The Tool Desk
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Find out what FFmpeg is trying to read
Start with the complete FFmpeg command and error output. The message alone does not identify whether access failed on the playlist, a listed video, or a directory along one of those paths. Linux uses EACCES (error 13) for “Permission denied”; FFmpeg’s errno table gives the same description (FFmpeg errno reference; Linux man-pages errno reference).
Confirm which concatenation mechanism your command uses before changing options. The concat demuxer reads a text script of file entries. The concat filter joins streams and is the FAQ’s recommended route when re-encoding is needed. The concat protocol performs file-level concatenation for supported formats. Advice about the demuxer’s -safe option applies to the demuxer, not to the other two methods (FFmpeg FAQ: concatenating video files).
Check the playlist and its paths
The concat demuxer reads a text script and demuxes the listed files sequentially. Its documentation requires the listed files to have the same streams, including codecs and time bases. A typical script looks like this:
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ffconcat version 1.0
file 'episode-01.mp4'
file 'episode-02.mp4'If you use the optional ffconcat version 1.0 signature, it must be exactly on the first line for automatic script recognition. Paths with spaces or special characters must be quoted or escaped correctly. Check whether each relative path is being resolved from the directory you expect, and look for spelling mistakes, leading dots, or unexpected whitespace (FFmpeg Formats: concat demuxer).
Read the script literally and resolve every file entry to its intended video. A valid path in your shell is not necessarily the path FFmpeg sees when a service or scheduled task launches the command from a different working directory.
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Check access as the account running FFmpeg
A command that works for your interactive user can fail when run by a system service, scheduled job, container, or media application under another identity. Diagnose it in the same execution context that fails; do not assume your terminal user is the process owner.
- Identify the execution identity. Run
idin the failing context where possible, or inspect the service, job, container, or application configuration that launches FFmpeg. - Inspect the playlist and each video. Use
ls -l /path/to/playlist.ffconcatandls -l /path/to/video.mp4to check ownership and mode. Repeat for every listed file. - Check every directory in the path. Use
namei -l /path/to/video.mp4to inspect directory components and their permissions. The FFmpeg account needs access along the path as well as permission to read the file. - Inspect ACLs if the system uses them. Traditional owner/group/mode output may not show the whole access policy. Check the relevant ACLs using the system’s ACL tools.
- Fix only the specific access gap. Grant the service account or an appropriate group the required access, or move the media to a directory the process can traverse and read. Avoid blanket recursive or world-writable permission changes.
These checks help narrow down the inaccessible object; without the command, paths, process identity, and host configuration, the cause cannot be determined from the error text alone.
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Handle “Unsafe file name” separately
If the diagnostic says Unsafe file name, check whether you are using the concat demuxer and review its safe setting. At the documented default of safe=1, it rejects paths that contain a protocol specification, are not relative, include characters outside its portable set, or have a path component beginning with a period.
For a playlist you trust, -safe 0 disables that filename validation. Put the option before the concat input, for example:
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ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i playlist.ffconcat -c copy output.mp4This changes the demuxer’s path-validation policy; it does not grant Linux read access. Do not use it as a substitute for diagnosing a genuine EACCES error, and do not use it with an untrusted playlist (FFmpeg Formats: concat demuxer).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Retest one video, then the playlist
- Run a simple FFmpeg command against one referenced video in the same execution context. If that fails with EACCES, continue checking that file’s access and every directory in its path.
- If the single video opens, run the playlist command again. A playlist-only failure points you toward script syntax, path resolution, or concat demuxer safe-mode behavior.
- Check the installed build with
ffmpeg -version. Online documentation may differ from an older or distribution-patched build; consult documentation matching the installed version if an option behaves differently.
Common causes and fixes
| What you see | Likely area to check | Next action |
|---|---|---|
Permission denied on the playlist |
The process cannot read the script, or cannot traverse a directory leading to it. | Check the playlist and its parent directories as the FFmpeg execution account. |
Permission denied on a listed video |
The video or one of its path directories is inaccessible to that account. | Check that specific file and its directory components; correct only the required access. |
Unsafe file name |
Concat demuxer path validation, not necessarily Linux permissions. | Review the documented relative-path rules; use -safe 0 only for a trusted playlist if appropriate. |
| One video works, playlist fails | Playlist syntax, relative-path resolution, or safe-mode restrictions. | Review each file entry, quoting, escaping, and the command’s working directory. |
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