Failed to start recording. Could not start video source #1001

Activity

1. Adedamolas commented on Sep 19, 2026

   

   Adedamolas

   on Sep 19, 2026

   More actions

   Same here on v1.4.0 (Linux AppImage, Pop!_OS / GNOME on X11, single monitor). I tracked down the root cause.

   Root cause:
   When no source is selected in the HUD, the renderer falls back to the screen:linux-portal pseudo-source and calls getDisplayMedia(). The main-process setDisplayMediaRequestHandler then does this on Linux, regardless of session type:

   js
   if (process.platform === "linux" && (selectedId === "screen:linux-portal" || !selectedId)) {
   callback({ video: { id: "screen:0:0", name: "Entire screen" } });
   return;
   }

   screen:0:0 only works with the Wayland/PipeWire portal. On X11, desktopCapturer source IDs are based on the RandR monitor, e.g. on my machine:

   "screen:411:0 | Screen 1 (Primary)"

   So Chromium can't open screen:0:0 and throws NotReadableError: Could not start video source.

   Verification
   Running inside the HUD window via DevTools:

   Call & Result
   |---|---|
   | getUserMedia({ chromeMediaSourceId: "screen:0:0" }) | ❌ NotReadableError: Could not start video source |
   | getUserMedia({ chromeMediaSourceId: "screen:411:0" }) | ✅ 1920×1080 @ 60fps |
   | getDisplayMedia() (after the patch below) | ✅ screen:411:0, 1920×1080 |

   The Requested GL implementation (gl=egl-gles2…) / Exiting GPU process errors in the log are a second, separate bug. They don't cause the capture failure (capture succeeds with the GPU disabled once the source ID is correct). But they break the editor: after recording, it shows

   No supported Pixi preview renderer was available. Attempted: webgl: CanvasRenderer is not yet implemented | webgpu: CanvasRenderer is not yet implemented

   The cause is in mE(): on X11, Recordly appends use-gl=egl. This Electron build only allows egl-angle, so the GPU process exits, Chromium falls back to --use-gl=disabled, and WebGL/WebGPU are unavailable. After dropping that switch on Linux (useGl: undefined), the GPU process starts normally. WebGL reports ANGLE (Intel, Mesa Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620, OpenGL 4.6), WebGPU gets an adapter, and the editor preview renders.

   Fix:
   Only use the portal path on Wayland. bx() (the existing Wayland session check in main.cjs) already does this:

   - if (process.platform === "linux" && (selectedId === "screen:linux-portal" || !selectedId)) {
   + if (process.platform === "linux" && isWaylandSession(process.env) && (selectedId === "screen:linux-portal" || !selectedId)) {

   On X11 it then falls through to desktopCapturer.getSources() and picks the real screen.

   And for the editor, stop forcing EGL on X11:

   - linux: { useGl: shouldUseEgl(env) ? "egl" : undefined, disableFeatures: [...] }
   + linux: { useGl: undefined, disableFeatures: [...] }

   I patched both into the built app.asar locally, and recording and editing now both work.

   It looks like several open PRs already address this (#678, #705, #768, #905, #925). Could one of them get merged? Right now the Linux release is unusable on X11 out of the box.

   Workaround for other users

   Explicitly select a screen/window in the HUD source picker before recording. That path calls getUserMedia with the real source ID and works on X11.

   Related: #364

   🚀React with 🚀1Reacted by pannet1
2. hawks-vision commented on Sep 25, 2026

   

   hawks-vision

   on Sep 25, 2026

   More actions

   Confirming on Kali Linux rolling (XFCE, X11, NVIDIA RTX 3050, driver 550) with the official 1.4.0 AppImage. Same screen:0:0 → NotReadableError failure, and @Adedamolas's analysis matches what I found: gating the portal path on the existing Wayland session check fixes it here too.

   Two related things I ran into once X11 capture worked:

   • With the webcam enabled, auto-zoom and cursor effects were empty. The cursor telemetry gets saved next to the webcam file instead of the screen recording. Reported in Cursor telemetry is saved next to the webcam file, so the screen recording has none (auto-zoom/cursor effects missing when webcam is on) #1038, fix in fix(recording): keep cursor telemetry for the screen recording when a webcam companion is stored #1039.
   • The HUD menus are clipped on Linux (Ubuntu 26.04: Recordly dropdown menus are hidden behind the recording bar #944).

   Until a fix is merged, I put these workarounds into a small install script for the official 1.4.0 AppImage (checksum-verified, unofficial, not affiliated with Recordly): https://github.com/InverseZeroSecurity/linux-x11-recorder-fix

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by pannet1
3. hawks-vision

   added a commit that references this issue on Sep 25, 2026

   Stop forcing --use-gl=egl so the GPU works on X11

   ...

   966de90
4. 0xSamrat commented on Sep 28, 2026

   

   0xSamrat

   on Sep 28, 2026

   More actions

   Tested PR #1002 on Ubuntu 24.04 X11 (RTX 3050 + AMD). It fixes this. Details in my review on #1002.