tonhowtf/omniget · critical · anyhow::Error

FFmpeg not found in Flatpak sandbox

Error message

FFmpeg not found in Flatpak sandbox

What it means

ensure_ffmpeg first tries find_tool("ffmpeg") and, inside a Flatpak sandbox, cannot fall back to downloading a private copy — so if no ffmpeg is discoverable in the sandbox it fails with this error. It signals that the Flatpak runtime's ffmpeg (or its ffmpeg-full extension) is missing.

Solutions

  1. Install the Flatpak ffmpeg extension: flatpak install flathub org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg-full//<version> (match your runtime version).
  2. Run flatpak update so the runtime and extensions are current, then restart the app.
  3. Check the installed runtime: flatpak info <app> and confirm the matching ffmpeg-full branch is present.
  4. As a last resort, ship/bundle ffmpeg with the app or switch to a build that includes it.
Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

// Before calling ensure_ffmpeg, probe availability
if dependencies::find_tool("ffmpeg").await.is_none() && dependencies::is_flatpak() {
    eprintln!("Install the runtime ffmpeg extension: flatpak install flathub org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg-full");
}

Try / catch

match ensure_ffmpeg().await {
    Ok(p) => p,
    Err(e) if format!("{e}").contains("Flatpak sandbox") => {
        eprintln!("ffmpeg missing; install org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg-full and restart");
        return Err(e);
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: ensure_ffmpeg() called in a Flatpak environment where find_tool("ffmpeg") returns None: the freedesktop runtime's org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg-full extension is not installed, or PATH/lookup locations don't include any ffmpeg.

Common situations: Flatpak installed with a base runtime lacking the ffmpeg-full extension; minimal runtime variant; user stripped extensions to save space.

Understand the failure class

Background: "not installed", "pip install", "required for": how missing-dependency errors surface across open-source libraries — this error's family across 34 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of tonhowtf/omniget@8600b91f42 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/85df47ecfb542dbd. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src-tauri/omniget-core/src/core/dependencies.rs:392

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);
            }
        }
    }

    if let Some(path) = find_tool("ffmpeg").await {
        return Ok(path);
    }
    if is_flatpak() {
        return Err(anyhow!("FFmpeg not found in Flatpak sandbox"));
    }
    let path = download_ffmpeg().await?;
    crate::core::ytdlp::reset_ffmpeg_location_cache();
    Ok(path)
}

async fn download_ffmpeg() -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
    let bin_dir = managed_bin_dir().ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("Could not determine data directory"))?;
    std::fs::create_dir_all(&bin_dir)?;

    let ffmpeg_name = bin_name("ffmpeg");
    let ffprobe_name = bin_name("ffprobe");
    let ffmpeg_target = bin_dir.join(&ffmpeg_name);

    let downloads = ffmpeg_download_urls();

    let client = crate::core::http_client::apply_global_proxy(reqwest::Client::builder())
        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(300))

View on GitHub (pinned to 8600b91f42)