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Yes—an age-based systemd-tmpfiles rule could remove a temporary EasyAudioEncoder (EAE) file while Plex is using it. But an “EAE timeout” by itself does not prove that cleanup caused the failure. The decisive check is whether an active tmpfiles rule covers the exact missing path in the Plex log and a cleanup event coincides with the error.
How tmpfiles aging could interrupt an EAC3 transcode
Plex may need temporary files while transcoding audio for streaming. If Plex tries to read an EAE file after a cleanup job has deleted it, playback can fail. On affected systems, log messages may say “EAE timeout! EAE not running, or wrong folder?” or report that Plex “Could not read” a file beneath a path such as /tmp/pms-…/EasyAudioEncoder/….
That sequence is plausible, not automatic. systemd-tmpfiles does not simply delete every old file in /tmp: cleanup is driven by configuration, and a rule must apply to the path and file type in question. The age threshold is checked against filesystem timestamps. Under the current Debian testing tmpfiles.d(5) manual, an omitted age or - does not request automatic cleanup for that entry; exact behavior depends on the systemd version and rules installed on the host (Debian tmpfiles.d(5) manual).
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Plex documents a “Transcoder temporary directory” setting for temporary files used when transcoding for streaming. Plex recommends free space roughly equal to the source file size plus 100 MB, and says not to use a network share or disk, a media-library path, or a directory that already contains data (Plex Support: Transcoder). That is guidance for the documented streaming-transcode directory; it does not establish that every EasyAudioEncoder scratch file uses that setting.
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Plex also says transcoding uses temporary disk storage, multiple concurrent sessions can consume gigabytes, and the default location is the operating system’s boot disk. The location can be changed in server settings (Plex Support: Transcoding Media). Because EAE log paths have been reported beneath /tmp, inspect the actual path on your server instead of assuming the configured streaming directory controls it (Plex Forums: EAC3 transcoding failing).
Test whether tmpfiles deleted the file
- Capture the Plex error. Find the relevant Plex Media Server log entry and record the full missing-file path and timestamp. Look for the
EasyAudioEncoderportion of the path, not just the generic/tmpprefix. - Check the path on the host. Determine whether the file exists, who owns it, whether Plex can access it, which filesystem or mount contains it, and how much space is available. If possible, observe whether it disappears while playback is active. These checks distinguish deletion from permission, mount, or capacity problems.
- Find the rules that actually cover that path. Inspect the installed
tmpfiles.d(5)andsystemd-tmpfiles(8)manuals, then review the host’s vendor and local tmpfiles configuration. Identify the applicable rule, its path and file type, and its age field; a general belief that “/tmpgets cleaned” is not enough. The utility and its system services perform configured setup and cleanup (Debian bookwormsystemd-tmpfiles(8)manual). - Correlate cleanup with the failure. Compare cleanup activity with the Plex error time. A matching rule and a cleanup event that accounts for the missing file support the tmpfiles explanation. If no applicable rule exists or no cleanup event aligns with the error, keep investigating other causes.
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An EAE timeout is not a root-cause diagnosis. In one Plex forum case, a support contributor attributed a failure to exhausted inotify watch capacity: the host reported “No space left on device” while setting up watches, even though the EAE log referred to a missing audio output path. That is a case-specific alternative, not evidence that every EAE timeout has the same cause (Plex Forums: Problems transcoding files with EAC3 sound).
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If the current local boot or transcode volume lacks capacity, Plex’s documented setting lets you select another directory for streaming-transcode temporary files. Choose a local location that meets Plex’s free-space guidance and is not a network disk, media-library path, or directory already containing data. Confirm separately that the EAE file in your logs is actually written there before expecting the change to affect this error.
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A dedicated local SSD is one possible way to provide more local transcode capacity, but it is optional. It does not prevent an age-based tmpfiles rule from deleting files on that drive if the active configuration matches their path.
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