[BUG] Unable to Download YouTube Playlists "Some Error Has Occurred. Check your network and use Correct URL"

[k9-a11y]

Bug Description

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Try to download a YouTube playlist from either Vivaldi or Waterfox whilst signed in to YouTube.

Screenshots

Info (please complete the following information):

• Operating system: MacOS 26.2
• App version: 3.20.2 (3.20.2)
• Package version (flatpak/snap/other): MacOS download with GUI
• YTDownloader will download individual videos just fine, but errors out on full playlists, no matter what playlist I try.
• I have tried installing a compatible Javascript runtime and challenge solver script but no change.
• It worked fine in January 2026 but no longer.

[k9-a11y]

I have the following in "Set custom yt-dlp optins": --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=tv" --remote-components ejs:npm --sponsorblock-remove all

[aandrew-me]

Okay that's interesting.
First I want to clarify a couple of things -

1. Custom options work only for single videos, so they aren't applied for playlists
2. Js runtime gets installed automatically when you download yt-dlp, so don't worry about that.

Can you send me the playlist link and what formats did you select

[k9-a11y]

1. Okay, sounds good.
2. I've tried reinstalling yt-dlp too and that made no difference

I've tried the following, random playlists:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI975qL3WcFngzOQbLemQP9VA76jZP1vz
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOnuZ62pFbEKQX500dDXRJLTQuEzHhnK4
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo027zKV-CXOJdfKSMxW0CKYHBECyffZt

The settings I've tried:

Video Quality: 1080p
Video Format: Auto (and also tried with mp4 & webm)
playlist range left empty
current download location: /Users/Me/Dowloads
Subtitles unchecked

[aandrew-me]

I tried on Windows and didn't face an issue, so it might be macos related.
Try updating yt-dlp with brew upgrade yt-dlp

[k9-a11y]

Thanks. I’m already at the latest version of yt-dlp. It must be MacOS related. I'm going to try it on my Linux machine and will report back.

…

On Feb 16, 2026, at 1:56 AM, Andrew ***@***.***> wrote: aandrew-me left a comment (aandrew-me/ytDownloader#398) <#398 (comment)> I tried on Windows and didn't face an issue, so it might be macos related. Try updating yt-dlp with brew upgrade yt-dlp — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#398 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BXST7L4OOPOBOBXVAVAWLDL4MFZ2NAVCNFSM6AAAAACVGVN3ROVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTSMBWHE2TSNBWGQ>. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.

[k9-a11y]

Seems to work fine on Fedora, so unfortunately, it looks like a Mac problem. Bummer. Thanks for looking at it so quickly!

[aandrew-me]

I tried on a mac and it worked without issues. I didn't use any cookies.
Do you have deno installed? You can check with where deno command.

[k9-a11y]

I do have deno installed.

[k9-a11y]

I just tried it without cookies and it worked for one playlist. And now it seems to be working for another one. Maybe the cookies had something to do with it? I don't know what to think because I got the error before enabling cookies. Something on YouTube's end?

[aandrew-me]

Maybe related to cookies. if you need to use cookies, try clearing them and trying again if youre having issues

[k9-a11y]

I wrote a quick config file and am using that and so far it seems to be working.