❗ YouTube downloads are currently not supported #562
Description
Summary
At this moment, downloading videos from YouTube using AVideo Encoder is not working reliably.
Other platforms like Rumble may still work, but YouTube has introduced new protections that block automated downloads.
Why this is happening
YouTube has been increasingly aggressive in blocking tools like yt-dlp, especially in server environments and datacenter IPs.
Recent changes include:
- Blocking requests from datacenter IPs (common in servers) ([DEV Community][1])
- Rate limiting and temporary/permanent IP bans after multiple downloads ([winxdvd.com][2])
- Blocking accounts used by automated tools ([GitHub][3])
- Requiring more complex JavaScript execution to access video streams ([OSnews][4])
Because of this, tools like yt-dlp:
- May return errors like
403 Forbidden - May fail to extract video data
- May only download partial formats (audio only, low quality, etc.)
- May stop working completely depending on YouTube updates
Current workaround (NOT viable for AVideo)
The only known workaround in many cases is:
- Using real browser cookies from a logged-in user
However:
- This requires extracting user cookies
- It is not secure
- It is not scalable
- It cannot be used in a public/shared platform like AVideo
Therefore, this approach is not supported in this project.
yt-dlp project status
The yt-dlp project is actively trying to keep up, but even their own releases indicate instability:
- Recent releases mention only temporary fixes for YouTube ([GitHub][5])
- Future versions require a full JavaScript runtime (e.g., Deno) just to handle YouTube challenges ([OSnews][4])
This shows that:
YouTube protections are evolving faster than downloader tools can reliably handle.
What we are doing
- Monitoring yt-dlp updates
- Testing new versions when released
- Evaluating any stable solution that does not require user cookies
Recommendation
For now:
- ❌ Do not rely on YouTube downloads in production
- ✅ Use alternative platforms when possible
- ✅ Ask users to upload videos directly instead of importing from YouTube
References
- yt-dlp GitHub: [yt-dlp repository](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- yt-dlp releases (YouTube temporary fixes): [Releases page](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- YouTube blocking behavior discussion: ([GitHub][3])