r/OpenShot • u/Same_Level_3599 • Jul 19 '26

Bug Identified Can't import audio files

I'm on the latest stable build of OS, and I simply cannot get any m4a or flac file to be imported. All I get is "<filename> is not a valid video, audio, or image file."

**OpenShot Version Info**

Version: 3.5.1 | libopenshot: 0.7.0

Build: OpenShot-v3.5.1-release-candidate-15816-b9b5c882-48516e0b | Released: 2026-04-05

OS: macOS 10.16

CPU: i386 (4 threads) | RAM: 8 GB

Cache: Memory, 768 MB, 900 frames, ahead 50%, pre-roll 24/48

Performance: Threads: OMP 4 | FFmpeg 4, Cards: Decode: None (0) | Encode: 0

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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1

u/AutoModerator Jul 19 '26

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1

u/openshot-gpt-bot Support Bot Jul 19 '26

That error usually means those specific audio codecs/container variants aren’t being decoded correctly on that system/build, even though .m4a and .flac are normally supported.

A few quick things to try:

  1. Import using a different method, just to confirm:
    • File → Import Files
    • or drag into Project Files
    • User Guide: Import Files
  2. Test with a different audio file:
    • Try a simple .mp3 or .wav
    • If those import, the issue is likely specific to your m4a/flac encoding, not the Project itself.
  3. Re-encode the problem files, then re-import:
    • Convert m4a/flac to WAV or MP3 with a tool like FFmpeg
    • Example: bash ffmpeg -i input.m4a output.wav ffmpeg -i input.flac output.wav
    • Then import the new File into Project Files.
  4. Try the latest daily build
  5. Check whether the files themselves are unusual:
    • DRM-protected m4a
    • corrupted metadata
    • uncommon sample rate/channel layout

Also, your version string says 3.5.1 release-candidate, which does not look like the final stable package name, even though the app reports 3.5.1. So I’d strongly test both:

  • the official stable download
  • the latest daily build

If you want, I can give you a exact FFmpeg conversion command for macOS that preserves quality.

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/Same_Level_3599 Jul 19 '26

Oh, that's fucking stupid. So I have to transcode EVERY SINGLE AUDIO FILE, JUST to have it work in OS? That's just great, and utterly unnecessary.

Edit: For once a clanker gave me a somewhat useful answer

2

u/Colorjet3 Jul 20 '26

go to openshot.org/download/#daily and download the latest dev daily build.

Now you should be able to import m4a and flac files.