yt-dlp/yt-dlp · error · ExtractorError

This video is password-protected, use the --video-password o

Error message

This video is password-protected, use the --video-password option

What it means

Loom's GraphQL endpoint GetVideoSSR returns an object whose __typename is 'VideoPasswordMissingOrIncorrect' for password-protected videos. When no password was supplied at all (get_param('videopassword') is falsy), the extractor raises this expected error telling you to pass --video-password. The video's owner set an access password; without it, metadata and sources are not served.

Source

Thrown at yt_dlp/extractor/loom.py:369

        subs_data = self._call_graphql_api(
            'FetchVideoTranscript', video_id, 'Downloading GraphQL subtitles JSON', fatal=False)
        return filter_dict({
            'en': traverse_obj(subs_data, (
                'data', 'fetchVideoTranscript',
                ('source_url', 'captions_source_url'), {
                    'url': {url_or_none},
                })) or None,
        })

    def _real_extract(self, url):
        video_id = self._match_id(url)
        metadata = traverse_obj(
            self._call_graphql_api('GetVideoSSR', video_id, 'Downloading GraphQL metadata JSON', fatal=False),
            ('data', 'getVideo', {dict})) or {}

        if metadata.get('__typename') == 'VideoPasswordMissingOrIncorrect':
            if not self.get_param('videopassword'):
                raise ExtractorError(
                    'This video is password-protected, use the --video-password option', expected=True)
            raise ExtractorError('Invalid video password', expected=True)

        video_data = self._call_graphql_api(
            'GetVideoSource', video_id, 'Downloading GraphQL video JSON')
        chapter_data = self._call_graphql_api(
            'FetchChapters', video_id, 'Downloading GraphQL chapters JSON', fatal=False)
        duration = traverse_obj(metadata, ('video_properties', 'duration', {int_or_none}))

        return {
            'id': video_id,
            'duration': duration,
            'chapters': self._extract_chapters_from_description(
                traverse_obj(chapter_data, ('data', 'fetchVideoChapters', 'content', {str})), duration) or None,
            'formats': self._extract_formats(video_id, metadata, video_data),
            'subtitles': self.extract_subtitles(video_id),
            **traverse_obj(metadata, {
                'title': ('name', {str}),

View on GitHub (pinned to 81ecd58b13)

Solutions

Obtain the password from the video owner and supply it: yt-dlp --video-password SECRET 'https://www.loom.com/share/<id>'
In the Python API, set 'videopassword': 'SECRET' in the YoutubeDL options dict
In interactive tools, catch this error, prompt the user, and retry with the password

Example fix

# before
yt-dlp 'https://www.loom.com/share/abc123'
# -> ExtractorError: This video is password-protected, use the --video-password option

# after
yt-dlp --video-password 'hunter2' 'https://www.loom.com/share/abc123'

# Python API equivalent
import yt_dlp
opts = {'videopassword': 'hunter2'}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(opts) as ydl:
    ydl.extract_info(url, download=True)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Type guard

def is_loom_password_needed(err) -> bool:
    from yt_dlp.utils import ExtractorError
    return isinstance(err, ExtractorError) and 'password-protected, use the --video-password option' in str(err)

Try / catch

import yt_dlp
from yt_dlp.utils import ExtractorError

url = 'https://www.loom.com/share/abc123'
try:
    with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
        info = ydl.extract_info(url, download=True)
except ExtractorError as e:
    if 'password-protected' not in str(e):
        raise
    pw = ask_user_for_password()              # or fetch from your secret store
    with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL({'videopassword': pw}) as ydl:
        info = ydl.extract_info(url, download=True)

Prevention

Collect video passwords up front for known-protected Loom links and pass the videopassword option
Remember the flag is --video-password (-p for media), not --password (account)
In pipelines, prompt-and-retry once on this message instead of failing the whole job

When it happens

Trigger: Extracting a loom.com/share/<id> URL for a password-protected video without the videopassword option/parameter set.

Common situations: Team/shared Loom links with password protection; CI pipelines or bots hitting protected share URLs; forgetting that the -p/--video-password flag (not -a/--password) is the right one for media passwords.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of yt-dlp/yt-dlp@81ecd58b13 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f7f47281b76db78b. Report an issue: GitHub.