StoryFolder Help

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Troubleshooting imports ​

Most imports just work. When one doesn't, it's usually one of a handful of reasons. Walk through these in order.

Why did my import fail? ​

The error message in the progress screen is the first clue. The most common causes are:

  • Private or unavailable URL. YouTube videos can be private, region-locked, age-gated, deleted, or paywalled.
  • Unsupported codec. Most files work, but some exotic codecs need re-encoding first.
  • Network blip. URL imports can fail if your connection drops mid-download.
  • Disk space. If you're nearly out of space, the import will fail.
  • Corrupt file. A partially downloaded or write-truncated file won't decode.

How do I retry a failed import? ​

  1. Go back to the home screen.
  2. Find the failed project in the list. Hover the tile and click the ⋯ menu.
  3. Pick Delete to remove the failed attempt.
  4. Start the import again from the home screen.

“Could not retrieve video metadata.” ​

This means StoryFolder couldn't reach the URL. Check:

  • The video is public (or unlisted with a working link).
  • Your internet connection is up.
  • The video isn't region-restricted in your country.
  • You haven't hit a YouTube rate limit (very rare; usually resolves itself in a few minutes).

“Unsupported codec.” ​

Some files use codecs FFmpeg can't decode in the way StoryFolder needs.

Quick fix: re-export the file to .mp4 (H.264) using HandBrake, Adobe Media Encoder, FFmpeg directly, or QuickTime's Export As… option. Then import the new file.

My import is stuck at 0%. ​

For URL imports, this almost always means the download hasn't started:

  • Check your internet connection.
  • Cancel and retry.
  • If retrying doesn't work, try downloading the video manually (with a browser extension or yt-dlp) and importing the file directly.

For file imports stuck at 0%, the file may be locked by another app or stored on a network drive that just disconnected. Try copying it to your desktop first.

My import is stuck at 99%. ​

The shot detector is still finishing up. Long videos can sit near 99% for a while as the final pass completes. Give it a couple of minutes.

If it never finishes, see Send us your logs — that helps us diagnose the exact stage that hung.

The import completed, but the shots are way off. ​

That's the AI shot detector being too sensitive or not sensitive enough for this particular video.

  • Open the project.
  • Drag the AI shot detection sensitivity slider in the left column.
  • Press C to manually Split missed cuts.
  • Press J to Merge unwanted splits.

Full guide: AI shot detection sensitivity.

The audio is missing or the video is silent. ​

StoryFolder doesn't strip audio. If the source has audio, it'll be there when you play the video inside the editor. If audio is missing:

  • Confirm the source plays with sound in VLC or QuickTime.
  • Some videos have only secondary audio tracks (e.g. dubbed films). Try re-encoding with the desired track as track 1.

I'm out of disk space. ​

Each import generates a thumbnail cache and (for URL imports) downloads the source. To free space:

  • Delete projects you don't need from the home screen.
  • Look at your app data folder (see Install the app) and remove orphaned caches.
  • Move your StoryFolder data to a larger drive (advanced — contact support before doing this).

Still stuck? ​

Send us your logs and we'll dig in:

→ Send us your logs → Contact support