How to convert video to hls m3u8 correctly?

Question

fmpeg

Good afternoon.
I wanted to learn from experts how to properly convert video to hls format using m3u8.

• Can I convert mkv, avi, etc. formats directly to hls or do I need to convert to mp4 first?
  
• If you need to mp4 first, is there a common one command for ffmpeg, so that with one command a file from avi is converted to hsl with an m3u8 playlist?