remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Model ${model} already exists at ${filePath}, but the size i

Error message

Model ${model} already exists at ${filePath}, but the size is ${size} bytes (expected ${modelSizes[model]} bytes). Delete ${filePath} and try again.

What it means

Thrown by `downloadWhisperModel` when a file already exists at the resolved model path but its byte size does not match the expected size from `modelSizes`. This indicates a corrupt or partial download (or a wrong file placed manually). Importantly, the throw only happens when `printOutput` is true (the default); with `printOutput: false` the function returns `{alreadyExisted: false}` and re-downloads instead.

Source

Thrown at packages/install-whisper-cpp/src/download-whisper-model.ts:76

		throw new Error(
			`Invalid whisper model ${model}. Available: ${models.join(', ')}`,
		);
	}

	const filePath = getModelPath(folder, model);

	if (existsSync(filePath)) {
		const {size} = fs.statSync(filePath);
		if (size === modelSizes[model]) {
			if (printOutput) {
				console.log(`Model already exists at ${filePath}`);
			}

			return Promise.resolve({alreadyExisted: true});
		}

		if (printOutput) {
			throw new Error(
				`Model ${model} already exists at ${filePath}, but the size is ${size} bytes (expected ${modelSizes[model]} bytes). Delete ${filePath} and try again.`,
			);
		}

		return Promise.resolve({alreadyExisted: false});
	}

	const baseModelUrl = `https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-${model}.bin`;
	if (printOutput) {
		console.log(`Downloading whisper model ${model} from ${baseModelUrl}`);
	}

	const fileStream = fs.createWriteStream(filePath);

	await downloadFile({
		fileStream,
		url: baseModelUrl,
		printOutput,

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

Delete the file at the path shown in the message and re-run `downloadWhisperModel`.
If you call it programmatically in a pipeline, pass `printOutput: false` so a size mismatch triggers an automatic re-download instead of throwing.
Ensure stable network and sufficient disk space before re-downloading large models (some are ~3GB).

Example fix

// before
downloadWhisperModel({model: 'large-v3', folder: 'whisper'});

// after (auto-recover from partial downloads)
downloadWhisperModel({
  model: 'large-v3',
  folder: 'whisper',
  printOutput: false,
});

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import fs from 'fs';

function modelFileIsValid(folder: string, model: string, expectedSize: number): boolean {
  const p = `${folder}/ggml-${model}.bin`;
  return fs.existsSync(p) && fs.statSync(p).size === expectedSize;
}

if (!modelFileIsValid(folder, model, modelSizes[model])) {
  fs.rmSync(`${folder}/ggml-${model}.bin`, {force: true});
}

Try / catch

try {
  await downloadWhisperModel({model, folder});
} catch (err) {
  if (/size is .* bytes \(expected/.test(String(err))) {
    fs.rmSync(`${folder}/ggml-${model}.bin`, {force: true});
    return downloadWhisperModel({model, folder}); // retry once after cleanup
  }
  throw err;
}

Prevention

In CI, start from a clean cache or verify file size before reusing a downloaded model.
Pass printOutput: false in pipelines so partial files auto-trigger a re-download.
Ensure downloads are not interrupted (stable network, enough disk for ~3GB models).

When it happens

Trigger: A previous download was interrupted, leaving a truncated `ggml-<model>.bin`; someone copied a different file to that path; disk corruption changed the file size. The size check `fs.statSync(filePath).size === modelSizes[model]` fails.

Common situations: CI cancelled mid-download leaving a partial file; running out of disk during download; switching model versions but reusing the same folder; manual file management.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8e67f1a4419545ac. Report an issue: GitHub.