Coding⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-29

How to Fix: yt-dlp DownloadError: "Requested format is not available" when do

How to fix DownloadError: Requested format is not available when downloading YouTube videos with yt-dlp in Python.

Quick Answer: Use the --list-formats option or specify a specific format in your download command to resolve the issue.

To resolve the DownloadError when downloading specific YouTube videos using yt-dlp in Python, it's essential to first understand why this error occurs.

⚠️ Common Causes

  • Outdated yt-dlp version or missing required dependencies.

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Method 1: Update yt-dlp and Required Dependencies

  1. Step 1: Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where your Python script is located.

Method 2: Use --list-formats with yt-dlp

  1. Step 1: Run your Python script with the yt-dlp command, including the --list-formats option to list available formats for the video.

✨ Wrapping Up

By following these methods, you should be able to resolve the DownloadError and successfully download YouTube videos using yt-dlp in Python.

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