youtube-dl no longer downloading entire channels

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:13 -05:00

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Originally created by @mon0theist on GitHub (May 12, 2015).

I was using the following command to download entire channels, and it was working pretty well, with the occasional "content too short" error (which from what I understand, is youtube's fault):

youtube-dl -citw ytuser:

However now when I attempt to download a channel, it never actually takes place. It starts through the usual output, but then just stops after "extracting video information". I've tried it on several different channels, all with the same results Output below:

$ youtube-dl -citw ytuser:SheikhOmarBakri
[download] Downloading playlist: SheikhOmarBakri
[youtube:user] SheikhOmarBakri: Downloading video ids from 1 to 51
[youtube:user] playlist SheikhOmarBakri: Downloading 1 videos
[download] Downloading video #1 of 1
[youtube] Setting language
[youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Downloading webpage
[youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Downloading video info webpage
[youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Extracting video information

Then it just stops right there, whereas before it would continue to actually download the channel

The only thing I can think of is that maybe something went wrong with python? But as far as I can tell, I have python installed.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

Running Ubuntu 14.04

Originally created by @mon0theist on GitHub (May 12, 2015). I was using the following command to download entire channels, and it was working pretty well, with the occasional "content too short" error (which from what I understand, is youtube's fault): youtube-dl -citw ytuser:<youtube username> However now when I attempt to download a channel, it never actually takes place. It starts through the usual output, but then just stops after "extracting video information". I've tried it on several different channels, all with the same results Output below: <path>$ youtube-dl -citw ytuser:SheikhOmarBakri [download] Downloading playlist: SheikhOmarBakri [youtube:user] SheikhOmarBakri: Downloading video ids from 1 to 51 [youtube:user] playlist SheikhOmarBakri: Downloading 1 videos [download] Downloading video #1 of 1 [youtube] Setting language [youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Downloading webpage [youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Downloading video info webpage [youtube] UKY3scPIMd8: Extracting video information Then it just stops right there, whereas before it would continue to actually download the channel The only thing I can think of is that maybe something went wrong with python? But as far as I can tell, I have python installed. Can someone point me in the right direction? Running Ubuntu 14.04

deekerman closed this issue

2026-02-21 02:16:19 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:20 -05:00

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@yan12125 commented on GitHub (May 12, 2015):

Maybe it's again a youtube server issue. Add -v option, wait for more time and check whether there's a timeout error or not. The default timeout in youtube-dl is 600 seconds. Use --socket-timeout if you don't want to wait for such a long time. For other problems, post the full verbose log.

@yan12125 commented on GitHub (May 12, 2015): Maybe it's again a youtube server issue. Add `-v` option, wait for more time and check whether there's a timeout error or not. The default timeout in youtube-dl is 600 seconds. Use `--socket-timeout` if you don't want to wait for such a long time. For other problems, post the full verbose log.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:20 -05:00

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@sharethewisdom commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015):

I think this is related to the fact that youtube has abandoned the old API, although it should have downloaded this one video.

edit: rss feed urls are to be found on the xml page https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=...

@sharethewisdom commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015): I think this is related to the fact that youtube has [abandoned the old API](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6098135?hl=en), although it should have downloaded [this one video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKY3scPIMd8). edit: rss feed urls are to be found on the xml page `https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=...`

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:20 -05:00

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@dstftw commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015):

You are using an outdated version of youtube-dl. Read our FAQ if you have troubles updating.

@dstftw commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015): You are using an outdated version of youtube-dl. Read [our FAQ](https://yt-dl.org/update) if you have troubles updating.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@mon0theist commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015):

Thanks, following the "How do I update youtube-dl?" section worked! apt-get said that youtube-dl was already at the newest version but apparently not :P

@mon0theist commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015): Thanks, following the "How do I update youtube-dl?" section worked! apt-get said that youtube-dl was already at the newest version but apparently not :P

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@sharethewisdom commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015):

apt-get said that youtube-dl was already at the newest version

packages can be downloaded from mirrors that aren't up-to-date, try updating /etc/apt/sources.list with synchronized mirrors.

@sharethewisdom commented on GitHub (May 13, 2015): > apt-get said that youtube-dl was already at the newest version packages can be downloaded from mirrors that aren't up-to-date, try updating `/etc/apt/sources.list` with synchronized mirrors.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

Any resolution to this issue? I am using the latest version from yesterday. Using Mac OS X I ran the following in terminal. Before I start mucking around with the source code myself, I wanted to make sure I am using the proper arguments.

youtube-dl -citw -v ytuser:ChemPlayer

[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Command-line args: [u'-citw', u'-v', u'ytuser:ChemPlayer']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs utf-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2015.12.18
[debug] Python version 2.7.10 - Darwin-15.0.0-x86_64-i386-64bit
[debug] exe versions: avconv 11.4, avprobe 11.4, ffmpeg 2.8.1, ffprobe 2.8.1
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[youtube:user] ChemPlayer: Downloading channel page
WARNING: Unable to download webpage: HTTP Error 404: Not Found
[youtube:user] ChemPlayer: Downloading page #1
ERROR: Unable to download webpage: HTTP Error 404: Not Found (caused by HTTPError()); please report this issue on https://yt-dl.org/bug . Make sure you are using the latest version; type youtube-dl -U to update. Be sure to call youtube-dl with the --verbose flag and include its complete output.
File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 329, in _request_webpage
return self._downloader.urlopen(url_or_request)
File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1884, in urlopen
return self._opener.open(req, timeout=self._socket_timeout)
File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 437, in open
response = meth(req, response)
File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 550, in http_response
'http', request, response, code, msg, hdrs)
File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 475, in error
return self._call_chain(_args)
File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 409, in _call_chain
result = func(_args)
File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 558, in http_error_default
raise HTTPError(req.get_full_url(), code, msg, hdrs, fp)

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): Any resolution to this issue? I am using the latest version from yesterday. Using Mac OS X I ran the following in terminal. Before I start mucking around with the source code myself, I wanted to make sure I am using the proper arguments. youtube-dl -citw -v ytuser:ChemPlayer [debug] System config: [] [debug] User config: [] [debug] Command-line args: [u'-citw', u'-v', u'ytuser:ChemPlayer'] [debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs utf-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8 [debug] youtube-dl version 2015.12.18 [debug] Python version 2.7.10 - Darwin-15.0.0-x86_64-i386-64bit [debug] exe versions: avconv 11.4, avprobe 11.4, ffmpeg 2.8.1, ffprobe 2.8.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [youtube:user] ChemPlayer: Downloading channel page WARNING: Unable to download webpage: HTTP Error 404: Not Found [youtube:user] ChemPlayer: Downloading page #1 ERROR: Unable to download webpage: HTTP Error 404: Not Found (caused by HTTPError()); please report this issue on https://yt-dl.org/bug . Make sure you are using the latest version; type youtube-dl -U to update. Be sure to call youtube-dl with the --verbose flag and include its complete output. File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 329, in _request_webpage return self._downloader.urlopen(url_or_request) File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1884, in urlopen return self._opener.open(req, timeout=self._socket_timeout) File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 437, in open response = meth(req, response) File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 550, in http_response 'http', request, response, code, msg, hdrs) File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 475, in error return self._call_chain(_args) File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 409, in _call_chain result = func(_args) File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/urllib2.py", line 558, in http_error_default raise HTTPError(req.get_full_url(), code, msg, hdrs, fp)

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

One other thing to mention is that I think his channel is "Chem Player", which I can't seem to enter into youtube-dl. It treats the "Player" as a separate channel.

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): One other thing to mention is that I think his channel is "Chem Player", which I can't seem to enter into youtube-dl. It treats the "Player" as a separate channel.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@dstftw commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

There is no such channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ChemPlayer. The channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw, so use this URL.

@dstftw commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): There is no such channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ChemPlayer. The channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw, so use this URL.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

Never mind. The following worked.

youtube-dl -citw -v https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw/featured

It doesn't like a username with a space in it. I can use ytsearch but then I get a bunch of unexpected results.

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): Never mind. The following worked. youtube-dl -citw -v https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw/featured It doesn't like a username with a space in it. I can use ytsearch but then I get a bunch of unexpected results.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

You beat me to it! Very nice response time.

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): You beat me to it! Very nice response time.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

Might be a problem--i don't know. The site says this channel has 139 videos. The tool only reports 106.

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): Might be a problem--i don't know. The site says this channel has 139 videos. The tool only reports 106.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@dstftw commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

Exactly 106 videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw/videos - count yourself.

@dstftw commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): Exactly 106 videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU1dHvZObB2iP6xkJ__Icw/videos - count yourself.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 02:16:21 -05:00

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@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015):

Hmmm... then Youtube is reporting an incorrect number. I didn't count them myself, but I certainly appreciate the effort you put into it! If you go to a search result where they show up and hover over their username, it says they have 139 videos, unless that count somehow includes hidden or total videos that may no longer be available.

I apologize for you having to put in the effort. I had been having issues with the tool for a week or so, and saw the discrepancy and tacked it onto this list.

I thank you for your assistance. The tool works as advertised! 👍

@jeffreyschultz commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2015): Hmmm... then Youtube is reporting an incorrect number. I didn't count them myself, but I certainly appreciate the effort you put into it! If you go to a search result where they show up and hover over their username, it says they have 139 videos, unless that count somehow includes hidden or total videos that may no longer be available. I apologize for you having to put in the effort. I had been having issues with the tool for a week or so, and saw the discrepancy and tacked it onto this list. I thank you for your assistance. The tool works as advertised! :+1:

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youtube-dl no longer downloading entire channels #4626