Manim working in Terminal, but extension can't find ffmpeg

[rrizkylubis]

Hi,

I installed manim to a conda environment on my Mac. I activated the environment and ran it with success:

Last login: Sun Aug 25 10:37:06 on ttys000

The default interactive shell is now zsh.
To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050.
(base) Rizkys-Macbook-Air:~ rizkylubis$ conda activate manim-env
(manim-env) Rizkys-Macbook-Air:~ rizkylubis$ manim -pql /Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/manim_test.py
Manim Community v0.18.1

[08/25/24 10:40:26] INFO     Animation 0 : Using cached     cairo_renderer.py:88
                             data (hash :                                       
                             1185818338_468798911_223132457                     
                             )                                                  
                    INFO     Animation 1 : Using cached     cairo_renderer.py:88
                             data (hash :                                       
                             624642324_1772076266_325649555                     
                             8)                                                 
                    INFO     Animation 2 : Using cached     cairo_renderer.py:88
                             data (hash :                                       
                             624642324_1733944848_285462960                     
                             9)                                                 
                    INFO     Combining to Movie file.   scene_file_writer.py:617
                    INFO                                scene_file_writer.py:737
                             File ready at                                      
                             '/Users/rizkylubis/media/v                         
                             ideos/manim_test/480p15/Sq                         
                             uareToCircle.mp4'                                  
                                                                                
                    INFO     Rendered SquareToCircle                scene.py:247
                             Played 3 animations                                
                    INFO     Previewed File at:                  file_ops.py:231
                             '/Users/rizkylubis/media/videos/man                
                             im_test/480p15/SquareToCircle.mp4'                 
(manim-env) Rizkys-Macbook-Air:~ rizkylubis$ 

I opened the manim_test.py file in VS Code, changed the python interpreter to my manim-env. When I run the Manim Sideview extension I get this:

Manim Extension XTerm
Serves as a terminal for logging purpose.

Extension Version 0.2.13

MSV /Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects>"/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin/manim" "/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/manim_test.py" SquareToCircle
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/pydub/utils.py:170: RuntimeWarning: Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work
  warn("Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work", RuntimeWarning)
Manim Community v0.18.1

╭───────────────────── Traceback (most recent call last) ──────────────────────╮
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/cli/render/ │
│ commands.py:119 in render                                                    │
│                                                                              │
│   116 │   │   for SceneClass in scene_classes_from_file(file):               │
│   117 │   │   │   try:                                                       │
│   118 │   │   │   │   with tempconfig({}):                                   │
│ ❱ 119 │   │   │   │   │   scene = SceneClass()                               │
│   120 │   │   │   │   │   scene.render()                                     │
│   121 │   │   │   except Exception:                                          │
│   122 │   │   │   │   error_console.print_exception()                        │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/scene/scene │
│ .py:147 in __init__                                                          │
│                                                                              │
│    144 │   │   │   )                                                         │
│    145 │   │   else:                                                         │
│    146 │   │   │   self.renderer = renderer                                  │
│ ❱  147 │   │   self.renderer.init_scene(self)                                │
│    148 │   │                                                                 │
│    149 │   │   self.mobjects = []                                            │
│    150 │   │   # TODO, remove need for foreground mobjects                   │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/renderer/ca │
│ iro_renderer.py:54 in init_scene                                             │
│                                                                              │
│    51 │   │   self.static_image = None                                       │
│    52 │                                                                      │
│    53 │   def init_scene(self, scene):                                       │
│ ❱  54 │   │   self.file_writer: Any = self._file_writer_class(               │
│    55 │   │   │   self,                                                      │
│    56 │   │   │   scene.__class__.__name__,                                  │
│    57 │   │   )                                                              │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/scene/scene │
│ _file_writer.py:88 in __init__                                               │
│                                                                              │
│    85 │   │   )                                                              │
│    86 │   │   # fail fast if ffmpeg is not found                             │
│    87 │   │   if not ensure_executable(Path(config.ffmpeg_executable)):      │
│ ❱  88 │   │   │   raise RuntimeError(                                        │
│    89 │   │   │   │   "Manim could not find ffmpeg, which is required for ge │
│    90 │   │   │   │   "For installing ffmpeg please consult https://docs.man │
│    91 │   │   │   │   "Make sure to either add ffmpeg to the PATH environmen │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
RuntimeError: Manim could not find ffmpeg, which is required for generating 
video output.
For installing ffmpeg please consult 
https://docs.manim.community/en/stable/installation.html
Make sure to either add ffmpeg to the PATH environment variable
or set path to the ffmpeg executable under the ffmpeg header in Manim's 
configuration.
[34454] Execution returned code=1 in 1.301 seconds returned signal null 

(manim-env) /Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/>

I have to say I am very new to coding, so am not quite sure what to do.

[lbirkert]

Hey, it might be that your environment differs when running manim via ZSH compared to via the extension (Although I don't know which bash the extension even uses). It might be that the extension tries to run manim via bash, which looks for a ~/.bashrc, which doesn't contain an export PATH="/path/to/ffmpeg/bin:$PATH", while zsh looks for a ~/.zshrc, which contains this line.

To fix this you might wanna try what it suggests:

Make sure to either add ffmpeg to the PATH environment variable
or set path to the ffmpeg executable under the ffmpeg header in Manim's 
configuration.

There should be a way to do the second one, although I am not exactly the most familiar with Manim and its configuration. I don't know whether the first one is possible, depends on the current implementation and how the extension starts Manim.

@Rickaym could you please provide further clarification?

[Rickaym]

Have you installed FFMPEG correctly?

[rrizkylubis]

@Rickaym
ffmpeg is installed correctly. Using the VS Code integrated terminal this is what I get:

(manim-env) rizkylubis@Rizkys-Macbook-Air Manim % which manim
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin/manim
(manim-env) rizkylubis@Rizkys-Macbook-Air Manim % which ffmpeg
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin/ffmpeg
(manim-env) rizkylubis@Rizkys-Macbook-Air Manim % echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n'
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin
/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/anki_to_obsidian/dist/anki_CLI
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
/Library/TeX/texbin
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin
/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/anki_to_obsidian/dist/anki_CLI
/opt/anaconda3/condabin
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin

However Manim Sideview appears to detect the conda environment but not inherit the path environment variables set by the environment. While I could manually add ffmpeg from the conda environment to the path, I really don't want to do this, the extension should inherit any path environment variables set by the environment I am in.

Manim Extension XTerm
Serves as a terminal for logging purpose.

Extension Version 0.2.15

MSV /Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/Manim>"/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/bin/manim" "/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/Manim/manim_test.py" SquareToCircle
/opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/pydub/utils.py:170: RuntimeWarning: Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work
  warn("Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work", RuntimeWarning)
Manim Community v0.18.1

╭───────────────────── Traceback (most recent call last) ──────────────────────╮
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/cli/render/ │
│ commands.py:119 in render                                                    │
│                                                                              │
│   116 │   │   for SceneClass in scene_classes_from_file(file):               │
│   117 │   │   │   try:                                                       │
│   118 │   │   │   │   with tempconfig({}):                                   │
│ ❱ 119 │   │   │   │   │   scene = SceneClass()                               │
│   120 │   │   │   │   │   scene.render()                                     │
│   121 │   │   │   except Exception:                                          │
│   122 │   │   │   │   error_console.print_exception()                        │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/scene/scene │
│ .py:147 in __init__                                                          │
│                                                                              │
│    144 │   │   │   )                                                         │
│    145 │   │   else:                                                         │
│    146 │   │   │   self.renderer = renderer                                  │
│ ❱  147 │   │   self.renderer.init_scene(self)                                │
│    148 │   │                                                                 │
│    149 │   │   self.mobjects = []                                            │
│    150 │   │   # TODO, remove need for foreground mobjects                   │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/renderer/ca │
│ iro_renderer.py:54 in init_scene                                             │
│                                                                              │
│    51 │   │   self.static_image = None                                       │
│    52 │                                                                      │
│    53 │   def init_scene(self, scene):                                       │
│ ❱  54 │   │   self.file_writer: Any = self._file_writer_class(               │
│    55 │   │   │   self,                                                      │
│    56 │   │   │   scene.__class__.__name__,                                  │
│    57 │   │   )                                                              │
│                                                                              │
│ /opt/anaconda3/envs/manim-env/lib/python3.10/site-packages/manim/scene/scene │
│ _file_writer.py:88 in __init__                                               │
│                                                                              │
│    85 │   │   )                                                              │
│    86 │   │   # fail fast if ffmpeg is not found                             │
│    87 │   │   if not ensure_executable(Path(config.ffmpeg_executable)):      │
│ ❱  88 │   │   │   raise RuntimeError(                                        │
│    89 │   │   │   │   "Manim could not find ffmpeg, which is required for ge │
│    90 │   │   │   │   "For installing ffmpeg please consult https://docs.man │
│    91 │   │   │   │   "Make sure to either add ffmpeg to the PATH environmen │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
RuntimeError: Manim could not find ffmpeg, which is required for generating 
video output.
For installing ffmpeg please consult 
https://docs.manim.community/en/stable/installation.html
Make sure to either add ffmpeg to the PATH environment variable
or set path to the ffmpeg executable under the ffmpeg header in Manim's 
configuration.
[20859] Execution returned code=1 in 0.485 seconds returned signal null 

(manim-env) /Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/Manim/>echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n'
/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/anki_to_obsidian/dist/anki_CLI
/opt/anaconda3/condabin
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
/Library/TeX/texbin

[Rickaym]

Interesting. So it looks like the venv is being set properly, just that it's not picking up FFMPEG. I'll try on my side.

comment ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpFlMEu7OY&lc=UgwAf8EysGh04b5OTZl4AaABAg

[lbirkert]

It might be that the environment variables are shell specific. You seem to be using zsh. Could you paste your ~/.zshrc?

[rrizkylubis]

While it looks like I am using zsh in the beginning I am actually using bash, in both the terminal app and the VS Code Integrated terminal:

Terminal app:

Last login: Tue Oct 29 20:15:48 on ttys000

The default interactive shell is now zsh.
To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050.
Rizkys-Macbook-Air:~ rizkylubis$ echo $SHELL
/bin/bash
Rizkys-Macbook-Air:~ rizkylubis$ 

VS Code integrated terminal:

(manim-env) rizkylubis@Rizkys-Macbook-Air Manim % echo $SHELL
/bin/bash
(manim-env) rizkylubis@Rizkys-Macbook-Air Manim % 

I will include both the ~/.zshrc and ~/.bash_profile below:

~/.zshrc

# >>> conda initialize >>>
# !! Contents within this block are managed by 'conda init' !!
__conda_setup="$('/opt/anaconda3/bin/conda' 'shell.zsh' 'hook' 2> /dev/null)"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    eval "$__conda_setup"
else
    if [ -f "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" ]; then
        . "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"
    else
        export PATH="/opt/anaconda3/bin:$PATH"
    fi
fi
unset __conda_setup
# <<< conda initialize <<<

export PATH="/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/anki_to_obsidian/dist/anki_CLI:$PATH"

~/.bash_profile

# Setting PATH for Python 3.11
# The original version is saved in .bash_profile.pysave
PATH="/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin:${PATH}"
export PATH


# >>> conda initialize >>>
# !! Contents within this block are managed by 'conda init' !!
__conda_setup="$('/opt/anaconda3/bin/conda' 'shell.bash' 'hook' 2> /dev/null)"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    eval "$__conda_setup"
else
    if [ -f "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" ]; then
        . "/opt/anaconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"
    else
        export PATH="/opt/anaconda3/bin:$PATH"
    fi
fi
unset __conda_setup
# <<< conda initialize <<<

#Path for anki_CLI
export PATH="/Users/rizkylubis/Documents/Coding_Projects/anki_to_obsidian/dist/anki_CLI:$PATH"

[niemiaszek]

Same problem using Pixi instead of Conda, although I believe the mechanism is the same.