tonhowtf/omniget · warning · anyhow::Error

FFmpeg is provided by the Flatpak runtime and cannot be…

Error message

FFmpeg is provided by the Flatpak runtime and cannot be updated from inside the app

What it means

update_ffmpeg refuses to run inside a Flatpak sandbox because FFmpeg there is supplied by the Flatpak runtime, not managed by the app. Updating it from inside the app is impossible (the runtime is read-only from the sandbox's perspective), so the call fails fast with this explanatory message.

Solutions

  1. Don't expose/call update_ffmpeg when running under Flatpak; hide the update button in that environment.
  2. Update FFmpeg by updating the Flatpak runtime: flatpak update (or the relevant runtime extension, e.g. org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg-full).
  3. If a newer ffmpeg is truly needed, wait for a runtime/extension update upstream or use a non-Flatpak install.

Example fix

// before
update_ffmpeg().await?;
// after
if dependencies::is_flatpak() {
    eprintln!("Update FFmpeg via the Flatpak runtime: flatpak update");
    return Ok(());
}
update_ffmpeg().await?;
Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

if dependencies::is_flatpak() {
    eprintln!("FFmpeg updates come from the Flatpak runtime; run: flatpak update");
    return Ok(());
}

Type guard

fn can_update_ffmpeg_in_app() -> bool { !dependencies::is_flatpak() }

Try / catch

match update_ffmpeg().await {
    Ok(p) => p,
    Err(e) if format!("{e}").contains("Flatpak runtime") => {
        eprintln!("Update the Flatpak runtime instead: flatpak update");
        return Ok(());
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling update_ffmpeg (UI 'update ffmpeg' action) while the app runs as a Flatpak (is_flatpak() detects the sandbox, e.g. via /.flatpak-info).

Common situations: User installed the app from Flathub and clicks 'Update FFmpeg'; expecting bundled-runtime ffmpeg to be upgradable in-app.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unsupported platform" / "not supported on this platform" errors: what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of tonhowtf/omniget@8600b91f42 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ca1853a0eb70322a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src-tauri/omniget-core/src/core/dependencies.rs:366

            ));
        }
        if let Err(e) = std::fs::rename(temp, target) {
            let _ = std::fs::rename(&old, target);
            let _ = std::fs::remove_file(temp);
            return Err(anyhow!("Failed to replace {}: {}", file_name, e));
        }
        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&old);
        Ok(())
    } else {
        std::fs::rename(temp, target)
            .map_err(|e| anyhow!("Failed to replace {}: {}", target.display(), e))?;
        Ok(())
    }
}

pub async fn update_ffmpeg() -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
    if is_flatpak() {
        return Err(anyhow!(
            "FFmpeg is provided by the Flatpak runtime and cannot be updated from inside the app"
        ));
    }
    let path = download_ffmpeg().await?;
    crate::core::ytdlp::reset_ffmpeg_location_cache();
    Ok(path)
}

pub async fn ensure_ffmpeg() -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
    // Always ensure the managed binary exists — the standalone yt-dlp.exe
    // cannot discover system FFmpeg from PATH.
    if !is_flatpak() {
        let managed = managed_bin_dir().map(|d| d.join(bin_name("ffmpeg")));
        if managed.as_ref().map_or(true, |p| !p.exists()) {
            if let Ok(path) = download_ffmpeg().await {
                crate::core::ytdlp::reset_ffmpeg_location_cache();
                return Ok(path);
            }

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