ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

Redirect failed

Error message

Redirect failed

What it means

Raised by the HotNewHipHop extractor after resolving the base64-decoded redirect URL via a HEAD request: the final URL still ends in .html, meaning the CDN bounced the request back to a player/error page instead of the media file.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/hotnewhiphop.py:57

            ('mediaId', video_id),
        ])
        r = sanitized_Request(
            'http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/ajax/media/getActions/', data=reqdata)
        r.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')
        mkd = self._download_json(
            r, video_id, note='Requesting media key',
            errnote='Could not download media key')
        if 'mediaKey' not in mkd:
            raise ExtractorError('Did not get a media key')

        redirect_url = compat_b64decode(video_url_base64).decode('utf-8')
        redirect_req = HEADRequest(redirect_url)
        req = self._request_webpage(
            redirect_req, video_id,
            note='Resolving final URL', errnote='Could not resolve final URL')
        video_url = req.geturl()
        if video_url.endswith('.html'):
            raise ExtractorError('Redirect failed')

        video_title = self._og_search_title(webpage).strip()

        return {
            'id': video_id,
            'url': video_url,
            'title': video_title,
            'thumbnail': self._og_search_thumbnail(webpage),
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Retry with a fresh page fetch so the base64 media URL is newly generated
2. Update youtube-dl/yt-dlp for current HNHH infrastructure
3. Grab the real media URL from devtools (Network tab, filter by media) and download directly
4. Check whether the track plays in a browser at all

import requests
final = requests.head(redirect_url, allow_redirects=True).url
if final.endswith('.html'):
    print('Redirect bounced to an HTML page — media link dead or hotlink-protected')

def redirect_is_media(final_url):
    return not final_url.lower().endswith(('.html', '.htm'))

try:
    ydl.extract_info(url)
except DownloadError as e:
    if 'Redirect failed' in str(e):
        refetch_fresh_page_and_retry(url)  # base64 media URL likely expired
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: The HEAD redirect from the resolved media URL lands on an .html page — typically the site's generic player or an error page because the media link expired, is geo-fenced, or requires the session that the browser had.

Common situations: Expired signed media URLs, hotlink protection keyed to browser cookies/referer, or HNHH infra changes after one of the site's redesigns.

Related errors

• Did not get a media key
• Redirect loop: %s
• this song has been offline because of copyright issues
• Invalid path
• Unauthorized user "%s"

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/befc86fb9b084eac. Report an issue: GitHub.