app/src/androidTest/AndroidManifest.xml

@@ -42,6 +42,28 @@
                 <action android:name="android.content.action.DOCUMENTS_PROVIDER" />
             </intent-filter>
         </provider>
+
+        <!--
+          A PLAIN provider, for the ffkitsaf bridge on the success path.
+
+          FFmpegKitConfig.getSafParameterForRead is on every real user conversion and was on no
+          passing test: they all pass Uri.fromFile, which takes the other arm. Only its failure
+          side was covered, by UnopenableUriTest naming an authority that does not exist.
+
+          The documents provider above cannot serve this. Any DOCUMENTS_PROVIDER must hold
+          MANAGE_DOCUMENTS or the platform refuses to install it, instrumentation runs in the
+          target app's process and so carries the app's uid, and the resulting denial says what
+          is actually required: access obtained through ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT. That means a picker,
+          and the flake it brings. See issue #226.
+
+          The bridge does not need a documents provider. It opens a descriptor through the
+          resolver and hands FFmpeg a saf: path, so any readable content:// URI exercises it, and
+          an ordinary provider is allowed to be exported without a permission.
+        -->
+        <provider
+            android:name="org.libremediaconverter.saf.FixtureContentProvider"
+            android:authorities="org.libremediaconverter.test.content"
+            android:exported="true" />
     </application>
 
 </manifest>

app/src/androidTest/java/org/libremediaconverter/saf/ContentUriInputTest.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+package org.libremediaconverter.saf
+
+import androidx.media3.common.util.UnstableApi
+import androidx.test.ext.junit.runners.AndroidJUnit4
+import androidx.test.platform.app.InstrumentationRegistry
+import androidx.work.WorkInfo
+import androidx.work.WorkManager
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.first
+import kotlinx.coroutines.runBlocking
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withTimeout
+import org.junit.After
+import org.junit.Assert.assertEquals
+import org.junit.Assert.assertTrue
+import org.junit.Test
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith
+import org.libremediaconverter.ffmpeg.ConcatEngine
+import org.libremediaconverter.model.Engine
+import org.libremediaconverter.model.OutputFormat
+import org.libremediaconverter.model.QualityTier
+import org.libremediaconverter.work.ConversionWorker
+import java.io.File
+
+/**
+ * A `content://` input reaching FFmpeg successfully, which nothing had ever driven (#225).
+ *
+ * `FFmpegKitConfig.getSafParameterForRead` stands between a SAF grant and the native process, and
+ * it is on **every real user conversion**. Every passing convert and join test in this suite hands
+ * the worker a `Uri.fromFile(...)`, which takes the `uri.path` arm instead — so the bridge was
+ * exercised only on its failure side, by `UnopenableUriTest` naming an authority that does not
+ * exist. That proves the error message, not the bridge.
+ *
+ * ## Why a plain provider rather than the documents one
+ *
+ * [FixtureDocumentsProvider] cannot be reached from the app, measured three ways on an API 34
+ * emulator (#226): a `DOCUMENTS_PROVIDER` declared without `MANAGE_DOCUMENTS` is refused at install
+ * — *"Provider must be protected by MANAGE_DOCUMENTS"*; instrumentation runs in the **target app's
+ * process**, so `Instrumentation.getContext()` still carries the app's uid and is denied; and
+ * `adoptShellPermissionIdentity(MANAGE_DOCUMENTS)` is denied identically. The denial names the only
+ * way in: *"you obtain access using ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT or related APIs"*.
+ *
+ * The bridge does not need one. It opens a descriptor through the resolver and hands FFmpeg a
+ * `saf:` path, so any readable `content://` URI exercises it — and [FixtureContentProvider] is an
+ * ordinary provider, which may be exported without a permission. The whole class is headless: no
+ * DocumentsUI, and none of the flake #190 records.
+ *
+ * ## Why MP3
+ *
+ * The bridge lives on the FFmpeg arm, and MP3 is the format the router sends there unconditionally
+ * — no platform encoder exists at any API level, so `ConversionWorkerTest.routesAnMp3JobToFfmpeg…`
+ * relies on the same fact. Choosing a video target would make the engine depend on the device's
+ * codecs, and #223 is what that costs.
+ *
+ * *Mutation:* make `getSafParameterForRead` return `uri.toString()`. FFmpeg cannot open it and both
+ * tests fail; nothing else in either suite notices.
+ */
+@UnstableApi
+@RunWith(AndroidJUnit4::class)
+class ContentUriInputTest {
+
+    private val context = InstrumentationRegistry.getInstrumentation().targetContext
+    private val workManager = WorkManager.getInstance(context)
+
+    @After
+    fun tearDown() {
+        File(context.cacheDir, "conversions").listFiles()?.forEach { it.delete() }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun aContentUriInputConvertsThroughTheSafBridge(): Unit = runBlocking {
+        val input = FixtureContentProvider.uriFor(SAMPLE)
+        val request = ConversionWorker.request(
+            inputUri = input,
+            displayName = SAMPLE,
+            sizeBytes = 0L,
+            spec = OutputFormat.MP3.spec,
+            quality = QualityTier.FAST,
+        )
+        workManager.enqueue(request).result.get()
+
+        val terminal = withTimeout(TIMEOUT_MS) {
+            workManager.getWorkInfoByIdFlow(request.id).first { it != null && it.state.isFinished }
+        }
+
+        val error = terminal?.outputData?.getString(ConversionWorker.KEY_ERROR)
+        assertEquals(
+            "a content:// input must convert, but failed with: $error",
+            WorkInfo.State.SUCCEEDED,
+            terminal?.state,
+        )
+        // The bridge is on the FFmpeg arm only, so this is part of the claim rather than colour.
+        assertEquals(Engine.FFMPEG.name, terminal?.outputData?.getString(ConversionWorker.KEY_ENGINE_USED))
+
+        val out = File(terminal!!.outputData.getString(ConversionWorker.KEY_OUTPUT_PATH)!!)
+        assertTrue("no output produced from a content:// input", out.exists() && out.length() > 0)
+        out.delete()
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The same bridge on the join path, which has its own copy of the call (`ConcatEngine:36`).
+     *
+     * Driven through the engine rather than `ConcatWorker` because the engine is where the branch
+     * is; the worker adds a foreground service and nothing else this is about.
+     */
+    @Test
+    fun contentUriInputsJoinThroughTheSafBridge(): Unit = runBlocking {
+        val out = File(context.cacheDir, "joined_from_content.mp4").apply { delete() }
+        val result = ConcatEngine(context).join(
+            listOf(FixtureContentProvider.uriFor(CLIP_A), FixtureContentProvider.uriFor(CLIP_B)),
+            out,
+            OutputFormat.MP4_H264,
+        )
+
+        assertTrue("no output produced from content:// inputs", result.output.length() > 0)
+        out.delete()
+    }
+
+    private companion object {
+        const val SAMPLE = "sample_h264.mp4"
+        const val CLIP_A = "clip_a.mp4"
+        const val CLIP_B = "clip_b.mp4"
+        const val TIMEOUT_MS = 300_000L
+    }
+}

app/src/androidTest/java/org/libremediaconverter/saf/FixtureContentProvider.java

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+package org.libremediaconverter.saf;
+
+import android.content.ContentProvider;
+import android.content.ContentValues;
+import android.database.Cursor;
+import android.database.MatrixCursor;
+import android.net.Uri;
+import android.os.ParcelFileDescriptor;
+import android.provider.OpenableColumns;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
+import java.io.FileOutputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+
+/**
+ * A plain {@link ContentProvider} serving the committed media fixtures over {@code content://}.
+ *
+ * <p><b>Why this exists alongside {@link FixtureDocumentsProvider}.</b> Every passing convert and
+ * join test hands the worker a {@code Uri.fromFile(...)}, which takes the {@code uri.path} arm and
+ * never touches {@code FFmpegKitConfig.getSafParameterForRead}. That bridge is on 100% of real user
+ * conversions and was on 0% of tested ones; only its failure side was covered, by
+ * {@code UnopenableUriTest} pointing at an authority that does not exist.
+ *
+ * <p><b>Why not the documents provider.</b> It cannot be reached. Measured three ways on an API 34
+ * emulator: a {@code DOCUMENTS_PROVIDER} declared without {@code MANAGE_DOCUMENTS} is refused at
+ * install ("Provider must be protected by MANAGE_DOCUMENTS"); instrumentation runs in the target
+ * app's process, so {@code Instrumentation.getContext()} still carries the app's uid and is denied;
+ * and {@code adoptShellPermissionIdentity(MANAGE_DOCUMENTS)} is denied identically. The denial says
+ * what is required — <i>"you obtain access using ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT or related APIs"</i> — so a
+ * documents provider is reachable only through a picker-issued grant. See issue #226.
+ *
+ * <p>The bridge does not need one. {@code getSafParameterForRead} opens a file descriptor through
+ * the resolver and hands FFmpeg a {@code saf:} path; any readable {@code content://} URI exercises
+ * it. An ordinary provider may be exported without a permission, so this one is, and the whole test
+ * stays headless — no DocumentsUI, and none of the flake #190 records.
+ *
+ * <p>Unlike {@link FixtureDocumentsProvider} this may use {@code androidx} and Kotlin freely — it is
+ * loaded into the app process like any other provider, not into the bare test process. It is kept
+ * in Java anyway, next to its sibling, so the two read alike.
+ */
+public final class FixtureContentProvider extends ContentProvider {
+
+    /** Authority. Distinct from the documents provider's, and from anything the app declares. */
+    public static final String AUTHORITY = "org.libremediaconverter.test.content";
+
+    /** Builds a URI for one of this source set's committed assets, e.g. {@code sample_h264.mp4}. */
+    public static Uri uriFor(String assetName) {
+        return new Uri.Builder().scheme("content").authority(AUTHORITY).appendPath(assetName).build();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean onCreate() {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ParcelFileDescriptor openFile(Uri uri, String mode) throws FileNotFoundException {
+        if (!"r".equals(mode)) {
+            throw new FileNotFoundException("this provider is read-only: " + mode);
+        }
+        return ParcelFileDescriptor.open(unpack(assetOf(uri)), ParcelFileDescriptor.MODE_READ_ONLY);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Enough of {@link OpenableColumns} for {@code InputQuery.describe} to name and size the input.
+     *
+     * <p>Without these the app reaches the "Size unknown" screen, which is a different test.
+     */
+    @Override
+    public Cursor query(Uri uri, String[] projection, String selection, String[] args, String sort) {
+        String asset = assetOf(uri);
+        File file;
+        try {
+            file = unpack(asset);
+        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        MatrixCursor cursor = new MatrixCursor(
+            new String[] {OpenableColumns.DISPLAY_NAME, OpenableColumns.SIZE});
+        cursor.newRow().add(OpenableColumns.DISPLAY_NAME, asset).add(OpenableColumns.SIZE, file.length());
+        return cursor;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String getType(Uri uri) {
+        return assetOf(uri).endsWith(".m4a") ? "audio/mp4" : "video/mp4";
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Uri insert(Uri uri, ContentValues values) {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("read-only fixture provider");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int delete(Uri uri, String selection, String[] args) {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("read-only fixture provider");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int update(Uri uri, ContentValues values, String selection, String[] args) {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("read-only fixture provider");
+    }
+
+    private static String assetOf(Uri uri) {
+        String asset = uri.getLastPathSegment();
+        return asset == null ? "" : asset;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The asset on disk, unpacked the first time anything asks.
+     *
+     * <p>Reported as {@link FileNotFoundException} rather than swallowed: a provider answering with
+     * a zero-byte file would fail the conversion for a reason nothing states.
+     */
+    private File unpack(String asset) throws FileNotFoundException {
+        File file = new File(getContext().getCacheDir(), "provided_" + asset);
+        if (file.length() > 0L) {
+            return file;
+        }
+        try (InputStream source = getContext().getAssets().open(asset);
+                OutputStream sink = new FileOutputStream(file)) {
+            byte[] buffer = new byte[8192];
+            int read;
+            while ((read = source.read(buffer)) != -1) {
+                sink.write(buffer, 0, read);
+            }
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new FileNotFoundException("could not unpack " + asset + ": " + e);
+        }
+        return file;
+    }
+}

app/src/main/java/org/libremediaconverter/ffmpeg/FFmpegConcatCommand.kt

@@ -35,6 +35,21 @@ object FFmpegConcatCommand {
             add("concat")
             add("-safe")
             add("0")
+            // And -protocol_whitelist permits the *scheme* those paths carry, which is a
+            // separate gate (#238). Every input the user actually picks is a content:// URI --
+            // JoinScreen uses OpenMultipleDocuments -- so ConcatEngine maps it through
+            // FFmpegKitConfig.getSafParameterForRead and writes an `ffkitsaf:` path into the
+            // list file. The concat demuxer applies its own whitelist, defaulting to
+            // "file,crypto,data", and refused every one of them:
+            //
+            //   [ffkitsaf @ ...] Protocol 'ffkitsaf' not on whitelist 'file,crypto,data'!
+            //
+            // This only widens that default. It is on the stream-copy branch alone because it
+            // is the only one that feeds the demuxer a list file -- REENCODE passes each input
+            // with its own -i, where the whitelist does not apply, which is why joining over SAF
+            // worked for mismatched clips and failed for matching ones.
+            add("-protocol_whitelist")
+            add(PROTOCOL_WHITELIST)
             add("-i")
             add(listFile.absolutePath)
             add("-c")
@@ -84,4 +99,12 @@ object FFmpegConcatCommand {
             add(output.absolutePath)
         }
     }
+
+    /**
+     * The concat demuxer's protocol whitelist: FFmpeg's own default, plus ffmpeg-kit's SAF scheme.
+     *
+     * Spelled out rather than appended to an unknown default, because the default is FFmpeg's and
+     * could change under us; naming all four keeps the command self-describing. See #238.
+     */
+    private const val PROTOCOL_WHITELIST = "file,crypto,data,ffkitsaf"
 }

app/src/test/java/org/libremediaconverter/ffmpeg/FFmpegConcatCommandTest.kt

@@ -56,6 +56,33 @@ class FFmpegConcatCommandTest {
         assertEquals("0", args[args.indexOf("-safe") + 1])
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The gate that `-safe 0` does not open, and the one every real join needs (#238).
+     *
+     * `-safe 0` permits absolute *paths*; the concat demuxer separately whitelists the *protocol*,
+     * defaulting to `file,crypto,data`. `JoinScreen` picks with `OpenMultipleDocuments`, so real
+     * inputs are `content://` and `ConcatEngine` writes `ffkitsaf:` paths into the list file — which
+     * the demuxer refused outright, failing every stream-copy join a user could actually start.
+     *
+     * The re-encode strategy has no equivalent assertion because it needs none: it passes each
+     * input with its own `-i` and never feeds the demuxer a list file. That asymmetry is exactly
+     * why the defect survived — joining mismatched clips over SAF worked.
+     */
+    @Test
+    fun `stream copy whitelists the protocol its list file entries actually use`() {
+        val args = FFmpegConcatCommand.build(
+            ConcatStrategy.STREAM_COPY,
+            inputs,
+            listFile,
+            output,
+            OutputFormat.MP4_H264,
+        )
+        val whitelist = args[args.indexOf("-protocol_whitelist") + 1].split(",")
+        assertTrue("ffmpeg-kit's SAF scheme must be permitted, got $whitelist", "ffkitsaf" in whitelist)
+        // The defaults have to survive too: the list file itself is opened over `file`.
+        assertTrue("the demuxer still reads the list file itself, got $whitelist", "file" in whitelist)
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun `re-encode passes every input separately and builds a filter graph`() {
         val args = FFmpegConcatCommand.build(