Troubleshooting

Run video-harness doctor first. Read next, resolve_edition, scriptapp, and bridge.

scriptapp.connected: false

Normal on free. Use the in-app Lua bridge. Studio: set Preferences → General → External scripting using → Local, then reconnect.

bridge.ok: false / heartbeat missing

The Lua script is not looping.

  • Project must be open.
  • Workspace → Scripts → Utility → video_harness_bridge, once.
  • doctor resolve_process.matches should include fuscript ... video_harness_bridge.lua.
  • Log: Lite container Data/.config/video-harness/bridge.log, else ~/.config/video-harness/bridge.log.

Scripts menu has Comp / Edit / Color / Deliver but no script

Those names are folders, not your file. The bridge lives in Utility.

If the .lua file still is not listed:

  1. Confirm which app is running (see Setup).
  2. App Store Lite: files must be under the container Fusion/Scripts/.... install-bridge does this when lite-mas is detected.
  3. Website build: ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Fusion/Scripts/.
  4. .py files stay hidden until Resolve can exec Python; Lua should still list.

Clicking the script does nothing on 21.1

Fusion 21.1 Workspace Scripts can start Lua with package and io both nil. Older bridges crashed on package.config or io.open. Current Lua uses / path join and Fusion bmd.readfile / bmd.writefile for the RPC queue. Run install-bridge, then click Utility again.

Clicking the script does nothing

Headless Lua has no window. Open Workspace → Console for prints. doctor heartbeat ok: true means it is running.

Several fuscript ... video_harness_bridge.lua PIDs means multiple clicks. They race. Quit extras (or Cmd+Q Resolve) and click once.

Two Resolve apps / idaho missing after “updating”

The App Store app (/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app, Lite) and the website installer (/Applications/DaVinci Resolve/DaVinci Resolve.app) are different bundles. The website does not replace the Store app.

Lite projects live in the leftover container …/Containers/com.blackmagic-design.DaVinciResolveLite/Data/Library/Application Support/Resolve Project Library. 21.1 uses ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Resolve Project Library. Copy the Projects/idaho folder across (with 21.1 quit) or connect the Lite folder as a disk library in Project Manager.

A leftover Lite container is not Lite running. doctor resolve_edition follows the live Resolve binary. After removing Lite, click Utility again so Lua writes ~/.config/video-harness/ (real $HOME), not the sandbox.

Two video_harness_bridge entries in Scripts

Resolve lists every .lua and .py it finds in Fusion/Scripts. Duplicates come from:

  • Utility + Edit/Comp (old installer)
  • User ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/.../Fusion/Scripts/Utility and system /Library/Application Support/.../Fusion/Scripts/Utility
  • video_harness_bridge.lua next to video_harness_bridge.py (same stem; 21.1 shows both once Python is visible)

install-bridge now plants one Lua in the Utility folder for this edition and deletes the extras. Re-run it, then reopen Workspace → Scripts. Click only the Lua Utility item, once.

“You have reached a limitation with DaVinci Resolve”

Free Resolve since 19.1: UIManager (script GUI) is Studio-only. The current Lua bridge does not open a window. If you still see this on the headless script, this build is blocking in-app scripting — use the website free installer or Studio.

“Python is not installed” / .py missing from Scripts

macOS Resolve ignores Homebrew PATH. It uses PYTHON3HOME or /usr/local/bin/python3.

video-harness enable-python

Then Cmd+Q Resolve.

App Store Lite log line:

sh: .../python3: Operation not permitted

Sandbox. Use Lua.

$PYTHON3HOME/bin must contain an unversioned python3, not only python3.12. enable-python creates that symlink.

inspect has timeline_count: 0

No timeline in the project. Create one in the UI or timeline_ensure. You can still import to the media pool.

Clip entries with no name / path / media_id

Lua omitted nil fields. Fixed on disk; re-click the bridge so the running script reloads, then inspect again.

Import from a folder returns nothing

  • Absolute path, folder exists.
  • Lite sandbox: try ~/Movies/....
  • Current Media Pool folder is the import target.

There is no LinkProxyMedia tool yet. Importing proxy files makes new clips, it does not attach proxies to camera originals.

After install-bridge, behavior unchanged

Running Lua is the old in-memory copy. Click the script again (only one instance). doctor fails fast when the heartbeat has no methods list (CLI 0.1.1+). Do not start fuscript from a terminal on App Store Lite — it is sandboxed and will SIGTRAP (Process is not in an inherited sandbox).

inspect hung / “Lua bridge did not answer in time” after a large import

The Lua JSON encoder used to emit raw control characters from clip metadata, and the client spun until timeout. 0.1.1 escapes those characters and parses with strict=False. Prefer inspect media=none when you only need the timeline.

Parallel MCP calls failed with request.json.tmp FileNotFoundError

The Lua queue is one request.json. 0.1.1 takes a process+thread lock so concurrent clip_set_color / inspect calls wait instead of clobbering the file.

SetClipColor returned success false / colors did not stick

Timeline clip colors are not marker colors. Cyan, Mint, and Red are invalid. Use Orange, Apricot, Yellow, Lime, Olive, Green, Teal, Navy, Blue, Purple, Violet, Pink, Tan, Beige, Brown, Chocolate. Aliases: Cyan→Teal, Mint→Lime, Red→Violet. The harness maps those aliases before calling Resolve.

Confirm App Store vs website (macOS) 

defaults read "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app/Contents/Info" CFBundleIdentifier
# website: com.blackmagic-design.DaVinciResolve
# store:   com.blackmagic-design.DaVinciResolveLite

ls "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app/Contents/_MASReceipt"
# store has receipt

Website free download: blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve — not the App Store button. Remove or rename the Store app first or Spotlight will keep launching Lite.