remotion-dev/remotion · error

SetTimelineContext is missing. This is likely caused by a Re

Error message

SetTimelineContext is missing. This is likely caused by a Remotion version mismatch.

What it means

SetTimelineContext provides the setFrame function used by Player/composition internals to update the current frame. Its default value throws via missingSetTimelineContext when read. Remotion throws this with an explicit version-mismatch hint because multiple copies of @remotion/core or mismatched core/player versions create separate context instances, so the provider never reaches the consumer.

Source

Thrown at packages/core/src/TimelineContext.tsx:49

export type BufferingState = Readonly<{
	buffering: boolean;
}>;

export type SetTimelineContextValue = {
	setFrame: (u: React.SetStateAction<Record<string, number>>) => void;
	setPlaying: (u: React.SetStateAction<boolean>) => void;
	setBuffering: (buffering: boolean) => void;
	subscribePlaying: (listener: (state: PlayingState) => void) => () => void;
	subscribeBuffering: (listener: (state: BufferingState) => void) => () => void;
	isPlaying: () => boolean;
	isBuffering: () => boolean;
	frameRef: RefObject<Record<string, number>>;
	audioAndVideoTags: RefObject<PlayableMediaTag[]>;
};

const missingSetTimelineContext = (): never => {
	throw new Error(
		'SetTimelineContext is missing. This is likely caused by a Remotion version mismatch.',
	);
};

export const SetTimelineContext = createContext<SetTimelineContextValue>({
	setFrame: missingSetTimelineContext,
	setPlaying: missingSetTimelineContext,
	setBuffering: missingSetTimelineContext,
	subscribePlaying: () => () => undefined,
	subscribeBuffering: () => () => undefined,
	isPlaying: () => false,
	isBuffering: missingSetTimelineContext,
	frameRef: {current: {}},
	audioAndVideoTags: {current: []},
});

export const TimelineContext = createContext<TimelineContextValue | null>(null);

View on GitHub (pinned to a6a7485a9a)

Solutions

1. Align @remotion/player and @remotion/core to the exact same version
2. Run a dedupe (bun install / npm dedupe) so only one copy of @remotion/core exists in node_modules
3. Check the bundle for duplicated core modules (bundler analyze / why-did-you-duplicate)
4. Use Player/composition hooks only inside a Player or Remotion rendering root

Example fix

// before
"dependencies": {"@remotion/core": "4.0.100", "@remotion/player": "4.0.105"}
// after
"dependencies": {"@remotion/core": "4.0.105", "@remotion/player": "4.0.105"}

// Detect duplicate @remotion/core at startup
const versions = new Set(require.resolve.paths('@remotion/core')?.map((p) => p) ?? []);
// or: bunx npm-why @remotion/core

const hasSetTimeline = (v: SetTimelineContextValue | undefined): v is SetTimelineContextValue =>
  v !== undefined && typeof v.setFrame === 'function' && v.setFrame.length >= 0 &&
  !/version mismatch/.test((() => { try { v.setFrame(0); return ''; } catch (e) { return (e as Error).message; } })());

try {
  setFrame(frame);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes('version mismatch')) {
    console.error('Duplicated @remotion/core or mismatched player/core versions');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setFrame (e.g. from useCurrentFrame-adjacent internals, seeking, or Player controls) when no SetTimelineContext.Provider is above the component — typically because @remotion/core is duplicated in node_modules or player and core versions differ.

Common situations: Using <Player> from @remotion/player with a different version of @remotion/core; bundler resolving a nested node_modules copy of core; using internal timeline hooks outside a Player/Composition.

Related errors

• useCurrentScale() was called outside of a Remotion context.
• AbsoluteTimeContext is not available. This hook must be used
• Tried to enable the buffering state, but a Remotion context
• useCurrentFrame can only be called inside a component that w
• No video config found. Likely reasons:- You are probably cal

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@a6a7485a9a (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/af2b6e8d5a823070. Report an issue: GitHub.