yt-dlp/yt-dlp · error · ExtractorError

The VOD does not exist

Error message

The VOD does not exist

What it means

Soop/AfreecaTV VOD extractor checks the info API's code field; -6221 means the VOD (replay) does not exist -- deleted by the broadcaster, or the title/file number in the URL is invalid. Raised expected=True, so it is reported as a normal unavailability, not a bug.

Source

Thrown at yt_dlp/extractor/afreecatv.py:183

    def _real_extract(self, url):
        video_id = self._match_id(url)
        data = self._call_api(
            'station/video/a/view', video_id, headers={'Referer': url},
            data=urlencode_postdata({
                'nTitleNo': video_id,
                'nApiLevel': 10,
            }))['data']

        initial_refresh_time = 0
        strm_id = None
        # For subscriber-only VODs, we need to call private_auth.php to get CloudFront cookies
        needs_private_auth = traverse_obj(data, ('sub_upload_type', {str}))
        if needs_private_auth:
            strm_id = traverse_obj(data, ('bj_id', {str}, {require('stream ID')}))

        error_code = traverse_obj(data, ('code', {int}))
        if error_code == -6221:
            raise ExtractorError('The VOD does not exist', expected=True)
        elif error_code == -6205:
            raise ExtractorError('This VOD is private', expected=True)

        common_info = traverse_obj(data, {
            'title': ('title', {str}),
            'uploader': ('writer_nick', {str}),
            'uploader_id': ('bj_id', {str}),
            'duration': ('total_file_duration', {int_or_none(scale=1000)}),
            'thumbnails': ('thumb', {self._fixup_thumb}),
        })

        entries = []
        for file_num, file_element in enumerate(
                traverse_obj(data, ('files', lambda _, v: url_or_none(v['file']))), start=1):
            file_url = file_element['file']
            if determine_ext(file_url) == 'm3u8':
                if needs_private_auth:
                    self._request_webpage(

View on GitHub (pinned to 81ecd58b13)

Solutions

1. Open the URL in a browser to confirm the VOD is gone
2. Browse the uploader's VOD list on sooplive to find a re-upload or the correct id
3. Drop the dead link from your queue

from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
from yt_dlp.utils import DownloadError

try:
    info = YoutubeDL().extract_info(url)
except DownloadError as e:
    if 'The VOD does not exist' in str(e):
        mark_deleted(url)  # prune dead link, do not retry
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Extracting a vod.sooplive.com/player/<nno> URL whose numeric id was deleted, mistyped, or never existed; the API returns data with code == -6221.

Common situations: Broadcasters delete replays regularly; stale links from forums/search results; hand-edited numeric ids.

Related errors

• This VOD is private
• Unable to login: {self.IE_NAME} said: {error}
• The channel is not currently live
• Unable to extract broadcast number
• This livestream is protected by a password, use the --video-

AI-assisted analysis of yt-dlp/yt-dlp@81ecd58b13 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/47b5005e2fcc2f3f. Report an issue: GitHub.