TranscriptsDisabled But it's not disabled (works locally, fails on Cloud machine)

[atoonk]

To Reproduce

using youtube-transcript-api-0.6.2:

cat test.py 
from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi

print(YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript('w8rYQ40C9xo'))

outputs:

python3 ./test.py 
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/root/border0-plugin/./test.py", line 3, in <module>
    print(YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript('w8rYQ40C9xo'))
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_api.py", line 137, in get_transcript
    return cls.list_transcripts(video_id, proxies, cookies).find_transcript(languages).fetch(preserve_formatting=preserve_formatting)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_api.py", line 71, in list_transcripts
    return TranscriptListFetcher(http_client).fetch(video_id)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_transcripts.py", line 48, in fetch
    self._extract_captions_json(self._fetch_video_html(video_id), video_id),
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_transcripts.py", line 62, in _extract_captions_json
    raise TranscriptsDisabled(video_id)
youtube_transcript_api._errors.TranscriptsDisabled: 
Could not retrieve a transcript for the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8rYQ40C9xo! This is most likely caused by:

Subtitles are disabled for this video

If you are sure that the described cause is not responsible for this error and that a transcript should be retrievable, please create an issue at https://github.com/jdepoix/youtube-transcript-api/issues. Please add which version of youtube_transcript_api you are using and provide the information needed to replicate the error. Also make sure that there are no open issues which already describe your problem!

What code / cli command are you executing?

I am running

from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi
print(YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript('w8rYQ40C9xo'))

Which Python version are you using?

Python 3.11.6

Which version of youtube-transcript-api are you using?

youtube-transcript-api-0.6.2

Expected behavior

Describe what you expected to happen.
I expected to receive the english transcript
I can see it in browser, see screenshot:

Actual behaviour

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/root/border0-plugin/./test.py", line 3, in <module>
    print(YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript('w8rYQ40C9xo'))
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_api.py", line 137, in get_transcript
    return cls.list_transcripts(video_id, proxies, cookies).find_transcript(languages).fetch(preserve_formatting=preserve_formatting)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_api.py", line 71, in list_transcripts
    return TranscriptListFetcher(http_client).fetch(video_id)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_transcripts.py", line 48, in fetch
    self._extract_captions_json(self._fetch_video_html(video_id), video_id),
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/root/border0-plugin/myenv2/lib/python3.11/site-packages/youtube_transcript_api/_transcripts.py", line 62, in _extract_captions_json
    raise TranscriptsDisabled(video_id)
youtube_transcript_api._errors.TranscriptsDisabled: 
Could not retrieve a transcript for the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8rYQ40C9xo! This is most likely caused by:

Subtitles are disabled for this video

If you are sure that the described cause is not responsible for this error and that a transcript should be retrievable, please create an issue at https://github.com/jdepoix/youtube-transcript-api/issues. Please add which version of youtube_transcript_api you are using and provide the information needed to replicate the error. Also make sure that there are no open issues which already describe your problem!

[Ibrahim-Faisal15]

Yes the issue is valid, but it seems that this does not show with the link, which Youtube gave us when we use the link from Share button.

[jdepoix]

Hi @atoonk, do you only have this issue with this specific video, or all videos you are trying to retrieve? I can retrieve the subtitles for that video without any issues, which usually means that you are being rate-limited by YouTube (which would also mean that this should happen for all videos).

[SKVNDR]

Hi @jdepoix, I encountered the same problem yesterday with every video I tried. Although I don't use the API frequently, I do access it a few times per day. I hope it's not some new restriction from YouTube. I experienced the same problem as @atoonk, and the issue is still present today.

Thanks a lot for your quick response and for this amazing tool; I really like it.

[jdepoix]

Hi @SKVNDR, then you're most definitely being blocked by YouTube. The only way to work around this is to change your IP address in any way (VPN, proxy, or assign a new IP if possible).

[fleerdayo]

I can confirm that YouTube is most likely blocking =/
It works from my local dev env but it doesn't work in production all things equal.

[jdepoix]

If you're running your code on a cloud machine it could be that (depending on your setup) you're getting assigned an IP from a pool that is shared with other machines. So the IP you're using could potentially be blocked without you doing anything. YouTube could also generally black list certain IPs that are known to belong to cloud providers (just a guess, I don't know if they actually do that!).

[atoonk]

Ah yes, i tried it from my laptop at home and it works fine now. And indeed, it affected all videos, which I why I thought it was a bug or new behaviour in YT api.
So, I guess YouTube blocked me (this was on Digital ocean machine). Bummer, gotta find a way around that. Any docs on the ratelimit numbers or when folks get added? I only run this once every few weeks and only for a dozen videos or so. So bit surprised I was blocked. Unless it's all of digital ocean.

[jdepoix]

Since this is not an official API, there unfortunately is no information on rate limits and when or for how long you will get blocked. People have been reporting different things, so I don't feel like it is consistent either.

[jdepoix]

I will pin this issue and leave it open, since there are issues being opened due to this all the time.
Feel free to discuss workarounds and share your experience on YouTubes blocking heuristics, but be aware that there is no proper fix here and probably never will be. That's the nature of using an unofficial API unfortunately.

[SKVNDR]

Same for me. I use a droplet on DigitalOcean, and YouTube probably blocked the IP from there, but using a proxy fixed the issue...

[auspy]

Same for me. I use a droplet on DigitalOcean, and YouTube probably blocked the IP from there, but using a proxy fixed the issue...

how did you create a proxy can you share the code. did you use a free proxy or paid? how did you obtain that proxy?

[SKVNDR]

Hi @auspy,

from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi  
YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript(video_id, proxies={"https": "https://user:pass@domain:port"})

I'm using a paid proxy from smartproxy.com with the "Residential" offer.
There are probably other better proxies available; I chose this one randomly.

[atoonk]

confirmed, using a proxy from my droplet worked. I used this to proxy traffic from my digital ocean droplet to my local laptop. https://docs.border0.com/docs/expose-a-http-proxy
which will allow you to expose a proxy on localhost and have it egress on a separate machine (in my case my laptop)

transcript = YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript(video_id, proxies={"https": "http://localhost:8080"})

can make a more details quick video if folks are interested in how to use that.

[yourdesigncoza]

Having the exact same issue, & also using DigitalOcean droplet

[auspy]

confirmed, using a proxy from my droplet worked. I used this to proxy traffic from my digital ocean droplet to my local laptop. https://docs.border0.com/docs/expose-a-http-proxy which will allow you to expose a proxy on localhost and have it egress on a separate machine (in my case my laptop)

transcript = YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript(video_id, proxies={"https": "http://localhost:8080"})

can make a more details quick video if folks are interested in how to use that.

sure would love a video on it. drop the link here

[auspy]

Hi @auspy,

from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi  
YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript(video_id, proxies={"https": "https://user:pass@domain:port"})

I'm using a paid proxy from smartproxy.com with the "Residential" offer. There are probably other better proxies available; I chose this one randomly.

thank you for sharing. this surely looks like a cheap option but I was looking for something free. don't want to pay in initial stages of my project.

[yourdesigncoza]

confirmed, using a proxy from my droplet worked. I used this to proxy traffic from my digital ocean droplet to my local laptop. https://docs.border0.com/docs/expose-a-http-proxy which will allow you to expose a proxy on localhost and have it egress on a separate machine (in my case my laptop)

transcript = YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript(video_id, proxies={"https": "http://localhost:8080"})

can make a more details quick video if folks are interested in how to use that.

sure would love a video on it. drop the link here

@auspy Would Appreciate a vid. or just more info. ::: I'm all new to proxies etc. seems most info. online is kinda for the more experienced :::

[williamtkelley]

Just ran across this issue today, glad I found this thread. I too am on Digital Ocean, running my code in a Docker container. Getting transcripts runs fine locally, but not on DO.

I would appreciate the video mentioned above, as proxies are new to me. If I use my localhost as a proxy, it means I need to leave the machine running 24/7 right? I mean, I guess that's obvious.

[tuganbaev]

Yep, same with me -- looks like youtube blocked many DO servers at once -- i didn't spent so much requests and I'm banned.

[alimbekovKZ]

I also use Digital Ocean droplet, i think they block IPs from DO servers. now I using google cloud functions.

[BenjaminKobjolke]

I can confirm that it is a problem with digital ocean servers being blocked.
Using a proxy is the solutiion.

[alimbekovKZ]

Now this error also in google cloud functions.

[ethan-0l]

Blocked from dedicated OVH too

[atikinkoon]

Has anyone faced same issue on pythonanywhere?

[0xRaduan]

faced the same issue today in aws ec2

[june-zeroxflow]

same issue today on aws lambda

[GourangPatidar]

Ah yes, i tried it from my laptop at home and it works fine now. And indeed, it affected all videos, which I why I thought it was a bug or new behaviour in YT api. So, I guess YouTube blocked me (this was on Digital ocean machine). Bummer, gotta find a way around that. Any docs on the ratelimit numbers or when folks get added? I only run this once every few weeks and only for a dozen videos or so. So bit surprised I was blocked. Unless it's all of digital ocean.

Are you able to Run on AWS Lambda , how you have done this ?

[rdodev]

Seems APIfy just increased their price on the transcript actor dramatically. So it's not viable even for hobby/personally use since it's a $19.99/mo flat fee.

[Bootcody]

My teammate, @wnd180, and I discovered that AWS IP blocking caused an issue. We tested running the server on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and it was successful! I recommend deploying the server on GCP. 🙌

Sadly, this approach is only feasible if you’re in the early stages of development or using tools(like docker..) that facilitate migration. 🥲

Just tested by setting up a GCP Func (deployed in US region). This doesn't work, if was ever working...

[rdodev]

My teammate, @wnd180, and I discovered that AWS IP blocking caused an issue. We tested running the server on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and it was successful! I recommend deploying the server on GCP. 🙌
Sadly, this approach is only feasible if you’re in the early stages of development or using tools(like docker..) that facilitate migration. 🥲

Just tested by setting up a GCP Func (deployed in US region). This doesn't work, if was ever working...

Yeah seems YT is very aggressive with IP blacklists. Wouldn't be surprised if they they do the same to proxies, too. What we need is a good way auth so that requests to transcripts aren't anon.

[Bootcody]

My teammate, @wnd180, and I discovered that AWS IP blocking caused an issue. We tested running the server on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and it was successful! I recommend deploying the server on GCP. 🙌
Sadly, this approach is only feasible if you’re in the early stages of development or using tools(like docker..) that facilitate migration. 🥲

Just tested by setting up a GCP Func (deployed in US region). This doesn't work, if was ever working...

Yeah seems YT is very aggressive with IP blacklists. Wouldn't be surprised if they they do the same to proxies, too. What we need is a good way auth so that requests to transcripts aren't anon.

Funny thing: some videos work with proxies just fine.. but some popular ones don't work with a single proxy I use from a list of 20..

But yet, there is no official lib or API from YT itself for this. So not sure where you'd like to authenticate to?

[rdodev]

Yeah seems YT is very aggressive with IP blacklists. Wouldn't be surprised if they they do the same to proxies, too. What we need is a good way auth so that requests to transcripts aren't anon.

Funny thing: some videos work with proxies just fine.. but some popular ones don't work with a single proxy I use from a list of 20..

But yet, there is no official lib or API from YT itself for this. So not sure where you'd like to authenticate to?

I thought if you made the request with the correct token, YT wouldn't block the transcript request. I imagine that's what APIFy does behind the scenes.

[Bootcody]

Yeah seems YT is very aggressive with IP blacklists. Wouldn't be surprised if they they do the same to proxies, too. What we need is a good way auth so that requests to transcripts aren't anon.

Funny thing: some videos work with proxies just fine.. but some popular ones don't work with a single proxy I use from a list of 20..
But yet, there is no official lib or API from YT itself for this. So not sure where you'd like to authenticate to?

I thought if you made the request with the correct token, YT wouldn't block the transcript request. I imagine that's what APIFy does behind the scenes.

No no, I tested the scraper to be ran from GCP, as was claimed above. This doesn't work. Being blocked like from any other cloud/hoster.

[kevin-weitgenant]

Has any one tried Youtube Data API to retrieve YouTube subtitles? What are pros and cons ? There is daily quota of 1000. How many requests can you fit in daily quota?

late reply but I tried, waste of time...

you need to set up Oauth and after that, for my surprise, seems like only videos that have third party collaboration enabled, are the ones that you can downlaod the subtitles.

what I think is quite a small percentage of videos. I wasnt able to download any subtitles.

But I was able to get the transcript list with youtube api, only that.

[timelinedr]

Went down a rabbit hole and ended up here. Thanks for these solutions. I am now having success using Smart Proxy.

[JamieWells1]

I deployed on Render. Same problem here. Proxying through smart proxy fixed it. Although smart proxy residential plan starts at $7 per GB.

Hi, I'm also using Render and smartproxy. How did you get it working? I'm currently using the proxy and still getting the same error. Code is here: main.py

[samyogdhital]

I am also facing the same error when using this library from huggingface.
Any other solution beside running your own proxy?

[JamieWells1]

Yep managed to fix it. Unfortunately it will require proxies, but the error was an SSL authentication error, if you haven't done so already generate a new password for your proxies. The default password was stale and just had to put in a new one.

If it's a personal project, you can get 1GB of request bandwidth from smartproxy for $7, which will last you for ages.

[brannonwinn]

I've tried with Webshare and smartproxy and still have no luck getting it to work...for those of you using smartproxy was there anything in particular that you had to do?

[JamieWells1]

1. Include both http and https in the proxies parameter
2. Reset the initial password that smartproxy gives you for your proxies and use the new one
3. Rotate your requests between different ports

What's the error you're getting?

[brannonwinn]

1. Include both http and https in the proxies parameter
2. Reset the initial password that smartproxy gives you for your proxies and use the new one
3. Rotate your requests between different ports

What's the error you're getting?

That worked! Thanks a ton!

[weltitob]

I've bought a resedential proxy on smartproxy and yet it doesnt work for me - Please help.

[JamieWells1]

If you've tried all of the above and it still doesn't work, set the session type to Rotating instead of Sticky.

[pedrocarnevale]

In smart proxy I''m getting Max retries exceeded with url: (...) (Caused by ProxyError('Unable to connect to proxy', OSError('Tunnel connection failed: 407 Proxy Authentication Required')))