I’m trying to run immich in a nixos-container but I can’t get the hardware acceleration transcoding to work. I’m using imperative containers to iterate before commiting a declarative config.
That the exact same service configuration works fine when run directly on the host.
- I explicitely set the group and user ids to match the ids on the host
- I have tried to chmod the device to 777 both on the host and in the container
- I have
sudo setfacl -m u:993:rw /dev/dri/renderD128both on the host and the container
hardware acceleration is not working
I create the container like this
sudo nixos-container update immich --config '
services.immich = {
enable = true;
openFirewall = true;
host = "0.0.0.0";
accelerationDevices=[ "/dev/dri/renderD128 ];
environment.LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME = "iHD";
};
nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
users.users.immich = {
extraGroups = [ "video" "render" ];
uid = 993;
group = "immich";
};
users.groups.immich = {
gid = 991;
};
users.groups.video = {
gid = 26;
};
users.groups.render = {
gid = 303;
};
hardware.graphics = {
enable = true;
extraPackages = with pkgs; [
intel-media-driver # For Broadwell (2014) or newer processors. LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=iHD
libva-vdpau-driver # Previously vaapiVdpau
intel-compute-runtime # OpenCL filter support (hardware tonemapping and subtitle burn-in)
vpl-gpu-rt # QSV on 11th gen or newer
intel-ocl # OpenCL support
];
};
networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts = [ 2283 ];
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
clinfo
libva-utils
ffmpeg
vim
];
system.stateVersion = "25.05";
'
then start it
sudo nixos-container start immich
then bind mount the /dev/dri directory to the container
sudo machinectl bind immich /dev/dri --mkdir
then i change immich options to use hardware accelleration and forces transcoding for all videos.
in the immich-server logs when I upload a vide or ask to refresh the encoded videos of a video, I get this error :
[root@immich:~]# journalctl -u immich-server.service
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [Nest] 1177 - 08/29/2025, 1:28:38 PM LOG [Microservices:MediaService] Transcoding video ac117f82-6281-4e8b-9d05-36f4143621b9 with VAAPI-accelerated encoding and software >
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [Nest] 1177 - 08/29/2025, 1:28:38 PM ERROR [Microservices:MediaRepository] ffmpeg version 7.1.1-Jellyfin Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: built with gcc 14.3.0 (GCC)
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: configuration: --disable-static --prefix=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-jellyfin-ffmpeg-7.1.1-1 --target_os=linux --arch=x86_64 --pkg-config=pkg-config --enable>
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [AVHWDeviceContext @ 0x1a9b9500] Failed to open /dev/dri/renderD128 as DRM device node.
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [AVHWDeviceContext @ 0x1a9b9500] Cannot open X11 display /dev/dri/renderD128.
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [AVHWDeviceContext @ 0x1a9b9500] No VA display found for device /dev/dri/renderD128.
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: Device creation failed: -22.
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: Failed to set value 'vaapi=accel:/dev/dri/renderD128' for option 'init_hw_device': Invalid argument
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: Error parsing global options: Invalid argument
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]:
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [Nest] 1177 - 08/29/2025, 1:28:38 PM ERROR [Microservices:MediaService] Error occurred during transcoding: ffmpeg exited with code 234: Device creation failed: -22.
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: Failed to set value 'vaapi=accel:/dev/dri/renderD128' for option 'init_hw_device': Invalid argument
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: Error parsing global options: Invalid argument
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]:
Aug 29 13:28:38 immich immich[1177]: [Nest] 1177 - 08/29/2025, 1:28:38 PM ERROR [Microservices:MediaService] Retrying with VAAPI acceleration disabled
Aug 29 13:28:41 immich immich[1177]: [Nest] 1177 - 08/29/2025, 1:28:41 PM LOG [Microservices:MediaService] Successfully encoded ac117f82-6281-4e8b-9d05-36f4143621b9
so the transcoding is not done using hardware acceleration
if I do the exact same thing on the host I get this log instead
[Microservices:MediaService] Transcoding video 24de7ffd-f475-48c0-93c8-79f4ce63d46a with VAAPI-accelerated encoding and decoding
If I root-login in the container, I see
[root@immich:~]# ll /dev/dri
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 100 Aug 27 14:04 by-path
crwxrwxrwx 1 root video 226, 1 Aug 27 14:04 card1
crwxrwxrwx+ 1 root render 226, 128 Aug 27 14:04 renderD128
[root@immich:~]# clinfo
Number of platforms 2
Platform Name Intel(R) OpenCL Graphics
Platform Vendor Intel(R) Corporation
Platform Version OpenCL 3.0
Platform Profile FULL_PROFILE
#[...] and a lot more output
[root@immich:~]# ffmpeg -init_hw_device vaapi=accel:/dev/dri/renderD128
ffmpeg version 7.1.1 Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 14.3.0 (GCC)
configuration: --disable-static --prefix=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1 --target_os=linux --arch=x86_64 --pkg-config=pkg-config --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --disable-nonfree --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-pic --disable-thumb --disable-small --enable-runtime-cpudetect --disable-gray --enable-swscale-alpha --enable-hardcoded-tables --enable-safe-bitstream-reader --enable-pthreads --disable-w32threads --disable-os2threads --enable-network --enable-pixelutils --datadir=/nix/store/vjjiqyr8cc526i765fm8s2v48b2g428x-ffmpeg-7.1.1-data/share/ffmpeg --enable-ffmpeg --enable-ffplay --enable-ffprobe --bindir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-bin/bin --enable-avcodec --enable-avdevice --enable-avfilter --enable-avformat --enable-avutil --enable-postproc --enable-swresample --enable-swscale --libdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-lib/lib --incdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-dev/include --enable-doc --enable-htmlpages --enable-manpages --mandir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-man/share/man --enable-podpages --enable-txtpages --docdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-doc/share/doc/ffmpeg --enable-alsa --enable-amf --enable-libaom --disable-libaribb24 --disable-libaribcaption --enable-libass --disable-avisynth --enable-libbluray --disable-libbs2b --enable-bzlib --disable-libcaca --disable-libcdio --disable-libcelt --disable-chromaprint --disable-libcodec2 --disable-cuda --enable-cuda-llvm --disable-cuda-nvcc --enable-cuvid --enable-libdav1d --disable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --disable-libdvdnav --disable-libdvdread --disable-libfdk-aac --enable-ffnvcodec --disable-libflite --enable-fontconfig --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --disable-frei0r --enable-libfribidi --disable-libgme --enable-gnutls --disable-libgsm --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-iconv --disable-libilbc --disable-libjack --disable-libjxl --disable-libkvazaar --disable-ladspa --disable-liblc3 --disable-liblcevc-dec --disable-lcms2 --enable-lzma --disable-metal --disable-libmfx --disable-libmodplug --enable-libmp3lame --disable-libmysofa --disable-libnpp --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --disable-openal --enable-opencl --disable-libopencore-amrnb --disable-libopencore-amrwb --disable-opengl --disable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --disable-libplacebo --enable-libpulse --disable-libqrencode --disable-libquirc --disable-librav1e --enable-librist --disable-librtmp --disable-librubberband --disable-libsmbclient --enable-sdl2 --disable-libshaderc --disable-libshine --disable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --disable-librsvg --enable-libsvtav1 --disable-libtensorflow --enable-libtheora --disable-libtwolame --enable-libv4l2 --enable-v4l2-m2m --enable-vaapi --enable-vdpau --disable-libvpl --enable-libvidstab --disable-libvmaf --disable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-vulkan --disable-libvvenc --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --disable-libxavs --disable-libxcb --disable-libxcb-shape --disable-libxcb-shm --disable-libxcb-xfixes --disable-libxevd --disable-libxeve --disable-xlib --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-zlib --disable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --disable-debug --enable-optimizations --disable-extra-warnings --disable-stripping
libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
Universal media converter
usage: ffmpeg [options] [[infile options] -i infile]... {[outfile options] outfile}...
[root@immich:~]# sudo -u immich ffmpeg -init_hw_device vaapi=accel:/dev/dri/renderD128
ffmpeg version 7.1.1 Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 14.3.0 (GCC)
configuration: --disable-static --prefix=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1 --target_os=linux --arch=x86_64 --pkg-config=pkg-config --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --disable-nonfree --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-pic --disable-thumb --disable-small --enable-runtime-cpudetect --disable-gray --enable-swscale-alpha --enable-hardcoded-tables --enable-safe-bitstream-reader --enable-pthreads --disable-w32threads --disable-os2threads --enable-network --enable-pixelutils --datadir=/nix/store/vjjiqyr8cc526i765fm8s2v48b2g428x-ffmpeg-7.1.1-data/share/ffmpeg --enable-ffmpeg --enable-ffplay --enable-ffprobe --bindir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-bin/bin --enable-avcodec --enable-avdevice --enable-avfilter --enable-avformat --enable-avutil --enable-postproc --enable-swresample --enable-swscale --libdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-lib/lib --incdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-dev/include --enable-doc --enable-htmlpages --enable-manpages --mandir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-man/share/man --enable-podpages --enable-txtpages --docdir=/nix/store/eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ffmpeg-7.1.1-doc/share/doc/ffmpeg --enable-alsa --enable-amf --enable-libaom --disable-libaribb24 --disable-libaribcaption --enable-libass --disable-avisynth --enable-libbluray --disable-libbs2b --enable-bzlib --disable-libcaca --disable-libcdio --disable-libcelt --disable-chromaprint --disable-libcodec2 --disable-cuda --enable-cuda-llvm --disable-cuda-nvcc --enable-cuvid --enable-libdav1d --disable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --disable-libdvdnav --disable-libdvdread --disable-libfdk-aac --enable-ffnvcodec --disable-libflite --enable-fontconfig --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --disable-frei0r --enable-libfribidi --disable-libgme --enable-gnutls --disable-libgsm --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-iconv --disable-libilbc --disable-libjack --disable-libjxl --disable-libkvazaar --disable-ladspa --disable-liblc3 --disable-liblcevc-dec --disable-lcms2 --enable-lzma --disable-metal --disable-libmfx --disable-libmodplug --enable-libmp3lame --disable-libmysofa --disable-libnpp --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --disable-openal --enable-opencl --disable-libopencore-amrnb --disable-libopencore-amrwb --disable-opengl --disable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --disable-libplacebo --enable-libpulse --disable-libqrencode --disable-libquirc --disable-librav1e --enable-librist --disable-librtmp --disable-librubberband --disable-libsmbclient --enable-sdl2 --disable-libshaderc --disable-libshine --disable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --disable-librsvg --enable-libsvtav1 --disable-libtensorflow --enable-libtheora --disable-libtwolame --enable-libv4l2 --enable-v4l2-m2m --enable-vaapi --enable-vdpau --disable-libvpl --enable-libvidstab --disable-libvmaf --disable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-vulkan --disable-libvvenc --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --disable-libxavs --disable-libxcb --disable-libxcb-shape --disable-libxcb-shm --disable-libxcb-xfixes --disable-libxevd --disable-libxeve --disable-xlib --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-zlib --disable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --disable-debug --enable-optimizations --disable-extra-warnings --disable-stripping
libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
Universal media converter
usage: ffmpeg [options] [[infile options] -i infile]... {[outfile options] outfile}...
I managed to actually manualy transcode a video so I don’t understand why immich fails T_T
What am I missing ?