoinContext),
+    .priv_class     = &join_class,
 
     .init           = join_init,
     .uninit         = join_uninit,
@@ -520,5 +525,4 @@ AVFilter avfilter_af_join = {
 
     .inputs  = NULL,
     .outputs = avfilter_af_join_outputs,
-    .priv_class = &join_class,
 };
diff --git a/libavfilter/avfilter.c b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
index 2b8b8cda76cee30e918bbe20931f6a6c13f39e8d..44275e9546f401e6d3110658b8cc03489f70097f 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfilter.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avfilter.c
@@ -693,6 +693,7 @@ int avfilter_init_filter(AVFilterContext *filter, const char *args, void *opaque
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name, "hqdn3d"     ) ||
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name, "idet"       ) ||
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name,  "il"        ) ||
+        !strcmp(filter->filter->name,  "join"      ) ||
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name,  "kerndeint" ) ||
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name, "ocv"        ) ||
         !strcmp(filter->filter->name, "life"       ) ||