mpv cannot handle $HOME variable in mpv.conf file

[torontal7]

Reproduction Steps

Define a path in your mpv.conf file like this:

external-file=~/.config/mpv/mpv.webp

Expected Behavior

Excepted behaviour would be that mpv will use the image...

Actual Behavior

mpv says that the file does not exist:

Can not open external file ~/.config/mpv/mpv.webp.

But if you give the path in the form external-file=/home/USERNAME/.config/mpv/mpv.webp, mpv will find the image file.

[mrfragger]

in lua scripts try this
local homedir = os.getenv("HOME")

in mpv.conf you could try ~~
also this works on Mac so should on Linux I'd think
screenshot-directory=~/datampv/screenshots

[torontal7]

In lua, yes:

$ cat ~/.config/mpv/scripts/mpv.lua 
local homedir = os.getenv("HOME")
local msg = require('mp.msg')

function something_handler()
    msg.info(homedir)
end
mp.add_key_binding("x", "something", something_handler)

When pressed x, in terminal I can see: [mpv] /home/knoppix

It is OK for 'screenshot-directory' option, too:

$ mpv --no-config \
--script=~/.config/mpv/scripts/mpv.lua \
--image-display-duration=inf \
~/.config/mpv/szekelykapu-lego-720p.webp \
--screenshot-directory=~/mpv1
 (+) Video --vid=1 (webp 1280x720 1.000fps)
error: XDG_RUNTIME_DIR not set in the environment.
VO: [gpu] 1280x720 yuv420p
V: 00:00:00 / 00:00:00 (0%) Cache: 0.0s
Screenshot: '/home/knoppix/mpv1/mpv-shot0001.jpg'

But not for 'external-file' option:

$ mpv --no-config \
--script=/home/knoppix/.config/mpv/scripts/mpv.lua \
--image-display-duration=inf \
Downloads/bbq-restaurant.webp \
--external-file=~/.config/mpv/szekelykapu-lego-720p.webp
[file] Cannot open file '~/.config/mpv/szekelykapu-lego-720p.webp': No such file or directory
Failed to open ~/.config/mpv/szekelykapu-lego-720p.webp.
Can not open external file ~/.config/mpv/szekelykapu-lego-720p.webp.

mpv manual: "Some mpv options interpret paths starting with ~" So, it seems that this is how mpv works: not all options can handle it. In my opinion this is not too logic...