fixed in the way transcode is set up, all scripts in that folder adjusted

Transcodes/ramdisk_setup.sh

@@ -176,6 +176,38 @@ else
     fi
 fi
 
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# ━━━ $ICON_GEAR Transcoding-temp Directory ━━━
+# Creates the transcoding-temp folder on the ramdisk proactively.
+# If this folder doesn't exist on the ramdisk Emby creates it wherever it finds
+# a writable path first — which may be the SSD fallback — locking all sessions
+# onto SSD even when the symlink points at the ramdisk.
+# Creating it here guarantees Emby always finds it on the ramdisk at session start.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+echo ""
+echo "━━━ $ICON_GEAR Transcoding Temp Directory ━━━"
+
+TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR="${RAMDISK_PATH}/transcoding-temp"
+
+if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]]; then
+    warn "DRY RUN — would create $TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR"
+else
+    if [[ -d "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR" ]]; then
+        info "transcoding-temp already exists on ramdisk"
+    else
+        mkdir -p "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR" && \
+            success "Created transcoding-temp on ramdisk: $TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR" || \
+            { error "Failed to create transcoding-temp on ramdisk"; SETUP_SUCCESS=false; }
+    fi
+
+    # Apply correct permissions so Emby (abc/nobody:users) can write to it
+    if [[ -d "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR" ]]; then
+        chmod "$TRANSCODE_CHMOD" "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR"
+        chown "$TRANSCODE_OWNER" "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_DIR"
+        success "Permissions set on transcoding-temp"
+    fi
+fi
+
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # ━━━ $ICON_GEAR Permissions ━━━
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transcodes/transcode_cleanup.sh

@@ -131,9 +131,12 @@ cleanup_location() {
 
     done < <(find "$location" -type f -mmin +"$max_age" 2>/dev/null)
 
-    # Remove empty directories left behind
+    # Remove empty directories left behind — but NEVER remove transcoding-temp itself
+    # transcoding-temp must always exist on the ramdisk so Emby finds it there first
+    # If deleted Emby falls back to the SSD version and all new sessions land on SSD
     if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == false ]]; then
-        find "$location" -mindepth 1 -type d -empty -delete 2>/dev/null
+        find "$location" -mindepth 1 -type d -empty \
+            ! -name "transcoding-temp" -delete 2>/dev/null
     fi
 
     # Format bytes freed for display

Transcodes/transcode_manager.sh

@@ -252,6 +252,23 @@ else
     RAMDISK_SIZE_ACTUAL=$(df "$RAMDISK_PATH" --output=size -h | tail -1 | tr -d ' ')
     success "$ICON_RAM Ramdisk mounted — size: $RAMDISK_SIZE_ACTUAL"
     fix_permissions "$RAMDISK_PATH"
+
+    # Guarantee transcoding-temp exists on ramdisk
+    # If missing Emby creates it wherever it finds a writable path first —
+    # which may be the SSD fallback — locking all new sessions onto SSD
+    # even when the symlink correctly points at the ramdisk.
+    TRANSCODE_TEMP_RAM="${RAMDISK_PATH}/transcoding-temp"
+    TRANSCODE_TEMP_SSD="${TRANSCODE_SSD}/transcoding-temp"
+
+    if [[ ! -d "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_RAM" ]]; then
+        warn "transcoding-temp missing from ramdisk — creating now"
+        mkdir -p "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_RAM"
+        chmod "$TRANSCODE_CHMOD" "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_RAM"
+        chown "$TRANSCODE_OWNER" "$TRANSCODE_TEMP_RAM"
+        success "transcoding-temp created on ramdisk — new sessions will use ramdisk"
+    else
+        log "transcoding-temp exists on ramdisk — ok"
+    fi
 fi
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------