No VAAPI usage in 0.16.x (Intel N150 / Alder Lake-N, Proxmox LXC privileged) – ffmpeg missing / hwaccel_args ignored, QSV unusableport]:

[Fswalle]

Describe the problem you are having

What happened

Running Frigate 0.16.1 (stable) in a privileged Proxmox VE 9.0 LXC container (Debian 12 base, no Home Assistant).

/dev/dri/renderD128 is mounted and accessible in the container.

User in container is in video and render groups.

VAAPI worked once on an earlier 0.16 beta/dev image (same hardware, same setup).

Version

0.16.1-e664cb2

Frigate config file

mqtt:
  host: IP
  user: admin
  password: PASS
  topic_prefix: frigate

detectors:
  coral:
    type: edgetpu
    device: usb

ffmpeg:
  hwaccel_args:
    - -hwaccel
    - vaapi
    - -vaapi_device
    - /dev/dri/renderD128
    - -hwaccel_output_format
    - yuv420p

birdseye:
  enabled: true
  width: 1280
  height: 720
  quality: 8
  mode: motion

record:
  enabled: true
  retain:
    days: 1
    mode: motion
  alerts:
    pre_capture: 15
    post_capture: 15
  detections:
    pre_capture: 15
    post_capture: 15

cameras:
  Wiese:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/livestream/12
          roles: [detect]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/livestream/11
          roles: [record]
    detect:
      width: 1280
      height: 720
      fps: 7
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: motion
    motion:
      mask:
        - 0.069,0,0.055,0.078,0.05,0.125,0.087,0.147,0.099,0.175,0.116,0.161,0.119,0.261,0.234,0.265,0.383,0.209,0.383,0.083,0.359,0
        - 0.626,0.014,0.602,0.041,0.601,0.075,0.615,0.097,0.664,0.111,0.704,0.109,0.729,0.108,0.725,0.058,0.703,0.033,0.671,0.023
        - 0.751,0.025,0.751,0.044,0.763,0.041,0.763,0.019
        - 0.824,0.044,0.826,0.062,0.949,0.055,0.949,0.037
        - 0.644,0.988,0.639,0.928,0.713,0.841,0.948,0.719,0.971,0.794,0.998,0.991
        - 0.363,0,0.366,0.023,0.388,0.023,0.388,0.005
      threshold: 30
      contour_area: 10
      improve_contrast: true
    objects:
      filters:
        car:
          mask: 0.91,0.058,0.817,0.133,0.831,0.211,0.997,0.264,0.998,0.059

  Haustuer:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/livestream/12
          roles: [detect]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/livestream/11
          roles: [record]
    detect:
      width: 1280
      height: 720
      fps: 7
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: motion
    objects:
      filters:
        car:
          mask:
            - 0,0.515,0.107,0.459,0.19,0.515,0.228,0.607,0.261,0.744,0.265,0.903,0.235,0.992,0.004,0.995
            - 0.693,0.242,0.711,0.148,0.754,0.075,0.815,0.072,0.903,0.133,0.936,0.223,0.925,0.328,0.86,0.421,0.696,0.3
            - 0.666,0.075,0.686,0.017,0.791,0.069,0.746,0.193
        person:
          mask: 0.749,0.66,0.833,0.491,0.949,0.523,0.892,0.794
        bird:
          mask: 0.616,0.808,0.6,0.719,0.641,0.721,0.668,0.782
    motion:
      mask:
        - 0.58,0.952,0.634,0.824,0.725,0.769,0.774,0.736,0.811,0.738,0.854,0.755,0.842,0.807,0.818,0.821,0.85,0.997
        - 0.001,0.005,0,0.117,0.186,0
        - 0.5,0,0.5,0.034,0.521,0.036,0.524,0.005
        - 0.662,0.002,0.652,0.07,0.662,0.073,0.677,0.006
        - 0.842,0.009,0.843,0.076,0.859,0.097,0.864,0.002
        - 0.92,0.014,0.894,0.064,0.894,0.108,0.922,0.105
        - 0,0.217,0.016,0.203,0.017,0.175,0.033,0.15,0.037,0.165,0.024,0.184,0.025,0.204,0.047,0.179,0.057,0.226,0.005,0.3

  Reolink811A_Keller:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_main
          roles: [record]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub
          roles: [detect]
    detect:
      width: 640
      height: 360
      fps: 7
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: motion
    motion:
      mask:
        - 0.299,0.362,0.303,0.424,0.335,0.41,0.333,0.351
        - 0.25,0.357,0.25,0.393,0.276,0.392,0.273,0.354
        - 0.411,0.273,0.413,0.315,0.448,0.314,0.446,0.268
        - 0.004,0.005,0.004,0.161,0.31,0.145,0.308,0.005

  Reolink811A_HinterGarage:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_main
          roles: [record]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub
          roles: [detect]
    detect:
      width: 640
      height: 360
      fps: 7
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: active_objects

  Reolink811A_Terrasse:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_main
          roles: [record]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub
          roles: [detect]
    detect:
      width: 640
      height: 360
      fps: 7
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: motion
    motion:
      mask: 0.013,0.034,0.013,0.062,0.303,0.064,0.3,0.025
    objects:
      filters:
        person:
          mask:
            - 0.364,0.228,0.395,0.446,0.451,0.435,0.467,0.348,0.416,0.223
            - 0.195,0.009,0.194,0.103,0.185,0.215,0.204,0.256,0.229,0.256,0.237,0.214,0.224,0.097,0.231,0.008

  ReolinkDuo2_Zufahrt:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_main
          roles: [record]
        - path: rtsp://admin:PASS@IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub
          roles: [detect]
    detect:
      width: 640
      height: 360
      fps: 10
    snapshots:
      enabled: true
      timestamp: true
      bounding_box: true
      retain:
        default: 7
    record:
      enabled: true
      retain:
        days: 7
        mode: motion

objects:
  track:
    - person
    - bird
    - dog
    - cat
    - cow
    - car
    - raccoon
    - deer
    - badger
    - fox
    - bicycle
    - amazon
    - dhl
    - gls
    - dpd
    - squirrel
    - rabbit
    - package
    - motorcycle
    - face
    

detect:
  enabled: true

version: 0.16-0

semantic_search:
  enabled: false
  model_size: small

face_recognition:
  enabled: false
  model_size: small

lpr:
  enabled: false

classification:
  bird:
    enabled: true

docker-compose file or Docker CLI command

version: "3.8"

services:
  frigate1:
    image: ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable
    container_name: frigate1
    privileged: true
    restart: unless-stopped
    shm_size: "2g"
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
      - "1935:1935"
    environment:
      FRIGATE_RTSP_PASSWORD: "PASS"
      PLUS_API_KEY: "xxxxxxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    volumes:
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
      - /opt/frigate/config/frigate.yml:/config/frigate.yml:ro
      - /mnt/SEAGATEUSB/frigate:/media/frigate
      - /mnt/SEAGATEUSB/frigate/logs:/config/logs
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri
      - /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp/cache:size=1024m

Relevant Frigate log output

2025-09-14 10:18:01.373751111  [INFO] Preparing Frigate...
2025-09-14 10:18:01.965296069  [INFO] Starting Frigate...
2025-09-14 10:18:04.232522574  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.util.config            INFO    : Checking if frigate config needs migration...
2025-09-14 10:18:04.265188788  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.util.config            INFO    : frigate config does not need migration...
2025-09-14 10:18:04.312993463  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Wiese is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.316013086  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Haustuer is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.317148770  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Reolink811A_Keller is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.317674365  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Reolink811A_HinterGarage: Recording retention is configured for RetainModeEnum.active_objects and alert retention is configured for RetainModeEnum.motion. The more restrictive retention policy will be applied.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.318493398  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Reolink811A_HinterGarage: Recording retention is configured for RetainModeEnum.active_objects and detection retention is configured for RetainModeEnum.motion. The more restrictive retention policy will be applied.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.318877637  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Reolink811A_HinterGarage is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.319890878  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : Reolink811A_Terrasse is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.320897094  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.config.config          WARNING : ReolinkDuo2_Zufahrt is configured to track ['squirrel', 'package', 'fox', 'deer', 'dpd', 'amazon', 'gls', 'dhl', 'face', 'rabbit', 'raccoon', 'badger'] objects, which are not supported by the current model.
2025-09-14 10:18:04.322605682  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Starting Frigate (0.16.1-e664cb2)
2025-09-14 10:18:04.339020387  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] peewee_migrate.logs            INFO    : Starting migrations
2025-09-14 10:18:04.340630474  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] peewee_migrate.logs            INFO    : There is nothing to migrate
2025-09-14 10:18:04.348437440  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Recording process started: 379
2025-09-14 10:18:04.356138440  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Review process started: 391
2025-09-14 10:18:04.359025674  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : go2rtc process pid: 128
2025-09-14 10:18:04.376813081  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] detector.coral                 INFO    : Starting detection process: 403
2025-09-14 10:18:04.378196969  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.detectors.plugins.edgetpu_tfl INFO    : Attempting to load TPU as usb
2025-09-14 10:18:04.383113292  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Embedding process started: 407
2025-09-14 10:18:04.394851495  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Output process started: 445
2025-09-14 10:18:04.401213688  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.util.downloader        INFO    : Downloading model file from: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-coral/test_data/master/mobilenet_v2_1.0_224_inat_bird_quant.tflite
2025-09-14 10:18:04.426717586  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for Wiese: 484
2025-09-14 10:18:04.437104728  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for Haustuer: 501
2025-09-14 10:18:04.437977244  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for Reolink811A_Keller: 514
2025-09-14 10:18:04.463138212  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for Reolink811A_HinterGarage: 535
2025-09-14 10:18:04.473375138  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for Reolink811A_Terrasse: 553
2025-09-14 10:18:04.477128955  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Camera processor started for ReolinkDuo2_Zufahrt: 564
2025-09-14 10:18:04.495882029  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for Wiese: 584
2025-09-14 10:18:04.507818997  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for Haustuer: 596
2025-09-14 10:18:04.655135293  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for Reolink811A_Keller: 605
2025-09-14 10:18:04.668662864  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for Reolink811A_HinterGarage: 617
2025-09-14 10:18:04.681705801  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for Reolink811A_Terrasse: 629
2025-09-14 10:18:04.693633132  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.app                    INFO    : Capture process started for ReolinkDuo2_Zufahrt: 639
2025-09-14 10:18:04.820478277  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.api.fastapi_app        INFO    : Starting FastAPI app
2025-09-14 10:18:04.932251645  [2025-09-14 10:18:04] frigate.api.fastapi_app        INFO    : FastAPI started
2025-09-14 10:18:05.195480956  [2025-09-14 10:18:05] frigate.util.downloader        INFO    : Downloading complete: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-coral/test_data/master/mobilenet_v2_1.0_224_inat_bird_quant.tflite
2025-09-14 10:18:05.197616679  [2025-09-14 10:18:05] frigate.util.downloader        INFO    : Downloading model file from: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-coral/test_data/master/inat_bird_labels.txt
2025-09-14 10:18:05.423986313  [2025-09-14 10:18:05] frigate.util.downloader        INFO    : Downloading complete: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-coral/test_data/master/inat_bird_labels.txt
2025-09-14 10:18:05.426266141  INFO: Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.
2025-09-14 10:18:06.981140967  [2025-09-14 10:18:06] frigate.detectors.plugins.edgetpu_tfl INFO    : TPU found
2025-09-14 10:18:06.982145136  INFO: Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

Relevant go2rtc log output

2025-09-14 10:18:01.951744948  [INFO] Preparing new go2rtc config...
2025-09-14 10:18:02.456269519  [INFO] Starting go2rtc...
2025-09-14 10:18:02.541092472  10:18:02.540 INF go2rtc platform=linux/amd64 revision=fa580c5 version=1.9.9
2025-09-14 10:18:02.541248133  10:18:02.541 INF config path=/dev/shm/go2rtc.yaml
2025-09-14 10:18:02.541477009  10:18:02.541 INF [rtsp] listen addr=:8554
2025-09-14 10:18:02.541645520  10:18:02.541 INF [api] listen addr=:1984
2025-09-14 10:18:02.541877384  10:18:02.541 INF [webrtc] listen addr=:8555
2025-09-14 10:18:11.285724892  [INFO] Starting go2rtc healthcheck service...

FFprobe output from your camera

OCI runtime exec failed: exec failed: unable to start container process: exec: "frigate": executable file not found in $PATH: unknown
root@CT101:~# docker exec -it frigate1 python3 -m frigate --version
usage: Frigate [-h] [--validate-config]
Frigate: error: unrecognized arguments: --version
root@CT101:~# ffprobe rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/h264Preview_01_sub
ffprobe version 5.1.7-0+deb12u1 Copyright (c) 2007-2025 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 12 (Debian 12.2.0-14+deb12u1)
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --extra-version=0+deb12u1 --toolchain=hardened --libdir=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu --incdir=/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu --arch=amd64 --enable-gpl --disable-stripping --enable-gnutls --enable-ladspa --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libbs2b --enable-libcaca --enable-libcdio --enable-libcodec2 --enable-libdav1d --enable-libflite --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libglslang --enable-libgme --enable-libgsm --enable-libjack --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-librabbitmq --enable-librist --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-lv2 --enable-omx --enable-openal --enable-opencl --enable-opengl --enable-sdl2 --disable-sndio --enable-libjxl --enable-pocketsphinx --enable-librsvg --enable-libmfx --enable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --enable-libiec61883 --enable-chromaprint --enable-frei0r --enable-libx264 --enable-libplacebo --enable-librav1e --enable-shared
  libavutil      57. 28.100 / 57. 28.100
  libavcodec     59. 37.100 / 59. 37.100
  libavformat    59. 27.100 / 59. 27.100
  libavdevice    59.  7.100 / 59.  7.100
  libavfilter     8. 44.100 /  8. 44.100
  libswscale      6.  7.100 /  6.  7.100
  libswresample   4.  7.100 /  4.  7.100
  libpostproc    56.  6.100 / 56.  6.100
Input #0, rtsp, from 'rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/h264Preview_01_sub':
  Metadata:
    title           : Session streamed by "preview"
  Duration: N/A, start: 0.000313, bitrate: N/A
  Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 640x360, 15 fps, 15 tbr, 90k tbn
  Stream #0:1: Audio: aac (LC), 16000 Hz, mono, fltp
root@CT101:~#

Install method

Proxmox via Docker

Object Detector

Coral

Network connection

Wired

Camera make and model

reolink 811a;Duo;;; instar 9820; 9420

Screenshots of the Frigate UI's System metrics pages

Any other information that may be helpful

🐛 What happened

Running Frigate 0.16.1 (stable) in a privileged Proxmox VE 9.0 LXC container (Debian 12 base, no Home Assistant).

/dev/dri/renderD128 is mounted and accessible in the container.

User in container is in video and render groups.

VAAPI worked once on an earlier 0.16 beta/dev image (same hardware, same setup).

🤔 What I expected

Frigate should use VAAPI for hardware-accelerated decode.

Logs should include something like Using hwaccel method vaapi.

lsof | grep renderD128 should show ffmpeg processes holding the device.

GPU usage should rise above 0 % when cameras are active.

❌ What actually happens

No VAAPI activity.

lsof | grep renderD128 → no result.

Logs do not mention vaapi at all.

GPU usage stays 0 %.

Coral TPU inference runs fine (7–8 ms), so detection is not the bottleneck.

QSV (preset-qsv) works but performs worse than CPU decoding on Alder Lake-N (N150) → very high CPU usage, lower FPS.

🔎 Logs / Errors seen
ffmpeg.Wiese.detect ERROR : Option vf (...) cannot be applied to input url rtsp://... -- you are trying to apply an input option to an output file or vice versa.
Error opening input files: Invalid argument
executable file not found in $PATH: ffmpeg (when testing inside container)

No line like Using vaapi appears in Frigate logs, even with:

ffmpeg:
hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi

or

ffmpeg:
hwaccel_args:
- -hwaccel
- vaapi
- -vaapi_device
- /dev/dri/renderD128

🖥️ Environment / Setup

Proxmox VE: 9.0 (Community edition)

Container: Debian 12 LXC, privileged

Hardware: Intel N150 (Alder Lake-N), iGPU with QuickSync

Mounts: /dev/dri bound to container, /dev/dri/renderD128 accessible

Groups: root in video, render

Frigate version: 0.16.1 (stable)

Coral: USB TPU, working perfectly

vainfo inside container:

libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
Driver version: Intel iHD driver for Intel(R) Gen Graphics - 24.3.3
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointVLD
...

🔧 What I tried

Global hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi

Per-camera explicit hwaccel_args with -hwaccel vaapi and -vaapi_device

URL-encoding RTSP credentials (@ → %40)

Installed Debian ffmpeg + vainfo inside container → ffmpeg lists vaapi as supported hwaccel, but Frigate doesn’t use it.

Verified container groups (root in video, render).

Tried with and without -vf format=nv12|vaapi,hwupload (causes ffmpeg crash).

💡 Hypothesis

Current stable image may be missing ffmpeg or not linking it into PATH, so Frigate can’t use it.

hwaccel_args may silently fail if ffmpeg binary is missing or incompatible.

Possibly a regression compared to 0.16.0-beta (where VAAPI worked).

🙏 Request

Can you confirm that ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable ships with ffmpeg including VAAPI support?

Could Frigate log which ffmpeg binary it uses and whether hwaccel_args are applied?

Is there a known issue with VAAPI on Alder Lake-N / 0.16.1?

Is there a recommended image or build flag to guarantee VAAPI support?

🖼️ Bonus

If relevant, I can share my frigate.yml, full logs, and docker inspect output.

Happy to test a nightly/dev image if that helps confirm a regression.

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Based on your configuration and logs, I can help identify the issues with VAAPI hardware acceleration in your Frigate setup.

For Intel N150 (Alder Lake-N), you should use the preset-vaapi configuration. According to the hardware acceleration documentation, for gen13+ Intel CPUs, the recommended preset is preset-intel-qsv-*, but preset-vaapi is also supported (1).

The proper configuration for VAAPI should be:

ffmpeg:
  hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi

(1)

For Intel-based CPUs, the documentation states that the default driver is iHD, but you may need to change the driver to i965 by adding the environment variable LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=i965 to your docker-compose file (1).

However, there are several issues in your current setup:

1. FFmpeg Path Issue: The error "executable file not found in $PATH: ffmpeg" suggests the ffmpeg binary isn't properly accessible. The documentation shows that you can configure the ffmpeg path explicitly (2):

ffmpeg:
  path: "default"

(2)

You can also set it to 7.0 or 5.0 to specify one of the included versions, or set it to any path that holds bin/ffmpeg & bin/ffprobe (2).

2. Docker Device Mapping: Your docker-compose already includes the correct device mapping:

devices:
  - /dev/dri:/dev/dri

3. Hardware Acceleration Verification: The documentation mentions that hwaccel presets not only replace the longer args, but also give Frigate hints about available hardware and allow Frigate to make other optimizations using the GPU (3).

To troubleshoot your VAAPI issue:

1. Try adding the Intel driver environment variable to your docker-compose:

environment:
  LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME: iHD

2. Ensure your container has the proper capabilities. For Intel GPU stats in Docker, you may need additional configuration like CAP_PERFMON capability (1).

3. Consider testing with the explicit ffmpeg path configuration to ensure the binary is accessible.

The fact that your Coral TPU is working correctly (7-8ms inference times) indicates that the basic Frigate setup is functioning properly - the issue is specifically with the hardware acceleration configuration.

📚 Sources:

1. Video Decoding
2. Full Reference Config
3. FFmpeg presets

---

Have another question? Just tag @inkeep.

[Fswalle]

ffmpeg:
hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi

so i did
ffmpeg:
path: "default"

this 1 too

devices:

• /dev/dri:/dev/dri

checked not only once

environment:
LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME: iHD

did it yesterday

regards to ai ^^

[NickM-27]

There's an Intel bug that makes GPU stats show 0% when it isn't, most likely everything is working correctly.

When ffmpeg is set to use vaapi is will fail directly if it can't access the GPU

[Fswalle]

Several similar reports can be found here:

• [HW Accel Support]: VAAPI Hardware Acceleration Failing on Intel N150 #17441
• https://www.reddit.com/r/frigate_nvr/comments/1hf9do1/hardware_accel_on_intel_n150/
• [HW Accel Support]: preset-vaapi not working on Ubuntu 22.04 with Alder Lake #6365
• https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/unable-to-enable-intel-gpu-for-hardware-acceleration-in-proxmox-lxc.164047/

regards

[mrplow]

I'm guessing my discussion topic is related too, even though it's regarding battlemage dGPU
#19093

[Fswalle]

I´m guessing not really...
regards

[bulanovk]

In case of proxmox try to replace

    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri

with

    devices:
      - /dev/dri/renderD128:/dev/dri/renderD128
      - /dev/dri/cardX:/dev/dri/cardX       
      

Change cardX to correct number by executing
ls -ln /dev/dri on PVE host, also take a look on render and video group ID on host and LXC contatiner some remapping migth be required

[Fswalle]

Update:

I just confirmed that VAAPI is working inside the container itself:

docker exec -it frigate1 vainfo

Output shows that the Intel iHD driver is loaded successfully and all H264/HEVC profiles are available.
Example snippet:

libva info: User environment variable requested driver 'iHD'
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.22 (libva 2.12.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Intel iHD driver for Intel(R) Gen Graphics - 24.3.3 ()
...
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointVLD

So VAAPI is technically available inside the container.
However, Frigate / ffmpeg still does not use it:

No vaapi mention in logs (even with hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi set)

lsof | grep renderD128 shows no ffmpeg process using the GPU device

GPU load remains 0 %

CPU load for ffmpeg ~10 % per camera (confirming software decode)

This strongly suggests that either:

The ffmpeg build shipped with ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable does not include VAAPI support
or

hwaccel_args are silently ignored in this version (regression vs. early 0.16 beta, where it used to work)

Could you please confirm whether VAAPI is expected to work with this image and if there is a recommended build or setting to force ffmpeg to use VAAPI?

Thank you very much for your help and for Frigate in general – it’s an amazing project! 🙏

[Fswalle]

Follow-up:

I am happy to provide additional logs, full docker logs output, or run any specific tests/commands if that helps to debug this issue.
Just let me know what would be most useful.

Thanks again for taking the time to look into this! 🙏

[NickM-27]

However, Frigate / ffmpeg still does not use it:

There is no evidence that this is the case, everything seems to match the current known behavior where Frigate is using it

No vaapi mention in logs (even with hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi set)

No such log exists, unless you don't define anything and Frigate has to auto-detect hardware

GPU load remains 0 %

this is a currently known bug, as was explained and linked above

We've had no reports of VAAPI not working, and many reports of VAAPI working for all hardware in 0.16.1 (there was a slight regression for i965 devices in 0.16.0, but this does not include your hardware).

All of this to say, I don't see any signs that things are not working correctly currently

[Fswalle]

Ok then, I´ll take it this way, but I´m still not lucky with this, so I won´t mark this as solution for me.
I´m absolutely sure, that is has been working in another 0.16er Version, with showing the usage of vaapi, and , that´s only in my mind, that the CPU usage was less.
In this mind
Best regards and thx a lot for telling me, that I´m wrong

Greets
Franz

[NickM-27]

If you have more information to share then we can work with that, but when the GPU preset is specified it either uses the GPU or it fails

We can look for other ways to reduce CPU usage if needed, likely best to create a new discussion for that

[Fswalle]

I got just this directly from frigate, return code "0"seems to be the sticky point, what do you think ? sry for ugly formatting, it's from Android ...
Best regards
Franz

{"return_code":0,"stderr":"","stdout":"vainfo: VA-API version: 1.22 (libva 2.12.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Intel iHD driver for Intel(R) Gen Graphics - 24.3.3 ()
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
VAProfileNone : VAEntrypointVideoProc
VAProfileNone : VAEntrypointStats
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointFEI
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointFEI
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVC1Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Advanced : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileJPEGBaseline : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileJPEGBaseline : VAEntrypointEncPicture
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointFEI
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVP8Version0_3 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointFEI
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCMain10 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain10 : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain10 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVP9Profile0 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP9Profile0 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVP9Profile1 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP9Profile1 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVP9Profile2 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP9Profile2 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileVP9Profile3 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP9Profile3 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCMain12 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain12 : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain422_10 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain422_10 : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain422_12 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain422_12 : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain444 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain444 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCMain444_10 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCMain444_10 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCMain444_12 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCSccMain10 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain10 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileHEVCSccMain444 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain444 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
VAProfileAV1Profile0 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain444_10 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileHEVCSccMain444_10 : VAEntrypointEncSliceLP"}

[NickM-27]

this looks normal and expected, the hardware is fully supported. Is there a specific part of you had a concern with?

[Fswalle]

I thought it was the "return = 0"
Ok, then thx so far. For me it´s finished here, looks like I´m wrong and noone else struggles with this, in my opinion, fault.
Anyway I´ll sponsor this so far with using "plus" , the project itself is more than the most camera manufacturers will touch on their software.

Thx a lot and best regards

Franz