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video i2v: --duration is silently ignored when the duration tab probe fails (requested 4s, got 8s) #288

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video i2v: --duration is silently ignored when the duration tab probe fails (requested 4s, got 8s)#288
Milestone
0.32.0

Description

@ffroliva
ffroliva
opened on Jul 11, 2026

Observed (0.31.0, live run 2026-07-11, chalkboard i2v pilot)

gflow video i2v --duration 4 on the Frames submode (portrait, veo-lite, denon82 profile) produced an 8-second clip. The duration tab selector never matched and the failure was demoted to warnings:

{"probe": "duration_tab", "event": "ui_automation_video.selector_probe_failed", "level": "warning"}
{"seconds": 4, "event": "ui_automation_video.duration_not_set", "level": "warning"}

Generation then proceeded with Flow's default (8s). The JSON result reports success with no indication the requested duration was dropped — the only evidence is ffprobe on the output file.

Why this matters

Duration is a contract parameter: downstream timeline math (scene slots in a Remotion cut) sizes freeze-holds and cut points from the requested value. A silent 4→8 substitution corrupts the edit plan without any failure signal. Same design principle as the #281 wrong-media fixes: when the UI automation cannot honor an explicit user parameter, fail fast (or at minimum surface it in the result payload), don't warn-and-continue.

Suggested fix

  1. Investigate the duration_tab selector against Flow's current Frames-submode DOM (may be another agentic/classic cohort split or a UI update — compare gflow image t2i fails finding Flow aspect-ratio mode switch trigger #183's aspect-switch probe rot).
  2. Policy: explicit --duration + probe failure → hard error (new typed error, non-zero exit) unless a --best-effort style flag is passed. If warn-and-continue is kept for any path, the final JSON result must carry requested_duration vs effective_duration so callers can detect the substitution programmatically.

Repro context

  • 3/3 i2v generations in the run showed the same probe failure; both completed clips measured 8.000s via ffprobe (one requested 4s).
  • Full structured logs available (correlation ids 17c1d945, 477bc557, 8ad4b3a1).

Activity

  1. ffroliva
    added this to the 0.32.0 milestone on Jul 11, 2026

  2. ffroliva commented on Jul 11, 2026

    @ffroliva
    ffroliva
    on Jul 11, 2026
    OwnerAuthor

    Fix in flight on draft PR #289: an explicit --duration whose duration_tab probe misses now raises UiSelectorDriftError (exit 23) with a debug_no_duration_tab.png viewport screenshot, instead of silently generating at Flow's default. Omitting --duration is unchanged.

    The selector investigation itself stays open here. Leading hypothesis from the council review: locale-sensitive tab labels. The duration tabs are matched by visible text ([role='tab']:text-is('4s')) with no locale-invariant fallback — unlike the aspect tabs, which lead with crop_* icon ligatures, and this codebase has prior text-match rot on non-English accounts (upload-media, add-to-prompt tri-lingual fallback). A localized label like 4 s/4 с would miss text-is('4s') exactly as observed 3/3. When someone reproduces with a headed browser: please attach the debug screenshot and note the account locale of the profile (denon82) — if the label is localized, the fix is a locale-invariant anchor for the duration tab group, not a text-match patch.

  3. ffroliva commented on Jul 11, 2026

    @ffroliva
    ffroliva
    on Jul 11, 2026
    OwnerAuthor

    Live investigation result (2026-07-11, denon82, credit-free): the duration_tab probe misses because the duration control is absent from this cohort's Frames-submode settings popover — not a renamed/localized tab.

    Evidence: PR #289's fail-fast fired live (--duration 4 → exit 23, aborted pre-submit, saving the 10-credit generation) and captured debug_no_duration_tab.png. The popover shows, in full: Imagem/Vídeo mode tabs → Frames/Elementos sub-mode → aspect 9:16/16:9 → count 1x/x2/x3/x4 → model dropdown (Veo 3.1 - Lite) → 'A geração vai usar 10 créditos'. No duration row.

    The locale hypothesis from the council review is refuted: the UI renders in Portuguese (labs.google/fx/pt/... — the profile's Chrome locale wins, as documented on #56) and the sibling count tabs (1x/x2, same text-match strategy) match fine.

    Open question that remains on this issue: did Flow remove clip-length selection for this cohort/model, or move it (e.g. model-dependent, or post-generation)? Until answered, --duration cannot be honored on affected cohorts and #289's typed error is the correct permanent behavior there, with 'omit --duration' as the workaround.

    Also observed while investigating (same session): project f6caf027 opens in the full-page media-library UI (#174 shape) with an 'Agente' composer pill, where even the mode_switch_trigger probe fails — fresh projects still get the classic composer and work. Worth a separate eye when tackling #174.

  4. ffroliva
    added a commit that references this issue on Jul 11, 2026

    Merge pull request #289 from ffroliva/bugfix/288-duration-fail-fast

    7f1ca64

  5. ffroliva commented on Jul 11, 2026

    @ffroliva
    ffroliva
    on Jul 11, 2026
    OwnerAuthor

    Shipped in PR #289 (merged to develop, releasing in v0.32.0) and live-verified: --duration 4 on the affected cohort now aborts pre-submit with UiSelectorDriftError (exit 23) + debug screenshot instead of silently producing an 8s clip — the run saved the 10-credit generation.

    Root cause confirmed with screenshot evidence (comment above): the duration control is absent from this cohort's Frames-submode settings popover — not selector rot, nothing to patch. The 'removed vs moved by Flow' question is tracked in KNOWN_ISSUES ('Video duration tab probe misses…'); if Flow re-introduces the control, the existing selector cascade should match it again and the fail-fast simply stops firing. Closing as the gflow-side behavior is complete and correct.

  6. ffroliva
    closed this as completedon Jul 11, 2026
  7. Mauryanx
    added a commit that references this issue on Aug 3, 2026

    fix(video): fail closed on count-tab miss; date the omni-flash i2v re…

    0919260
  8. ffroliva
    added 3 commits that reference this issue on Aug 3, 2026

    fix(video): fail closed on count-tab miss; date the omni-flash i2v re…

    5933932

    docs(live): evidence ledger for the playwright 1.61 raise

    4f8f367

    chore(deps): raise playwright 1.59.x -> 1.61.x (needs a live generati…

    974af79
  9. ffroliva
    added 5 commits that reference this issue on Aug 14, 2026

    spike(video): per-model capability matrix — root-causes #451/#288 dur…

    8cadb76

    spike(video): confirm the model capability matrix on a 2nd account (p…

    e608d55

    fix(video): address /code-review findings on the capability guards

    eefe2d0

    test(json): repoint the video fixture at omni-flash (CI regression)

    fd06838

    fix(video): model-capability guards — root-cause fix for #451/#288 (#537

    6a3f5ff
  10. 15990166686ll-crypto
    added 3 commits that reference this issue on Aug 20, 2026

    fix(video): fail fast when the duration tab probe misses an explicit …

    868e8c8

    fix(video): fail fast when the duration tab probe misses an explicit …

    5144863

    Merge pull request ffroliva#289 from ffroliva/bugfix/288-duration-fai…

    43c4de8
  11. ffroliva
    added 4 commits that reference this issue on Sep 2, 2026

    chore(release): gate PROJECT_STATUS currency; fix rotted i2v e2e tests (

    7d52c8a

    fix(cli,mcp): --duration with no --model no longer dies as "Unexpecte…

    e5b36ee

    docs(known-issues): correct the #288 row after council review

    8ded93c

    docs(known-issues): record duration control as cohort-dependent, not …

    52994d7
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