remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Element source changed during installation

Error message

Element source changed during installation

What it means

During element insertion, the handler captures an expected file state (hash/snapshot) in the plan and re-checks it right before writing the mutation. If the element source file's state no longer matches what was expected when the plan was created, it assumes the file changed concurrently and aborts with this error to avoid overwriting newer content.

Source

Thrown at packages/studio-server/src/preview-server/routes/insert-element.ts:202

				entryPoint,
				remotionRoot,
			});
			if (
				finalPlan.safePaths.compositionFileName !==
				plan.safePaths.compositionFileName
			) {
				throw new Error(
					'Composition source changed during Element installation',
				);
			}

			if (
				!hasExpectedFileState({
					actual: finalPlan.expectedFileState,
					expected: plan.expectedFileState,
				})
			) {
				throw new Error('Element source changed during installation');
			}

			const nodePathMutation = broadcastSequenceNodePathMutation(
				[
					{
						absolutePath: inserted.fileName,
						remappings: inserted.nodePathRemappings,
					},
				],
				null,
			);

			pushTransactionToUndoStack({
				snapshots: [
					...(shouldWriteElementFile
						? [
								{
									filePath: plan.elementFileName,

View on GitHub (pinned to b2f4e34732)

Solutions

1. Retry the element installation after ensuring no other process is editing the target file.
2. Close the file in editors or disable auto-save/format-on-save during installation.
3. Perform one installation at a time; avoid running installs in multiple Studio tabs against the same project.
4. If it reproduces deterministically, revert local modifications to the element source and reinstall from the upstream source.

const statBefore = fs.statSync(elementFilePath);
// after planning, re-check before writing:
if (fs.statSync(elementFilePath).mtimeMs !== statBefore.mtimeMs) {
  throw new Error('file changed, re-plan');
}

try {
  await insertElement(input);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message === 'Element source changed during installation') {
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
    await insertElement(input); // retry with a fresh plan
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: The element source file was edited, saved, or regenerated between plan creation and the final write; two install/insert operations racing on the same file; an editor auto-save or formatter running mid-installation.

Common situations: Installing an element while Studio hot-reloads or while the file is open with unsaved changes that get flushed during the operation; concurrent insert-element requests from multiple Studio tabs.

Understand the failure class

Background: Checksum mismatch errors: "checksum verification failed", "digest mismatch", "expected vs actual checksum" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• Element source changed during installation
• Element source file conflicts with the composition file
• The mediaParserController() was used in multiple parseMedia(
• AWS Concurrency limit reached (Original Error: ${(err as Err
• Could not insert Element

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@b2f4e34732 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f767af895c9ceb7f. Report an issue: GitHub.