DIYgod/RSSHub · error · Error

Unable to resolve the Locals community metadata.

Error message

Unable to resolve the Locals community metadata.

What it means

Thrown by `extractCommunityInfo` when the literal marker `hashtag:"<community>"` is not found anywhere in the Locals content-page HTML (lib/routes/locals/feed.ts:230). The marker is the anchor from which community id, title, description, and image are regex-extracted. Its absence means the community slug is unknown to Locals, or the page no longer embeds that inline metadata.

Source

Thrown at lib/routes/locals/feed.ts:232

    };

    sandbox.self.$R = sandbox.$R;

    vm.createContext(sandbox);
    vm.runInContext(body, sandbox, { timeout: 5000 });

    const value = sandbox.self.$R?.[instanceId]?.[0] as T | undefined;
    if (!value) {
        throw new Error('Unable to decode the Locals server response.');
    }

    return value;
}

function extractCommunityInfo(html: string, community: string) {
    const markerIndex = html.indexOf(`hashtag:"${community}"`);
    if (markerIndex === -1) {
        throw new Error('Unable to resolve the Locals community metadata.');
    }

    const context = html.slice(Math.max(0, markerIndex - 200), markerIndex + 1200);
    const idMatch = context.match(/id:(\d+)/);
    const titleMatch = context.match(/title:"([^"]+)"/);
    const descriptionMatch = context.match(/description:"([^"]*)"/);
    const imageMatch = context.match(/image:\$R\[\d+\]=\{big:"([^"]*)",thumb:"([^"]*)"/);

    if (!idMatch || !titleMatch) {
        throw new Error('Unable to resolve the Locals community metadata.');
    }

    return {
        description: descriptionMatch?.[1],
        design: {
            image: {
                big: imageMatch?.[1],
                thumb: imageMatch?.[2],

View on GitHub (pinned to bed535e087)

Solutions

1. Verify the community slug by opening `https://locals.com/<community>/feed?mode=content` in a browser.
2. Confirm `config.locals.session` is a valid, non-expired session cookie so the real content page (not a gate) is returned.
3. Clear `locals:content-page:<community>` cache and retry to fetch a fresh page.
4. If Locals changed the bootstrap format, update the marker string in `extractCommunityInfo`.

Example fix

// before
const markerIndex = html.indexOf(`hashtag:"${community}"`);
// after: also accept the new JSON bootstrap shape
const markerIndex = html.indexOf(`hashtag:"${community}"`) !== -1
    ? html.indexOf(`hashtag:"${community}"`)
    : html.indexOf(`"community":"${community}"`);

function communityMarkerPresent(html: string, community: string): boolean {
    return html.includes(`hashtag:"${community}"`);
}
// after fetching the content page:
if (!communityMarkerPresent(html, community)) {
    throw new TypeError(`Community '${community}' not found on Locals`);
}

function hasCommunityMarker(html: string, community: string): boolean {
    return html.indexOf(`hashtag:"${community}"`) !== -1;
}

try {
    return await extractCommunityInfo(html, community);
} catch (e) {
    if (e instanceof Error && /Unable to resolve the Locals community metadata/.test(e.message) && !html.includes(`hashtag:"${community}"`)) {
        throw new TypeError(`Locals community '${community}' does not exist`);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Requesting `/locals/<community>/...` for a community that does not exist or was renamed; Locals changes its inline JSON-in-HTML bootstrap format and drops the `hashtag:"..."` literal; the content page returned a login/age-gate/captcha interstitial instead of community HTML.

Common situations: Misspelled community slug; community deleted or migrated; unauthenticated request hitting a gate because `config.locals.session` is invalid or expired.

Related errors

• Unable to decode the Locals server response.
• Unable to locate the current Locals serverApi asset.
• Unable to discover the current Locals feed action id.
• Unable to access the Locals server function (${response.stat
• Locals RSS is disabled due to the lack of <a href="https://d

AI-assisted analysis of DIYgod/RSSHub@bed535e087 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fa87b6d3369647cc. Report an issue: GitHub.