remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

restartStudio() is not available in read-only Studio

Error message

restartStudio() is not available in read-only Studio

What it means

`restartStudio()` requires a writable, server-backed Studio because it asks the Studio server to restart itself. When `window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio` is true (Studio deployed in read-only mode, without write access to the project), the guard at packages/studio/src/api/restart-studio.ts:20 throws before any API call. The error signals an environment restriction, not a bug in the call.

Source

Thrown at packages/studio/src/api/restart-studio.ts:21

 * @see [Documentation](https://www.remotion.dev/docs/studio/restart-studio)
 */

import type {RestartStudioResponse} from '@remotion/studio-shared';
import {getRemotionEnvironment} from 'remotion';
import {callApi} from '../components/call-api';
import {getBrowserStudioOperations} from '../helpers/browser-studio-operations';

export const restartStudio = (): Promise<RestartStudioResponse> => {
	if (!getRemotionEnvironment().isStudio) {
		throw new Error('restartStudio() is only available in the Studio');
	}

	if (getBrowserStudioOperations() !== null) {
		throw new Error('restartStudio() is not supported in Browser Studio');
	}

	if (window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio) {
		throw new Error('restartStudio() is not available in read-only Studio');
	}

	return callApi('/api/restart-studio', {});
};

View on GitHub (pinned to 10db9de073)

Solutions

  1. Run the full Studio from your project directory with `npx remotion studio`, which is not read-only, and call `restartStudio()` there.
  2. Guard the call site with `window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio` before invoking `restartStudio()`.
  3. In read-only deployments, restart by restarting the hosting process/page instead of this API.

Example fix

// before
import {restartStudio} from '@remotion/studio';
await restartStudio(); // throws: read-only Studio

// after
import {restartStudio} from '@remotion/studio';

if (!window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio) {
  await restartStudio();
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

if (!window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio) {
  const {restartStudio} = await import('@remotion/studio');
  await restartStudio();
}

Type guard

const isWritableStudio = (): boolean =>
  typeof window !== 'undefined' && !window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio;

Try / catch

try {
  await restartStudio();
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message.includes('read-only Studio')) {
    // Read-only deployment: nothing to restart here
  } else {
    throw err;
  }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking `restartStudio()` from `@remotion/studio` while `window.remotion_isReadOnlyStudio` is set — i.e. a read-only Studio deployment (static/embedded Studio without file or server access). The other guards pass (it IS Studio and not Browser Studio), then this third guard fires.

Common situations: Studio opened from a read-only mount or embedded viewer (docs/demo deployments, sandboxed previews); CI/static exports of Studio; attempting write-type operations (restart, save, install) in environments intentionally locked to read-only.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@10db9de073 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b4a069a8073eebca. Report an issue: GitHub.