ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

%s: Failed to parse JSON

Error message

%s: Failed to parse JSON 

What it means

Error "%s: Failed to parse JSON " thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/common.py:958

        See _download_webpage docstring for arguments specification.
        """
        res = self._download_json_handle(
            url_or_request, video_id, note=note, errnote=errnote,
            transform_source=transform_source, fatal=fatal, encoding=encoding,
            data=data, headers=headers, query=query,
            expected_status=expected_status)
        return res if res is False else res[0]

    def _parse_json(self, json_string, video_id, transform_source=None, fatal=True):
        if transform_source:
            json_string = transform_source(json_string)
        try:
            return json.loads(json_string)
        except ValueError as ve:
            errmsg = '%s: Failed to parse JSON ' % video_id
            if fatal:
                raise ExtractorError(errmsg, cause=ve)
            else:
                self.report_warning(errmsg + str(ve))

    def __ie_msg(self, *msg):
        return '[{0}] {1}'.format(self.IE_NAME, ''.join(msg))

    # msg, video_id=None, *args, only_once=False, **kwargs
    def report_warning(self, msg, *args, **kwargs):
        if len(args) > 0:
            video_id = args[0]
            args = args[1:]
        else:
            video_id = kwargs.pop('video_id', None)
        idstr = '' if video_id is None else '%s: ' % video_id
        self._downloader.report_warning(
            self.__ie_msg(idstr, msg), *args, **kwargs)

    def to_screen(self, msg):

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Verify the server returned valid JSON; retry or update youtube-dl if the site changed its API.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/common.py:958 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6b7f8da740b86fd5. Report an issue: GitHub.