ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

Letv cloud returned error %d

Error message

Letv cloud returned error %d

What it means

Raised by the Letv Cloud extractor when the gpc.php playJson response lacks 'data' and lacks 'message' but has a non-zero numeric 'code'. The numeric code is included in the message. It is expected=True and represents Letv Cloud error codes the extractor cannot map to text.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/leeco.py:327

                'uu': uu,
                'vu': vu,
                'ran': compat_str(timestamp),
            }
            self.sign_data(data)
            return self._download_json(
                'http://api.letvcloud.com/gpc.php?' + compat_urllib_parse_urlencode(data),
                media_id, 'Downloading playJson data for type %s' % cf)

        play_json = get_play_json(cf, time.time())
        # The server time may be different from local time
        if play_json.get('code') == 10071:
            play_json = get_play_json(cf, play_json['timestamp'])

        if not play_json.get('data'):
            if play_json.get('message'):
                raise ExtractorError('Letv cloud said: %s' % play_json['message'], expected=True)
            elif play_json.get('code'):
                raise ExtractorError('Letv cloud returned error %d' % play_json['code'], expected=True)
            else:
                raise ExtractorError('Letv cloud returned an unknown error')

        def b64decode(s):
            return compat_b64decode(s).decode('utf-8')

        formats = []
        for media in play_json['data']['video_info']['media'].values():
            play_url = media['play_url']
            url = b64decode(play_url['main_url'])
            decoded_url = b64decode(url_basename(url))
            formats.append({
                'url': url,
                'ext': determine_ext(decoded_url),
                'format_id': str_or_none(play_url.get('vtype')),
                'format_note': str_or_none(play_url.get('definition')),
                'width': int_or_none(play_url.get('vwidth')),
                'height': int_or_none(play_url.get('vheight')),

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

  1. Look up the numeric code in Letv Cloud API docs (commonly signature/referer issues) and fix the request context accordingly
  2. Supply the embedding page as referer (some youtube-dl versions forward referer for embeds; otherwise use yt-dlp with --add-headers)
  3. Verify uu/vu were copied intact from the working embed code
  4. Update to yt-dlp if Letv Cloud handling improved
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try:
    ydl.extract_info(url)
except ExtractorError as e:
    if 'Letv cloud returned error' in str(e):
        code = int(str(e).rsplit(' ', 1)[1])
        if code_refers_to_referer(code):
            retry_with_referer(url, parent_page_url)
    else:
        raise

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Letv Cloud extraction (uu=/vu= URL) where the API returns an error code with no human message — e.g. invalid signature, disallowed referer, or deleted resource — after the 10071 timestamp-retry path.

Common situations: Referer-protected embeds requested without the embedding page's context; partially copied uu/vu values; API behavior changes introducing new codes; automated bulk downloads tripping Letv Cloud rate/permission codes.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ed3f99dfb6c4a612. Report an issue: GitHub.