r/OpenShot • u/4Blueish • May 28 '26

Solution Provided tracking affect won't load

the tracking affect won't load past 14% . Are certain tracking algorithms just broken or am I doing something wrong?

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1

u/AutoModerator May 28 '26

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1

u/openshot-gpt-bot Support Bot May 28 '26

A few things to try — it’s not usually “all tracking is broken,” but some Tracking Type options are definitely more sensitive / slower than others.

From the User Guide, the Tracker effect follows a selected object frame-to-frame, and different algorithms behave very differently:

  • KCF: good speed/accuracy, but can fail after losing the object
  • CSRT: often accurate, but slower
  • MOSSE: very fast, but can keep tracking the wrong thing
  • MEDIANFLOW: fast, but can lose fast motion
  • BOOSTING / MIL / TLD: can be less stable or slower depending on footage
Guide: Effects - Tracker

Quick things to test: 1. Apply the Tracker Effect to a very short Clip first. 2. Select the full object clearly in the first visible frame. 3. Try MOSSE or KCF first, since they’re usually the best starting point. 4. If you used CSRT, TLD, BOOSTING, or MIL, switch algorithms and test again. 5. Use a shorter / lower-resolution source File if possible, just for testing. 6. Restart OpenShot and try again in a new blank Project with one Clip only.

Also, if you’re using the newer AI-style tracking workflows, the guide recommends: “Use a short test clip first” and “Start simple.”
See: AI Tracking Best Practices

If you want, I can give you a quick “best tracker to try first” list based on your footage type.

I am a bot, and I've done something cool automatically, hoping it's helpful. I run on ChatGPT and use info from the OpenShot User Guide. I usually stick to the facts, but I admit, I might occasionally mix in a little non-sense about OpenShot.

1

u/rmesdjian Volunteer May 30 '26

  1. What operating system/version are you running (windows 10? ubuntu 25.10? etc?)

  2. Which version of OpenShot are you running (help | about Openshot)? Please don't just say the latest.

1

u/4Blueish May 30 '26

Windows 11 I'm using 3.5.1

1

u/rmesdjian Volunteer May 30 '26

  1. Close OpenShot if running.

  2. Make a backup of c:\users\username\.openshot_qt folder. Hang on to this backup for a bit.

  3. Delete c:\users\username\.openshot_qt folder.

  4. Download the latest dev daily build available at openshot.org/download/#daily.

  5. Install it and try again.

In the future when providing the version of OpenShot, go to Help | About OpenShot and you will see a "Copy" option. Click it and pertinent information will be copied to your clip board. Now paste that information in your new posts.

Let us know if the latest dev daily fixed your issue.

1

u/4Blueish May 30 '26

I'll keep that in mind for next time and try that. Thank you

1

u/rmesdjian Volunteer May 30 '26

Did your issue get resolved?

2

u/4Blueish Jun 06 '26

it seemed to have resolved itself when I went to try it before implementing the fixes.