{"record":{"id":"6e83a95b2a015352","repo":"ytdl-org/youtube-dl","slug":"no-login-info-available-needed-for-using-s-6e83a9","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"No login info available, needed for using %s.","messagePattern":"No login info available, needed for using (.+?)\\.","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"ExtractorError","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py","lineNumber":224,"sourceCode":"            'SUPPORTS_COOKIES': True,\n            'WITH_COOKIES': True,\n        }),\n    ))\n\n    def _login(self):\n        \"\"\"\n        Attempt to log in to YouTube.\n\n        True is returned if successful or skipped.\n        False is returned if login failed.\n\n        If _LOGIN_REQUIRED is set and no authentication was provided, an error is raised.\n        \"\"\"\n        username, password = self._get_login_info()\n        # No authentication to be performed\n        if username is None:\n            if self._LOGIN_REQUIRED and self._downloader.params.get('cookiefile') is None:\n                raise ExtractorError('No login info available, needed for using %s.' % self.IE_NAME, expected=True)\n            return True\n\n        login_page = self._download_webpage(\n            self._LOGIN_URL, None,\n            note='Downloading login page',\n            errnote='unable to fetch login page', fatal=False)\n        if login_page is False:\n            return\n\n        login_form = self._hidden_inputs(login_page)\n\n        def req(url, f_req, note, errnote):\n            data = login_form.copy()\n            data.update({\n                'pstMsg': 1,\n                'checkConnection': 'youtube',\n                'checkedDomains': 'youtube',\n                'hl': 'en',","sourceCodeStart":206,"sourceCodeEnd":242,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/956b8c585591b401a543e409accb163eeaaa1193/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py#L206-L242","documentation":"Raised by YoutubeIE._login when the extractor has _LOGIN_REQUIRED set (e.g. YoutubeFeedIE and other login-only entry points), username is None from _get_login_info(), and no cookiefile parameter was supplied. It is expected=True: the extractor genuinely cannot proceed without credentials for these URLs.","triggerScenarios":"Extracting a YouTube URL handled by a _LOGIN_REQUIRED=True sub-extractor while passing neither --username/--password (or netrc) nor --cookies/--cookies-from-browser(cookiefile param).","commonSituations":"Running youtube-dl on watch-later, history, or subscription feeds without any auth; CI/docker environments with no cookie jar; assuming the extractor falls back to anonymous access (it deliberately does not for these IEs).","solutions":["Pass cookies from your browser: --cookies-from-browser chrome/firefox (or export and use --cookies cookies.txt) — the check only requires params['cookiefile'] to be set.","Alternatively supply --username and --password (or netrc) so _get_login_info returns a username.","If you intended anonymous extraction, use the plain video/playlist URL (watch?v=...) rather than the feed URL that requires login.","In API usage of youtube_dl, set 'cookiefile' in the YoutubeDL params before calling extract_info."],"exampleFix":"// before\nydl_opts = {}\nwith youtube_dl.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:\n    ydl.extract_info('https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions')\n\n// after\nydl_opts = {'cookiefile': 'cookies.txt'}\nwith youtube_dl.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:\n    ydl.extract_info('https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions')","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"ydl_opts = {'cookiefile': 'cookies.txt'}  # set BEFORE extract_info\n# or: ydl_opts = {'username': USER, 'password': PASS}\nassert ydl_opts.get('cookiefile') or (ydl_opts.get('username') and ydl_opts.get('password')), \\\n    'login-only YouTube URLs need cookies or credentials'","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"try:\n    info = ydl.extract_info(feed_url)\nexcept ExtractorError as e:\n    if 'No login info available' in str(e):\n        raise SystemExit('Pass --cookies-from-browser or --username/--password for feed URLs')\n    raise","preventionTips":["Export and reuse a cookies.txt for all login-gated YouTube URLs; it also covers age-restricted videos.","Prefer --cookies-from-browser while logged in over password login (password login is frequently blocked by YouTube)."],"tags":["youtube","authentication","cookies","expected-error"],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"956b8c585591b401a543e409accb163eeaaa1193","analyzedAt":"2026-08-14T18:59:47.863Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-15T22:17:37.221Z"}