ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

The video has been deleted.

Error message

The video has been deleted.

What it means

Raised by NiconicoIE when the getthumbinfo XML reports an <error> whose <code> is 'DELETED'. The video metadata endpoint confirms the submission was deleted from Nico Nico Douga, so no formats can be fetched. Marked expected=True.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/niconico.py:414

        # Get video info
        video_info_xml = self._download_xml(
            'http://ext.nicovideo.jp/api/getthumbinfo/' + video_id,
            video_id, note='Downloading video info page')

        def get_video_info_xml(items):
            if not isinstance(items, list):
                items = [items]
            for item in items:
                ret = xpath_text(video_info_xml, './/' + item)
                if ret:
                    return ret

        if get_video_info_xml('error'):
            error_code = get_video_info_xml('code')

            if error_code == 'DELETED':
                raise ExtractorError('The video has been deleted.',
                                     expected=True)
            elif error_code == 'NOT_FOUND':
                raise ExtractorError('The video is not found.',
                                     expected=True)
            elif error_code == 'COMMUNITY':
                self.to_screen('%s: The video is community members only.' % video_id)
            else:
                raise ExtractorError('%s reports error: %s' % (self.IE_NAME, error_code))

        # Start extracting video formats
        formats = []

        # Get HTML5 videos info
        quality_info = try_get(api_data, lambda x: x['media']['delivery']['movie'])
        if not quality_info:
            raise ExtractorError('The video can\'t be downloaded', expected=True)

        for audio_quality in quality_info.get('audios') or {}:

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

  1. Accept it: the video is deleted server-side and cannot be downloaded from Niconico.
  2. Look for reprints/mirrors elsewhere (creator's other uploads, official channels) if you need the content.
  3. In batch jobs, catch this expected ExtractorError and mark the URL dead rather than retrying.
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

import requests
xml = requests.get(f'https://ext.nicovideo.jp/api/getthumbinfo/{video_id}').text
if '<code>DELETED</code>' in xml:
    print('video deleted — do not attempt download')

Try / catch

except ExtractorError as e:
    if e.expected and 'deleted' in str(e).lower():
        mark_url_dead(url)  # permanent; never re-queue
    else:
        raise

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Extracting any nicovideo.jp/watch/sm## URL for which the video info XML contains error/code = 'DELETED'.

Common situations: Old links to videos removed by the uploader or taken down for policy/copyright reasons; no downloader-side remedy exists.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/699f985422028a1d. Report an issue: GitHub.