JosefNemec/Playnite · critical · Exception

Failed to download installer file.

Error message

Failed to download installer file.

What it means

Thrown by TryDownloadInstaller after every installer-file URL fails. The loop attempts DownloadFileTaskAsync per URL (writing to App.InstallerDownloadPath), logs WebException and generic exceptions per URL, then throws a plain 'Failed to download installer file.' when none succeed. The actionable detail lives in the per-URL logger.Error lines, not in this message.

Source

Thrown at source/Tools/PlayniteInstaller/MainViewModel.cs:287

                }
                catch (WebException webExp)
                {
                    if (webExp.Status == WebExceptionStatus.RequestCanceled)
                    {
                        return false;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        logger.Error(webExp, $"Failed to download installer file from {url}");
                    }
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                    logger.Error(e, $"Failed to download installer file from {url}");
                }
            }

            throw new Exception("Failed to download installer file.");
        }

        private void WebClient_DownloadProgressChanged(object sender, DownloadProgressChangedEventArgs e)
        {
            ProgressValue = e.ProgressPercentage;
        }

        public void Cancel()
        {
            if (Status == InstallStatus.Downloading)
            {
                webClient.CancelAsync();
                webClient.Dispose();
                webClient = null;
                Status = InstallStatus.Idle;
            }
            else
            {

View on GitHub (pinned to 5911f4e964)

Solutions

1. Read the per-URL 'Failed to download installer file from <url>' log entries — they contain the WebException status (ProtocolError, ConnectFailure, etc.).
2. Confirm App.InstallerDownloadPath is writable and the volume has free space.
3. Retry on a stable network / different network; whitelist the installer CDN host on any proxy.
4. If URLs are 404, re-fetch the installer manifest to get current download links, or update Toolbox to a version pointing at valid installer URLs.

Example fix

// before
throw new Exception("Failed to download installer file.");

// after (preserve causes)
throw new AggregateException("Failed to download installer file from any URL.", errors); // where 'errors' collected per-URL exceptions

// and guard the write target beforehand:
var dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(App.InstallerDownloadPath);
if (!Directory.Exists(dir)) Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);

var dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(App.InstallerDownloadPath);
if (!Directory.Exists(dir)) Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
if (!HasWriteAccess(dir)) throw new UnauthorizedAccessException($"Cannot write to {dir}");

Exception lastError = null;
foreach (var url in urls)
{
    try { await webClient.DownloadFileTaskAsync(url, App.InstallerDownloadPath); return true; }
    catch (Exception e) { logger.Error(e, $"installer file fetch failed: {url}"); lastError = e; }
}
throw new Exception("Failed to download installer file.", lastError);

When it happens

Trigger: Manifest download (GetInstallerManifest) succeeded but the actual installer binary URLs all fail: 404 on the file, disk full / permission denied at App.InstallerDownloadPath, network drop mid-download, proxy blocking the CDN, or the installer path moved post-manifest.

Common situations: Disk full or no write permission for the installer download path; CDN/host returns 404 because the build was pulled; partial download then connection reset; proxy stripping Content-Length; antivirus locking the partially written file.

Related errors

• Failed to download installer manifest.
• Failed to download update file.
• Failed to download string from all mirrors.
• Failed to download file from all mirrors.
• Uknown installer manifest url format {InstallerManifestUrl}.

AI-assisted analysis of JosefNemec/Playnite@5911f4e964 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0d6c888348559812. Report an issue: GitHub.