immich-app/immich · error · Error

${config.accel.toUpperCase()} acceleration does not support

Error message

${config.accel.toUpperCase()} acceleration does not support codec '${config.targetVideoCodec.toUpperCase()}'. Supported codecs: ${SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[config.accel]}

What it means

Thrown by VideoInterface.getHWCodecConfig (server/src/utils/media.ts) when the configured hardware acceleration (config.accel, e.g. nvenc/qsv/vaapi/rkmpp) does not support the requested targetVideoCodec. The per-acceleration allow-list is SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS in constants.ts: nvenc=[h264,hevc,av1], qsv=[h264,hevc,vp9,av1], vaapi=[h264,hevc,vp9,av1], rkmpp=[h264,hevc].

Source

Thrown at server/src/utils/media.ts:98

      }
      case VideoCodec.Hevc: {
        return new HEVCConfig(config, tune);
      }
      case VideoCodec.Vp9: {
        return new VP9Config(config, tune);
      }
      case VideoCodec.Av1: {
        return new AV1Config(config, tune);
      }
      default: {
        throw new Error(`Codec '${config.targetVideoCodec}' is unsupported`);
      }
    }
  }

  private static getHWCodecConfig(config: SystemConfigFFmpegDto, interfaces: VideoInterfaces, tune?: VideoTuning) {
    if (!SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[config.accel].includes(config.targetVideoCodec)) {
      throw new Error(
        `${config.accel.toUpperCase()} acceleration does not support codec '${config.targetVideoCodec.toUpperCase()}'. Supported codecs: ${SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[config.accel]}`,
      );
    }

    let handler: VideoCodecSWConfig;
    switch (config.accel) {
      case TranscodeHardwareAcceleration.Nvenc: {
        handler = config.accelDecode
          ? new NvencHwDecodeConfig(config, interfaces, tune)
          : new NvencSwDecodeConfig(config, interfaces, tune);
        break;
      }
      case TranscodeHardwareAcceleration.Qsv: {
        handler = config.accelDecode
          ? new QsvHwDecodeConfig(config, interfaces, tune)
          : new QsvSwDecodeConfig(config, interfaces, tune);
        break;
      }

View on GitHub (pinned to 199723261c)

Solutions

Set ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec to one listed in SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS for your chosen accel (check the error's 'Supported codecs' suffix).
For rkmpp use h264 or hevc; for vp9/av1 use qsv or vaapi (or disable hardware acceleration).
After changing config, re-run the failed transcode job.

Example fix

// before — config
ffmpeg.accel = 'rkmpp'; ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec = 'vp9';

// after
ffmpeg.accel = 'rkmpp'; ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec = 'h264';

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import { SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS } from 'src/constants';
const accel = config.ffmpeg.accel, codec = config.ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec;
const ok = SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[accel]?.includes(codec) ?? false;
if (!ok) throw new Error(`Unsupported pair: ${accel} + ${codec}`);

Type guard

const isSupportedCodecPair = (accel: string, codec: string): boolean =>
  Array.isArray(SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[accel]) && SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS[accel].includes(codec as VideoCodec);

Try / catch

try { await transcode(assetId); }
catch (e) { if (/acceleration does not support codec/.test(e.message)) { config.ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec = 'h264'; await retry(); } else throw e; }

Prevention

After changing ffmpeg.accel, cross-check targetVideoCodec against SUPPORTED_HWA_CODECS.
For Rockchip/rkmpp limit codecs to h264/hevc.

When it happens

Trigger: A transcode job runs while ffmpeg.accel and ffmpeg.targetVideoCodec are incompatible — e.g. accel=vaapi with targetVideoCodec not in the vaapi list, or accel=rkmpp (Rockchip) with vp9/av1.

Common situations: User switches hardware acceleration without also changing targetVideoCodec; running on Rockchip (rkmpp) hardware that only supports h264/hevc but codec is set to vp9/av1; copying an ffmpeg config from another deployment with different hardware.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of immich-app/immich@199723261c (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3bf9e851137e2096. Report an issue: GitHub.