ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · RegexNotFoundError

Unable to extract %s

Error message

Unable to extract %s

What it means

Error "Unable to extract %s" thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/common.py:1094

                    break

        if not self.get_param('no_color') and compat_os_name != 'nt' and sys.stderr.isatty():
            _name = '\033[0;34m%s\033[0m' % name
        else:
            _name = name

        if mobj:
            if group is None:
                # return the first matching group
                return next(g for g in mobj.groups() if g is not None)
            elif isinstance(group, (list, tuple)):
                return tuple(mobj.group(g) for g in group)
            else:
                return mobj.group(group)
        elif default is not NO_DEFAULT:
            return default
        elif fatal:
            raise RegexNotFoundError('Unable to extract %s' % _name)
        else:
            self.report_warning('unable to extract %s' % _name + bug_reports_message())
            return None

    def _search_json(self, start_pattern, string, name, video_id, **kwargs):
        """Searches string for the JSON object specified by start_pattern"""

        # self, start_pattern, string, name, video_id, *, end_pattern='',
        # contains_pattern=r'{(?s:.+)}', fatal=True, default=NO_DEFAULT
        # NB: end_pattern is only used to reduce the size of the initial match
        end_pattern = kwargs.pop('end_pattern', '')
        # (?:[\s\S]) simulates (?(s):.) (eg)
        contains_pattern = kwargs.pop('contains_pattern', r'{[\s\S]+}')
        fatal = kwargs.pop('fatal', True)
        default = kwargs.pop('default', NO_DEFAULT)

        if default is NO_DEFAULT:
            default, has_default = {}, False

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Update youtube-dl; the site's page structure likely changed. Run with -v and report the issue.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/common.py:1094 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f7f9123e3d280de1. Report an issue: GitHub.