ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · BuildError

Invalid repository "%s"

Error message

Invalid repository "%s"

What it means

Raised while parsing an ABC (ActionScript Byte Code) file inside a SWF: a class 'trait' entry has a kind byte outside the values swfinterp understands (0x00 slot/const variants are consumed earlier; 0x01-0x03 method/getter/setter, 0x04 class, 0x05 function). Any other kind — e.g. 0x06 const — aborts parsing with this ExtractorError. It means the SWF uses an ABC feature youtube-dl's interpreter never implemented.

Source

Thrown at devscripts/buildserver.py:329

class GITBuilder(GITInfoBuilder):
    def build(self):
        try:
            subprocess.check_output(['git', 'clone', 'git://github.com/%s/%s.git' % (self.user, self.repoName), self.buildPath])
            subprocess.check_output(['git', 'checkout', self.rev], cwd=self.buildPath)
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            raise BuildError(e.output)

        super(GITBuilder, self).build()


class YoutubeDLBuilder(object):
    authorizedUsers = ['fraca7', 'phihag', 'rg3', 'FiloSottile', 'ytdl-org']

    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        if self.repoName != 'youtube-dl':
            raise BuildError('Invalid repository "%s"' % self.repoName)
        if self.user not in self.authorizedUsers:
            raise HTTPError('Unauthorized user "%s"' % self.user, 401)

        super(YoutubeDLBuilder, self).__init__(**kwargs)

    def build(self):
        try:
            proc = subprocess.Popen([os.path.join(self.pythonPath, 'python.exe'), 'setup.py', 'py2exe'], stdin=subprocess.PIPE, cwd=self.buildPath)
            proc.wait()
            #subprocess.check_output([os.path.join(self.pythonPath, 'python.exe'), 'setup.py', 'py2exe'],
            #                        cwd=self.buildPath)
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            raise BuildError(e.output)

        super(YoutubeDLBuilder, self).build()


class DownloadBuilder(object):

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Update youtube-dl or move to yt-dlp — the extractor likely no longer needs the SWF at all.
2. As a patch, extend the kind dispatch in swfinterp.py: treat unknown kinds as opaque (consume slot_id via u30()) instead of raising, since traits you never call can be skipped.
3. Use patch_function()/extract_class() only for the class you need after teaching the parser to skip unsupported traits.
4. Reimplement the specific ActionScript logic (usually a signature scrambling function) in Python instead of interpreting the SWF.

Example fix

# before (swfinterp.py, parse_traits_info)
else:
    raise ExtractorError('Unsupported trait kind %d' % kind)

# after: skip traits we do not need
else:
    u30()  # slot_id — ignore unsupported trait kinds

# then continue to the metadata handling below

from youtube_dl.utils import ExtractorError
try:
    interpreter = SWFInterpreter(swf_bytes)
except ExtractorError as e:
    if 'Unsupported trait kind' in str(e):
        # SWF uses ABC traits this interpreter cannot parse;
        # fall back to a native reimplementation of the needed function
        return native_implementation()
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: SWFInterpreter.parse_abc walks the instance_info/class_info trait tables; when it encounters a trait kind byte it does not have an elif branch for, it raises. Triggered by SWFs compiled with const traits or tooling that emits rare trait kinds (0x06 CONST, 0x0B-0x0F metadata-attributed variants can also fall through).

Common situations: A site rotates its player SWF and the new build contains a const trait on a class; youtube-dl then fails at parse time for that extractor's deciphering step. Extremely rare for direct API users; almost always hit via an extractor that interprets a remote SWF.

Related errors

• Missing mandatory parameter "%s"
• Is a directory: %s
• Invalid syntax in Cookie Header
• Invalid value %r in format specification %r
• Invalid filter specification %r

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/71b721d8ba2e5bc2. Report an issue: GitHub.