How to Relink Offline Media in Kdenlive

When you move, rename, or delete source files on your computer, Kdenlive will lose track of them, causing your project clips to go offline. Instead of replacing each broken link one by one, you can simultaneously relink an entire folder of offline media assets. This article provides a direct, step-by-step guide to quickly restoring your missing project files using Kdenlive’s automatic search tools.

The easiest way to bulk-relink files is when you first open your Kdenlive project.

  1. Open your project file in Kdenlive.
  2. If any assets have moved, Kdenlive will automatically open a Missing Files dialog box listing all offline clips.
  3. Click the Search Folder button at the bottom of the dialog box.
  4. Navigate to the new folder directory where your media assets are now stored.
  5. Select the folder and click Choose or OK.
  6. Kdenlive will scan the selected folder, match the file names with the missing project assets, and automatically relink all of them at once.

If your project is already open and you need to relink offline files manually, you can trigger the bulk-relink process directly from your Project Bin.

  1. Go to the Project Bin tab and locate any of your offline clips (indicated by a red placeholder or warning icon).
  2. Right-click on the offline clip and select Locate Clip (or Search Manual in some older versions).
  3. In the file explorer window that appears, navigate to the folder containing your moved assets, select the correct file, and click Open.
  4. Once the first file is resolved, Kdenlive will detect that other missing files are in the same directory. A prompt will ask if you want to search the directory for other missing clips.
  5. Click Yes to allow Kdenlive to scan the folder and automatically relink all other offline assets simultaneously.