FFmpeg runtime API

FFmpeg discovery and diagnosticsCopy Anchor Link

On import, @remedia/node chooses an FFmpeg 9 installation (REMEDIA_FFMPEG_DIR, then the system, then ~/.remedia/ffmpeg9) and loads it before the engine starts. Nothing is downloaded. How the search works and how to install FFmpeg is in Install FFmpeg 9.

import { FfmpegLoadError, getFfmpegRuntime } from '@remedia/node';

const runtime = getFfmpegRuntime();

console.log(runtime.source); // 'explicit' | 'system' | 'managed' | 'unmanaged'
console.log(runtime.directory);
console.log(runtime.libraries.map(({ name, version }) => `${name} ${version}`));

getFfmpegRuntime()Copy Anchor Link

function getFfmpegRuntime(): FfmpegRuntimeInfo;

Returns the installation that was loaded. It does not search, load or download anything, so it is cheap and safe to call at any time after the package is imported, and it is independent of Discord, playback and the standalone server. It is only ever populated after the engine addon has actually loaded against the libraries.

FfmpegLoadErrorCopy Anchor Link

Importing @remedia/node rejects with an FfmpegLoadError (an Error subclass with a candidates array of FfmpegCandidateReport) when no compatible installation can be loaded or an explicit REMEDIA_FFMPEG_DIR is unusable. Its message lists every considered path, the classified reason (not-found, missing-libraries, abi-mismatch, architecture-mismatch, unresolved-dependency, mixed-installations, load-failed), the installer command for the current OS, and how to set REMEDIA_FFMPEG_DIR. Because the failure is raised while the module loads, catch it around a dynamic import if you want to present your own message:

try {
  const { Remedia } = await import('@remedia/node');
  await Remedia.create();
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof Error && error.name === 'FfmpegLoadError') {
    console.error(error.message); // paths considered, reasons, install instructions
  }
  throw error;
}

With @remedia/client, an embedded node reports this error when it loads @remedia/node. Remote nodes never need FFmpeg on the client. See native library troubleshooting for causes and fixes, and for how the bootstrap loads libraries on each operating system.