Fix for error 32 "Unable to retrieve clip information (32)" and "Failed to export, try again (32)"

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Goldie Griffith 2024年11月22日 18時22分

Fix for error 32 "Unable to retrieve clip information (32)" and "Failed to export, try again (32)"

Hi,

I have found one of the causes for the errors Unable to retrieve clip information (32) and Failed to export, try again (32), and also a way to fix them. Note this will work only for error code 32: I have seen reports about similar error messages with error code 2, but this will not solve error code 2.

Description of the issue

Steam crashed in the middle of a game recording session.
After restarting Steam, it is not possible to create clips with footage from that session:
- The footage itself is fine and can be viewed / navigated from the Recordings & Screenshots menu without any issues.
- Save / Share > Export Video File... results in error Unable to retrieve clip information (32).
- Save / Share > Copy to Clipboard results in error Failed to export, try again (32).
- Add Marker does nothing (no marker added / stored).

Analysis / Troubleshooting

Internally, Game Recording stores its files in the gamerecordings directory (the Recordings folder configured in the settings). The entry / main file is gamerecording.pb: it lists all the session metadata files stored in timelines/timeline*.json, and links them with the actual footage stored in video/bg* directories. This is a one-to-many mapping: one session metadata file is linked to one or more footage directories (happens when the captured game used multiple windows, e.g. a launcher and the actual game).
The issue lies here: the timeline*.json file for the non-working session is missing on disk. It is listed in gamerecording.pb and linked to its video/bg* directories (this explains why the footage is still viewable from the Recordings & Screenshots menu), but since the file itself does not exist, error code 32 happens.
It is likely the timeline*.json file is only created by Steam when a game recording session ends, and thus will be missing if Steam crashes in the middle of a session.

It is very easy to manually reproduce the resultant scenario by moving / renaming / deleting any timeline*.json file. This leads to error code 32 as described above when trying to export clips from the footage corresponding to the now missing file.

Workaround / Fix

The missing timeline*.json file can be created manually to fix error code 32 and allow using the footage.

From the Recordings & Screenshots menu, take note of the <duration> of your non-working session (at the bottom, below the controls).
- Example: my <duration> is 2h52m49s.
Navigate to the gamerecordings directory (Steam settings > Game Recording > Recordings folder > Click on the path to open the File Explorer) and open gamerecording.pb in a text editor (if you are unsure: open the file in Notepad). You will see weird unreadable characters (that is normal) mixed in with readable timeline and bg entries.
Compare the listed timeline entries with the existing timeline*.json files in the gamerecordings/timelines directory and find which timeline*.json file is missing. Take note of its <filename> (it will look like timeline_<appID><date>_<time>.json), and derive your <date> and <time> from it.
- Example: my missing <filename> is timeline_59465020241122_141500.json. My <appID> is 594650 (Hunt: Showdown 1896), my <date> is 2024-11-22, my <time> is 14h15m00s.
Navigate to the gamerecordings/timelines directory. Copy any existing timeline*.json file and rename it to your <filename>.
- If you do not have any existing timeline*.json file, just quickly launch and close a game so that Steam creates a new timeline*.json file that you can copy.
Open the new file in a text editor (again, if unsure: open the file in Notepad), and open Epoch Converter[www.epochconverter.com] in a browser.
In the converter, set your <date> and <time>, then click Human date to Timestamp. Use the Epoch timestamp value for your "daterecorded" field in the file.
- Example: my <date> is 2024-11-22 and my <time> is 14h15m00s, using the Epoch timestamp value from the converter my "daterecorded" is 1732284900.
In the converter, set 1970-01-01 for the date and your <duration> as the time, then click Human date to Timestamp. Use the Timestamp in milliseconds value for your "endtime" field in the file.
- Example: my <duration> is 2h52m49s, using the Timestamp in milliseconds value from the converter my "endtime" is 10369000.
Save the file.

After correcting the missing timeline*.json, error 32 is gone and clips can be created using the footage (and markers can be added again, which makes sense since markers are also stored in the timeline*.json file 😄).

最近の変更はGoldie Griffithが行いました; 5月14日 19時56分

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1-15 / 65 のコメントを表示

freezhesky 2024年12月1日 2時48分

thank you so much for your splendid work, you saved my clip. THANK YOU.

GLutz 2024年12月10日 10時36分

Thank you very much. I had the same error and this solution worked perfectly.

Jayden 2024年12月17日 18時59分

for anybody that doesnt know, the game recordings are stored in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\yournumber\gamerecordings

Goldie Griffith 2024年12月18日 4時57分

Jayden の投稿を引用：
for anybody that doesnt know, the game recordings are stored in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\yournumber\gamerecordings

That is only the default path, but as said in OP this can be configured in the settings so it will not always be the case ;)

TheGreatTurtlexP 2024年12月24日 16時16分

Thanks this was super helpful

Fazer [PL] 1月6日 11時47分

Thanks! I finally managed to restore ability to export clips from my fights with the boss in Dota 2 Crownfall. Your tutorial was invaluable!

Jayhaw_chouly 1月14日 0時20分

This is so helpful! You saved my game clip on the Steam Deck. Thank you so much for your tutorial!

Sonic The ScienceHog 1月18日 8時31分

GOATed solution

linux|crazyTOSSER[55rus] 1月27日 23時56分

Thanks a bunch. That helped me to extract my precious clips. :-) Although I had to recreate a bunch of missing files.
Pro tip :-). To make life a little bit easier switch to list view in recordings browser. This way you can see date of recording and it's length right away.

Dancing lucario 1月29日 4時01分

Hey I've ran into this problem with Team Fortress 2 Classic when trying to export videos from it's recordings. I'm unsure if this can solve the problem for that game as it's not a normal steam game.

最近の変更はDancing lucarioが行いました; 1月29日 4時01分

#10

Goldie Griffith 1月29日 5時35分

Dancing lucario の投稿を引用：
Hey I've ran into this problem with Team Fortress 2 Classic when trying to export videos from it's recordings. I'm unsure if this can solve the problem for that game as it's not a normal steam game.

Should not matter. If you have the same error 32 as outlined, try it.

最近の変更はGoldie Griffithが行いました; 1月29日 5時36分

#11

zaragatunga.bumbagumba 2月5日 9時59分

Thank you very much, @Skymirrh !!! Followed your instructions and despite playing it on Linux, they saved my clip !!!!

I never log into Steam on my computer, but just did it so I could post this message and give you an award!

#12

Валкискют 2月12日 9時26分

Thank you sooooo much!!!
It has been bothering me for quite a long time. I lost a lot of recordings because steamdeck may crash from time to time. This works well in SteamOS.

#13

evenquote 3月16日 22時39分

Thanks very much, but does this method still work? I followed everything exactly as you stated and still get the error.

#14

Goldie Griffith 3月16日 23時41分

evenquote の投稿を引用：
Thanks very much, but does this method still work? I followed everything exactly as you stated and still get the error.

Yes: gamerecordings's internal structure has not changed, this fix is still correct for error 32. If you still see error 32, then you missed something somewhere: just try again 😉

Reminder that if your error is not 32, this will do nothing for you.

最近の変更はGoldie Griffithが行いました; 3月16日 23時42分

#15

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投稿日: 2024年11月22日 18時22分

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