MonoGame/MonoGame · error · InvalidOperationException

ffmpeg exited with non-zero exit code: {ffmpegStdout} {ffmp

Error message

ffmpeg exited with non-zero exit code: 
{ffmpegStdout}
{ffmpegStderr}

What it means

Thrown by DefaultAudioProfile.WritePcmFile when ffmpeg returns a non-zero exit code during PCM/WAV conversion. Unlike ConvertToFormat, WritePcmFile does not retry at lower quality — it fails immediately. The message includes ffmpeg's stdout and stderr for diagnosis.

Source

Thrown at MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline/Audio/DefaultAudioProfile.cs:279

                    reader.BaseStream.Seek(reader.ReadInt32(), SeekOrigin.Current);
                }
            }

            var dataSize = reader.ReadInt32();
            data = reader.ReadBytes(dataSize);

            return data;
        }

        public static void WritePcmFile(AudioContent content, string saveToFile, int bitRate = 192000, int? sampeRate = null)
        {
            var sampleArg = sampeRate != null ? $"-ar {sampeRate.Value}" : string.Empty;
            var ffmpegExitCode = FFmpeg.Run(
                $"-y -i \"{content.FileName}\" -vn -c:a pcm_s16le -b:a {bitRate} {sampleArg} -f:a wav -strict experimental \"{saveToFile}\"",
                out var ffmpegStdout,
                out var ffmpegStderr);
            if (ffmpegExitCode != 0)
                throw new InvalidOperationException($"ffmpeg exited with non-zero exit code: \n{ffmpegStdout}\n{ffmpegStderr}");
        }

        public static ConversionQuality ConvertToFormat(AudioContent content, ConversionFormat formatType, ConversionQuality quality, string? saveToFile)
        {
            var temporaryOutput = Path.GetTempFileName();
            try
            {
                string ffmpegCodecName, ffmpegMuxerName;
                //int format;
                switch (formatType)
                {
                    case ConversionFormat.Adpcm:
                        // ADPCM Microsoft
                        ffmpegCodecName = "adpcm_ms";
                        ffmpegMuxerName = "wav";
                        //format = 0x0002; /* WAVE_FORMAT_ADPCM */
                        break;
                    case ConversionFormat.Pcm:

View on GitHub (pinned to 1d71bbd0ff)

Solutions

1. Read the embedded ffmpegStderr in the exception message to find the exact ffmpeg error.
2. Run the ffmpeg command manually to reproduce and diagnose.
3. Install a full ffmpeg build that includes pcm_s16le and required muxers.
4. Validate the input file with `ffprobe -i <file>` before calling WritePcmFile.
5. Ensure bitRate and sampleRate arguments are within ffmpeg's accepted ranges.

Example fix

// before
DefaultAudioProfile.WritePcmFile(content, outPath, bitRate: 999999999);

// after
DefaultAudioProfile.WritePcmFile(content, outPath, bitRate: 192000);
// and check the exception's embedded stderr for ffmpeg's reason

// Validate input decodability and ffmpeg encoder availability first
ExternalTool.Run("ffmpeg", $"-i \"{content.FileName}\" -hide_banner", out _, out _);

try { DefaultAudioProfile.WritePcmFile(content, outPath, bitRate); }
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("ffmpeg exited"))
{ /* read embedded stderr; check encoder support and input validity */ }

When it happens

Trigger: ffmpeg cannot decode the input (corrupt/unreadable source), the requested codec (pcm_s16le) is unsupported by the installed ffmpeg build, or ffmpeg is missing/broken. A bad bitRate/sampleRate argument can also cause ffmpeg to fail.

Common situations: Custom processor calling WritePcmFile with an unsupported sample rate. ffmpeg build without the needed encoder. Source file unreadable by ffmpeg. Out-of-range bitRate value.

Related errors

• ffprobe exited with non-zero exit code.
• Failed to parse ffprobe output.
• XMA is not a supported encoding format. It is specific to th
• Could not read the audio data from file "{Path.GetFileName(F
• Incorrect file type! Expected '.wav' but found '.{_fileType}

AI-assisted analysis of MonoGame/MonoGame@1d71bbd0ff (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f40acbe238e96f09. Report an issue: GitHub.