EasyEffects will crash (or terminated by systemd???) >90% of the time when a video playing in Firefox is paused.

[ak2766]

I've been having this issue with EasyEffects (EE) crashing or being terminated by something on my Ubuntu 24.04. I can say with >90% certainty that when I pause a video that's playing on Firefox, that EE will be terminated. Not sure what kills it though.

To try and determine what/why, I created a script that tries to collect what I deem relevant information to try and get to the root of the problem. However, so far I haven't had any success - 😭.

I figured if I share here maybe someone can help craft something that will catch whatever it is red-handed though I have a feeling its systemd but can't tell why it only targets EE.

Below is the script, service, and logs pertinent to this experiment. I've been collecting this now for 1 month.

keepeeup.sh

#!/bin/bash -e
# script to ensure easyeffects stays up and
# at the same time logging how many times it
# crashes

getHrMinTenMinAgo() { #{{{
  timenow=$(date +%s)
  tenminago=$(echo "${timenow}-(10*60)"|bc -q)
  echo $(date -d @${tenminago} '+%H:%M')
} #}}}

crashcounter=0
permlog="/var/tmp/eerestart.log"
tmplog="/tmp/eerestart.log"

ps -ef | grep -E easyeffects | grep -v grep && retval=0 || retval=1
[[ ${retval} -eq 1 ]] && /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
until [[ $(ps -ef | grep -E easyeffects | grep -Ev grep | wc -l) -eq 0 ]]; do sleep 2; done
# we are here because easyeffects has stopped running for whatever reason
((crashcounter++)) || true
echo "##################################################" > ${tmplog}
date >> ${tmplog}
echo "${crashcounter}" >> ${tmplog}
echo "# DMESG #" >> ${tmplog}
sudo dmesg -H --since "2 minutes ago" | grep easyeffects >> ${tmplog}
echo "# Journalctl #" >> ${tmplog}
journalctl --since "2 minutes ago" --no-pager | grep easyeffects >> ${tmplog}
echo "# load #" >> ${tmplog}
uptime >> ${tmplog}
echo "# sysstat last 10 minutes #" >> ${tmplog}
sar -q -s $(getHrMinTenMinAgo) >> ${tmplog}

if [[ $(grep -Ei easyeffects ${tmplog}) ]]; then
  cat ${tmplog} >> ${permlog}
fi

eetracker.service

[Unit]
Description=EasyEffects Keepalive
BindsTo=pipewire.service
After=pipewire.service

[Service]
Type=simple
SyslogIdentifier=eetracker
WorkingDirectory=/home/akk
ExecStart=/usr/bin/bash /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Log:
eerestart.log

Log excerpt for today since 8am

$ > journalctl --user -u eetracker --since "Dec 04 08:00:00" | sed 's/\(akstpx1g5\)[^ ]*/\1/'
Dec 04 10:11:02 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[3758171]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1481        Remote error res: No such file or directory
Dec 04 10:11:02 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[3758171]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1482        Remote error message: unknown resource 81 op:2
Dec 04 10:11:02 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[3758171]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1481        Remote error res: No such file or directory
Dec 04 10:11:02 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[3758171]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1482        Remote error message: unknown resource 81 op:2
Dec 04 10:54:03 akstpx1g5 eetracker[3758167]: /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh: line 17: 3758171 Killed                  /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
Dec 04 10:54:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[2845888]:      akk : PWD=/home/akk ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg -H --since '2 minutes ago'
Dec 04 10:54:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[2845888]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by akk(uid=1000)
Dec 04 10:54:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[2845888]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Dec 04 10:54:05 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Consumed 18min 42.625s CPU time.
Dec 04 10:54:15 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 26.
Dec 04 10:54:16 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: Started eetracker.service - EasyEffects Keepalive.
Dec 04 11:11:43 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[2847160]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1481        Remote error res: No such file or directory
Dec 04 11:11:43 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[2847160]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1482        Remote error message: unknown resource 313 op:2
Dec 04 11:11:43 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[2847160]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1481        Remote error res: No such file or directory
Dec 04 11:11:43 akstpx1g5 easyeffects[2847160]:         pipe_manager.cpp:1482        Remote error message: unknown resource 313 op:2
Dec 04 11:29:14 akstpx1g5 eetracker[2847156]: /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh: line 17: 2847160 Killed                  /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
Dec 04 11:29:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3055662]:      akk : PWD=/home/akk ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg -H --since '2 minutes ago'
Dec 04 11:29:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3055662]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by akk(uid=1000)
Dec 04 11:29:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3055662]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Dec 04 11:29:16 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Consumed 3min 29.667s CPU time.
Dec 04 11:29:26 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 27.
Dec 04 11:29:26 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: Started eetracker.service - EasyEffects Keepalive.
Dec 04 11:45:24 akstpx1g5 eetracker[3056744]: /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh: line 17: 3056748 Killed                  /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
Dec 04 11:45:24 akstpx1g5 sudo[3151479]:      akk : PWD=/home/akk ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg -H --since '2 minutes ago'
Dec 04 11:45:24 akstpx1g5 sudo[3151479]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by akk(uid=1000)
Dec 04 11:45:24 akstpx1g5 sudo[3151479]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Dec 04 11:45:24 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Consumed 3min 3.929s CPU time.
Dec 04 11:45:34 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 28.
Dec 04 11:45:35 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: Started eetracker.service - EasyEffects Keepalive.
Dec 04 12:36:14 akstpx1g5 eetracker[3152509]: /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh: line 17: 3152547 Killed                  /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
Dec 04 12:36:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3451091]:      akk : PWD=/home/akk ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg -H --since '2 minutes ago'
Dec 04 12:36:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3451091]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by akk(uid=1000)
Dec 04 12:36:14 akstpx1g5 sudo[3451091]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Dec 04 12:36:20 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Consumed 6min 47.530s CPU time, 59.1M memory peak, 0B memory swap peak.
Dec 04 12:36:30 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 29.
Dec 04 12:36:30 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: Started eetracker.service - EasyEffects Keepalive.
Dec 04 12:40:04 akstpx1g5 eetracker[3452626]: /home/akk/bin/keepeeup.sh: line 17: 3452630 Killed                  /usr/bin/easyeffects --gapplication-service --hide-window
Dec 04 12:40:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[3473710]:      akk : PWD=/home/akk ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/usr/bin/dmesg -H --since '2 minutes ago'
Dec 04 12:40:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[3473710]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session opened for user root(uid=0) by akk(uid=1000)
Dec 04 12:40:04 akstpx1g5 sudo[3473710]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
Dec 04 12:40:04 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Consumed 48.965s CPU time.
Dec 04 12:40:14 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: eetracker.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 30.
Dec 04 12:40:14 akstpx1g5 systemd[3037]: Started eetracker.service - EasyEffects Keepalive.

Hopefully someone can find some rhyme or reason why this is happening.

UPDATE:

system details

OS: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS x86_64
Host: 21DE000KAU (ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5)
Kernel: Linux 6.14.0-36-generic
Uptime: 3 days, 7 hours, 1 min
Packages: 3489 (dpkg), 46 (snap)
Shell: bash 5.2.21
Display (T27p-30): 3840x2160 @ 60 Hz in 27" [External] *
Display (T27p-30): 3840x2160 @ 60 Hz in 27" [External]
DE: GNOME 46.0
WM: Mutter (X11)
WM Theme: Yaru-viridian-dark
Theme: Yaru-viridian-dark [GTK2/3/4]
Icons: Yaru-viridian [GTK2/3/4]
Font: Ubuntu Sans (11pt) [GTK2/3/4]
Cursor: redglass (32px)
Terminal: terminator 3.12.3
Terminal Font: Ubuntu Sans Mono (15pt)
CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700H (20) @ 4.70 GHz
GPU 1: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile [Discrete]
GPU 2: Intel Iris Xe Graphics @ 1.40 GHz [Integrated]
Memory: 44.69 GiB / 62.51 GiB (71%)
Swap: 16.55 GiB / 41.54 GiB (40%)
Disk (/): 430.80 GiB / 468.28 GiB (92%) - ext4
Local IP (wlan0): 10.0.0.54/24
Battery (5B11B79217): 64% [AC Connected]
Locale: en_AU.UTF-8

[wwmm]

Which EasyEffects version are you using? The 7.x releases based on gtk had this kind of problem on some users computers and I was hoping this problem would go away in the new version 8.x based on Qt.

I think we have an open issue about this where an users found out that the problem was the configuration of pipewire's realtime thread. It seems that for some reason in the computers where this happens the time window set to the realtime thread is too short and the system kills EasyEffects because it assumed it stayed in the realtime thread for too long.

[wwmm]

7.1.6

Between this and the last 7.x releases there may have been minor changes to the preset file format. But I still think that you will be able to bring almost all of your settings to version 8.x

[ak2766]

It'll take getting used to this new interface. Are there instructions somewhere on how to migrate all my saved presets from gtk to qt?

[wwmm]

For most users EasyEffects was able to copy on its own the presets files to the new location. But for others this is not working for some unknown reason. If you were using flatpak the path is ~/.var/app/com.github.wwmm.easyeffects/config/easyeffects. For native packages it should be ~/.config/easyeffects.

[wwmm]

In cases like yours were different installation methods were used manual migration is the only way.

[ak2766]

Thank you. I was able to manually import based on the path ~/.config/easyeffects.

Now to monitor. But I can already tell that the issue appears resolved as I've not yet seen the EasyEffects window disappear as it used to when it got killed.