The video is unplayable for the following reason: {reason}
YouTube's own reason text follows, with extra detail when YouTube provides it.
Raised by youtube-transcript-api (1.2.4 read) as VideoUnplayable, a subclass of CouldNotRetrieveTranscript.
Status: Reproduced on 2026-10-17 (latest attempt 2026-11-02 was blocked)
YouTube will not play the video to this client. Live streams that are not archived and premieres that have not started are common cases.
YouTube's playability status is neither OK nor one of the cases handled by the more specific errors above. (read from the library source)
Video ID: jfKfPfyJRdk
from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi
YouTubeTranscriptApi().fetch("jfKfPfyJRdk")Note: That ID is a 24/7 live stream. It can go offline or change, so this repro may stop working.
- Read the reason text in the error; it is YouTube's wording.
- For a live stream, wait until it ends and the recording is processed.
Nothing recorded yet. If you know what another tool prints for this situation, please add it with a source.
| Date | Environment | Library | Result | What was observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 | GitHub Actions runner (ubuntu-latest, hosted cloud IP) | 1.2.4 | Inconclusive (network blocked) | not attempted, RequestBlocked was raised earlier in this run |
| 2026-10-26 | GitHub Actions runner (ubuntu-latest, hosted cloud IP) | 1.2.4 | Inconclusive (network blocked) | not attempted, RequestBlocked was raised earlier in this run |
| 2026-10-19 | GitHub Actions runner (ubuntu-latest, hosted cloud IP) | 1.2.4 | Inconclusive (network blocked) | not attempted, RequestBlocked was raised earlier in this run |
| 2026-10-17 | GitHub Actions runner (ubuntu-latest, hosted cloud IP) | 1.2.4 | Inconclusive (network blocked) | not attempted, RequestBlocked was raised earlier in this run |
| 2026-10-17 | home network, India (residential) | 1.2.4 | Reproduced | VideoUnplayable raised |
| 2026-10-17 | home network, India (residential) | 1.2.4 | Reproduced | VideoUnplayable raised for live stream jfKfPfyJRdk (reason text not recorded). |
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