What causes "Video file not found" in invoke-ai/InvokeAI?

Check that the file at the resolved path exists and is readable (ls -l, stat).

invoke-ai/InvokeAI · error · HTTPException

Video file not found

Error message

Video file not found

What it means

Raised by get_video_full as HTTP 404 when open(path_str, 'rb') raises OSError after the path was resolved. The record exists but the file on disk is gone or unreadable — a DB/filesystem mismatch. The code opens the fd once (rather than letting FileResponse lazily open by path) precisely to avoid racing with concurrent deletes; this 404 is the controlled outcome when the open still fails.

Source

Thrown at invokeai/app/api/routers/videos.py:616

    Browser media requests authenticate with the path-scoped HttpOnly cookie set at login.
    """
    _assert_video_read_access(video_name, current_user)
    try:
        path_str = ApiDependencies.invoker.services.videos.get_path(video_name, thumbnail=False)
    except Exception:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=404)

    # Open once and serve every branch from the fd. Deletion stages files away via an
    # atomic rename, so any later path-based stat/open — including FileResponse's lazy
    # open after the route returns — races with a concurrent delete and surfaces as an
    # uncontrolled 500. An open fd is immune: the data stays readable until the handle
    # closes, even after the path is gone.
    video_file: Optional[BinaryIO] = None
    try:
        video_file = open(path_str, "rb")
    except OSError:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=404)

    try:
        file_size = os.fstat(video_file.fileno()).st_size
        range_header = request.headers.get("range") or request.headers.get("Range")

        common_headers = {
            "Accept-Ranges": "bytes",
            "Cache-Control": _get_video_cache_control(),
            "Content-Disposition": f'inline; filename="{video_name}"',
        }

        # HEAD: respond with metadata only.
        if request.method == "HEAD":
            return Response(
                status_code=200,
                media_type="video/mp4",
                headers={**common_headers, "Content-Length": str(file_size)},
            )

View on GitHub (pinned to 0b6a024f2f)

Solutions

Check that the file at the resolved path exists and is readable (ls -l, stat).
Delete the orphaned record via the API so DB and disk stay consistent, then re-upload/re-generate.
Fix permissions or remount the outputs directory if the OSError is permission/device related.
Inspect server logs for the exact OSError errno to distinguish missing-file from I/O errors.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Try / catch

try {
  const res = await fetch(mediaUrl, { headers });
  if (!res.ok && res.status === 404) {
    showPlaceholder(); // record exists but file missing — DB/disk mismatch
  }
} catch (e) {
  showPlaceholder();
}

Prevention

Never delete files directly from the outputs directory — use the API so records stay consistent.
Monitor disk/mount health; read-only mounts surface as this 404.
On 404 for an existing DTO, reconcile by deleting the orphaned record server-side.

When it happens

Trigger: open() fails with FileNotFoundError (file deleted/moved), PermissionError, or EACCES/EIO on the resolved video path; outputs dir partially deleted or on a failed mount.

Common situations: Manual cleanup of the outputs folder while records remain; moving/reinstalling InvokeAI without migrating files; read-only mounts; antivirus or backup tools locking/removing files mid-read.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of invoke-ai/InvokeAI@0b6a024f2f (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac7a2af01fe58b17. Report an issue: GitHub.