remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

EXT-X-VERSION directive must have a value

Error message

EXT-X-VERSION directive must have a value

What it means

Thrown by parseM3uDirective() at parse-directive.ts:15 when a line is identified as #EXT-X-VERSION but has no value after the colon separator. Per RFC 8216 the #EXT-X-VERSION directive is optional but if present must carry a numeric protocol version. The parser splits on the first colon; if none exists or the value after it is empty/falsy, it throws.

Source

Thrown at packages/media-parser/src/containers/m3u/parse-directive.ts:15

import {
	parseM3uKeyValue,
	parseM3uMediaDirective,
} from './parse-m3u-media-directive';
import {parseStreamInf} from './parse-stream-inf';
import type {M3uBox} from './types';

export const parseM3uDirective = (str: string): M3uBox => {
	const firstColon = str.indexOf(':');
	const directive = (firstColon === -1 ? str : str.slice(0, firstColon)).trim();
	const value = firstColon === -1 ? null : str.slice(firstColon + 1);

	if (directive === '#EXT-X-VERSION') {
		if (!value) {
			throw new Error('EXT-X-VERSION directive must have a value');
		}

		return {
			type: 'm3u-version',
			version: value,
		};
	}

	if (directive === '#EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS') {
		return {
			type: 'm3u-independent-segments',
		};
	}

	if (directive === '#EXT-X-MEDIA') {
		if (!value) {
			throw new Error('EXT-X-MEDIA directive must have a value');
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

  1. Ensure the directive includes a numeric version: #EXT-X-VERSION:3
  2. Regenerate the playlist with a compliant HLS packager (FFmpeg, MediaConvert, Shaka)
  3. Fix the line manually if editing the playlist source

Example fix

// before
#EXT-X-VERSION

// after
#EXT-X-VERSION:3
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Pre-fetch the m3u8 and check #EXT-X-VERSION has a value
const text = await (await fetch(url)).text();
for (const line of text.split('\n')) {
  if (line.trim() === '#EXT-X-VERSION' || line.trim() === '#EXT-X-VERSION:') {
    throw new Error('#EXT-X-VERSION is missing its numeric value');
  }
}

Try / catch

try {
  await parseMedia({src: url});
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes('EXT-X-VERSION')) {
    // fix the playlist source or regenerate with a compliant packager
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: A playlist line '#EXT-X-VERSION' with no colon and version number, or '#EXT-X-VERSION:' with an empty value after the colon.

Common situations: Hand-edited m3u8 files where the version number was accidentally deleted; corrupted manifest from a buggy encoder or packager; playlist truncated right after the directive name.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d2375009e38504de. Report an issue: GitHub.