flamenco/web/project-website/content/faq/_index.md

title	weight	geekdocNav	geekdocHidden
Frequently Asked Questions	10	false	true

{{< toc format=html >}}

What is new in Flamenco 3?

Flamenco was pretty much rebuilt from scratch between versions 2 and 3. One of the major goals of Flamenco 3 is to simplify the installation & use.

Compared to version 2, Flamenco 3:

• no longer requires an online component; Flamenco Server has been removed.
• no longer requires you to install & configure a database.
• works 100% on your own infrastructure.
• just has two executables for you to run (Manager and Worker).
• has its own dedicated Blender add-on, which can be downloaded directly from Flamenco Manager.
• supports [custom job types][custom-jobs] written in JavaScript.
• comes bundled with FFmpeg; you only need to install Blender.

[custom-jobs]: {{< ref "usage/job-types" >}}

Flamenco 3 Change Log

The more interesting changes between Flamenco 3 versions are listed in the changelog.

I use a mix of different operating systems, can I still use Flamenco?

Yes, absolutely. To support multiple platforms, first configure your Manager for its own platform (so if you run that on Linux, use Linux paths). Then you can use [Two-way Variables][twovars] to translate those paths to the other platforms.

Do note that Flamenco was developed on Linux, for the Linux-only [Blender Studio][studio]. You may find issues that the developers did not run into themselves. If you do, please [report a bug][bug].

[twovars]: {{< ref "usage/variables/multi-platform" >}} [studio]: https://studio.blender.org/ [bug]: https://projects.blender.org/studio/flamenco/issues/new?template=.gitea%2fissue_template%2fbug.yaml

My Worker cannot find my Manager, what do I do?

First check the Manager output on the terminal, to see if it shows any messages about "auto-discovery" or "UPnP/SSDP". Most of the time it's actually Spotify getting in the way, so make sure to close that before you start the Manager.

If that doesn't help, you'll have to tell the Worker where it can find the Manager. This can be done on the commandline, by running it like flamenco-worker -manager http://192.168.0.1:8080/ (adjust the address to your situation) or more permanently by [editing the worker configuration file][workercfg].

[workercfg]: {{< ref "usage/worker-configuration" >}}

My Worker cannot find Blender, what do I do?

When installing and starting the Flamenco Worker you may see a warning in the logs that says the Worker cannot find Blender.

WRN Blender could not be found. Flamenco Manager will have to supply the full path to Blender when Tasks are sent to this Worker. For more help see https://flamenco.blender.org/usage/variables/blender/

If Flamenco cannot locate Blender on the system it is possible to use a [two-way variable named blender][blendervar] for each platform (eg: Windows, Linux, or MacOS). This path to Blender is then sent to the Worker for each render task. Note that the Worker will still show the warning at startup, as it cannot find Blender by itself; this is fine, because you now have configured the Manager to provide this path.

[blendervar]: {{< ref "usage/variables/blender" >}}

Can I change the paths/names of the rendered files?

Where Flamenco places the rendered files is determined by the job type. You can create [your own custom job type][jobtypes] or check the existing [third-party job types][thirdpartyjobs] to change this. With that, you can even add your own custom job settings like a sequence identifier and use that to determine the location of rendered files.

Can Flamenco render a single image across multiple Workers?

Flamenco does not support this at the moment. In theory this would be possible with a [custom job type][jobtypes]. With the Cycles render engine it might be possible it set up a set of tasks that each render a specific chunk of samples, and then merge those samples together for the final image.

If you have made a custom job type that does this, please contact us to get it added to the [third-party jobs section][thirdpartyjobs].

Can I use the Compositor to output multiple EXR files or Passes?

This is possible with Flamenco, but it takes a bit of work. Although it's not managed by Flamenco's default job types, you can use a [custom job type][jobtypes] for this.

With that, you have control over the arguments that get used before and/or after the filename on the CLI.

There are Flamenco jobs out there that support compositor nodes, multi-platform, and multiple pass outputs. You can check our [third-party jobs section][thirdpartyjobs].

If you wish to contribute to the project, you're invited to [get involved with Flamenco][getinvolved]!

[jobtypes]: {{< ref "usage/job-types" >}} [thirdpartyjobs]: {{< ref "third-party-jobs" >}} [getinvolved]: {{< ref "development/get-involved" >}}

Can I use SyncThing, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other file syncing software?

Flamenco assumes that once a file has been written by one worker, it is immediately available to any other worker, like what you'd get with a NAS. Similarly, it assumes that when a job has been submitted, it can be worked on immediately.

Such assumptions no longer hold true when using an asynchronous service like SyncThing, Dropbox, etc.

Note that this is not just about the initally submitted files. Also the rendering of a preview video from individual images assumes that those images are immediately accessible after they've been rendered.

It might be possible to create a complex [custom job type][jobtypes] for this, but that's all untested. The hardest part is to know when all necessary files have arrived on a specific worker, without waiting for all syncing to be completed (as someone may have just submitted another job).

What do "Error: Cached job type is old" or "job type etag does not match" mean?

This means that you have to click on the little "Refresh" icon next to the job type:

Render jobs hang after the first chunk of frames, what's wrong?

When rendering a chunk of frames, Flamenco waits until Blender quits. This signals Flamenco that it finished rendering. Sometimes an add-on prevents Blender from quitting, and thus Flamenco will think it is still doing something. Disable add-ons one-by-one to see which one is causing this issue.

What does "command exited abnormally with code 1" mean?

It means that the program (probably Blender) exited with an error status. Take a look at the task log, which you can access by going to the task in Flamenco's web interface.

​What's the difference with OpenCue?

OpenCue is aimed at a different audience than Flamenco. OpenCue is a large and complex project, and relies on a lot of components (source), whereas Flamenco is made for simplicity and use in small studios or at home, running on your own hardware.

Why do I get an Error Performing BAT Pack Message?

As of yet, we've only encountered the issue below on Windows installations. If you get this issue, please {{< flamenco/reportBugLink size="small" >}}let us know{{< /flamenco/reportBugLink >}} so that it can be properly investigated.

Error performing BAT pack: [WinError 267] The directory name is invalid:
'C:\\The\\Path\\To\\Your\\Project.blend'

This is most likely some sort of incompatibility that occurs in some cases where you might be using linked assets from an asset library in your project.

To work around this issue, try the following:

• In Blender, use File → External Data → Make Paths Relative.
• Submit your job again.