Zackriya-Solutions/meetily · error

Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}

Error message

Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}

What it means

The FFmpeg conversion deliberately creates its temp WAV in the input file's directory (tempfile_in(parent_dir)) to avoid cross-device rename/link issues — so it needs write permission in the source folder. This io::Error means tempfile could not create .meetily_decode_*.wav there: a read-only directory (mounted media, Windows protected folders, read-only network share), a full disk, or the directory disappearing between file selection and import.

Source

Thrown at frontend/src-tauri/src/audio/decoder.rs:297

) -> Result<tempfile::TempPath> {
    let ffmpeg_path = find_ffmpeg_path().ok_or_else(|| {
        anyhow!(
            "FFmpeg not found. FFmpeg is required to decode .{} files. \
             It will be downloaded automatically on next launch, or install it manually.",
            input_path
                .extension()
                .and_then(|e| e.to_str())
                .unwrap_or("this format")
        )
    })?;

    // Create temp file in the same directory as the input to avoid cross-device issues
    let parent_dir = input_path.parent().unwrap_or_else(|| Path::new("."));
    let temp_file = tempfile::Builder::new()
        .prefix(".meetily_decode_")
        .suffix(".wav")
        .tempfile_in(parent_dir)
        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}", e))?;

    let temp_path = temp_file.into_temp_path();

    info!(
        "Converting .{} to temporary WAV via ffmpeg: {} -> {}",
        input_path
            .extension()
            .and_then(|e| e.to_str())
            .unwrap_or("unknown"),
        input_path.display(),
        temp_path.display()
    );

    if let Some(cb) = progress_callback {
        cb(0, "Converting audio format with FFmpeg...");
    }

    let input_str = input_path

View on GitHub (pinned to 0281737d87)

Solutions

1. Copy the file to a writable location (Desktop/Documents) and import the copy.
2. On Windows, remove the folder from Controlled Folder Access / protected folders, or grant the app write access there.
3. Free disk space on the volume holding the input file.
4. Code fix: fall back to std::env::temp_dir() when tempfile_in(parent_dir) fails with PermissionDenied (see exampleFix).

Example fix

// before
let temp_file = tempfile::Builder::new()
    .prefix(".meetily_decode_")
    .suffix(".wav")
    .tempfile_in(parent_dir)
    .map_err(|e| anyhow!("Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}", e))?;

// after — fall back to the system temp dir when the input dir is read-only
let temp_file = match tempfile::Builder::new()
    .prefix(".meetily_decode_")
    .suffix(".wav")
    .tempfile_in(parent_dir)
{
    Ok(f) => f,
    Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied => {
        tempfile::Builder::new()
            .prefix(".meetily_decode_")
            .suffix(".wav")
            .tempfile_in(std::env::temp_dir())?
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(anyhow!("Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}", e)),
};

// Rust — copy read-only sources to a writable temp dir before decoding
let work_path = if dir_is_writable(parent_dir) { path.to_path_buf() } else { copy_to_temp(path)? };

match convert_to_wav_with_ffmpeg(&path, None) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("temporary WAV") => {
        // retry with the input copied into a writable directory
    }
    other => other,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Importing audio from an SD card or read-only mount; Windows 'Controlled Folder Access' blocking writes next to the input; importing from a read-only SMB share; disk full at conversion time; parent directory deleted after the picker closed.

Common situations: Users dragging files straight from cameras, phones in MTP mode, DVD rips, or cloud-sync folders marked read-only; low-disk machines during long imports.

Related errors

• Failed to spawn ffmpeg process: {}
• FFmpeg not found. FFmpeg is required to decode .{} files. It
• Invalid input path (non-UTF8)
• Invalid temp path (non-UTF8)
• Failed to wait for ffmpeg process: {}

AI-assisted analysis of Zackriya-Solutions/meetily@0281737d87 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fc2c297727aa201c. Report an issue: GitHub.