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[macOS] Children's YouTube videos fail with "This video is not available" when launched from Dock, but work from Terminal #607

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[macOS] Children's YouTube videos fail with "This video is not available" when launched from Dock, but work from Terminal#607
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aandrew-me
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Added to source codeWill be available in next updatebugSomething isn't working

Description

@DeJoTaDeEmE
DeJoTaDeEmE
opened on Oct 17, 2026

I have tested five different children's videos on YouTube, and all five failed when YTDownloader was launched normally from the macOS Dock.

Other YouTube videos can be downloaded normally.

The error shown is:

ERROR: [youtube] This video is not available

However, launching YTDownloader directly from Terminal allows the tested CantaJuego video to be downloaded successfully.

This suggests that the issue may specifically affect children's videos, potentially those classified by YouTube as "Made for Kids". I have not confirmed whether all five videos have that classification.

Activity

  1. DeJoTaDeEmE
    assigned
    aandrew-me
    on Oct 17, 2026
  2. DeJoTaDeEmE
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    on Oct 17, 2026

  3. aandrew-me commented on Oct 18, 2026

    @aandrew-me
    aandrew-me
    on Oct 18, 2026
    Owner

    Are you using the latest version?
    And what do you mean by launching directly from terminal?

  4. DeJoTaDeEmE commented on Oct 18, 2026

    @DeJoTaDeEmE
    DeJoTaDeEmE
    on Oct 18, 2026
    Author

    Hi Andrew!

    Yes, I’m using ytDownloader version 4.0.1 on macOS.

    By launching from Terminal, I mean starting the application using the following commands:

    launchctl setenv PATH "/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin"
    open -a YTDownloader

    When I launch ytDownloader normally from the macOS Dock, the children’s YouTube videos I’ve tested fail with the message “This video is not available”.

    However, when I configure the PATH and launch the same application from Terminal, those videos work correctly.

    I tested five different children’s YouTube videos, and all five failed when launching the application normally.

    This seems to indicate a difference in the environment configuration rather than a problem with the videos themselves.

    Thanks for looking into this!

  5. aandrew-me commented on Oct 18, 2026

    @aandrew-me
    aandrew-me
    on Oct 18, 2026
    Owner

    Okay, I want to understand why the issue is happening. I need 2 screenshots from you.
    First open the app from your dock, then open the app console with Cmd + Option + I.
    Make sure Console tab is selected

    Image Then take a screenshot

    Do the same after launching the app from terminal.
    It will really help me identify the issue

  6. DeJoTaDeEmE commented on Oct 18, 2026

    @DeJoTaDeEmE
    DeJoTaDeEmE
    on Oct 18, 2026
    Author

    Hi Andrew,

    Thanks for your reply and for looking into this issue!

    I've performed the tests you requested and attached both screenshots with the Console tab open.

    Test 1 – Launching ytDownloader from the macOS Dock (Screenshot 1):

    • The download fails.
    • Error message: ERROR: [youtube] cgEnBkmcpuQ: This video is not available
    • The application cannot download the video.

    Test 2 – Launching ytDownloader from Terminal (Screenshot 2):

    • I completely closed the application and launched it from Terminal using open -a YTDownloader.
    • I tested the exact same YouTube video.
    • This time, the download completed successfully!
    • The Console shows that ytDownloader is executing /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp.

    Video tested:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgEnBkmcpuQ

    The issue seems to be related to how the application is launched on macOS, possibly involving environment variables or the PATH configuration, although I cannot confirm the root cause.

    I've attached both screenshots so you can compare the Console output.

    Please let me know if you need any additional logs or tests. I'll be happy to help.

    Thanks again for your work on ytDownloader!

    Thanks again for your work on ytDownloader!
    Image
    Image

  7. aandrew-me commented on Oct 18, 2026

    @aandrew-me
    aandrew-me
    on Oct 18, 2026
    Owner

    Thanks. It could be related to environment variables. Can you do this -
    Open from dock, then open console and give screenshot. No need to paste video url. I want to check if the paths of the dependencies are working properly.

  8. DeJoTaDeEmE commented on Oct 23, 2026

    @DeJoTaDeEmE
    DeJoTaDeEmE
    on Oct 23, 2026
    Author

    Hi!

    First of all, sorry for the late reply! I've been really busy these past few days and haven't had much time to look into this.

    Thanks for your patience and for taking the time to help me!

    I've launched ytDownloader directly from the macOS Dock, as requested, and opened the developer console.

    I've attached a screenshot.

    A few things I noticed:

    • The FFmpeg path is displayed correctly.
    • The JS runtime: field appears to be empty.
    • Homebrew attempts to update yt-dlp and its dependencies.
    • The dependency update reports a Python 3.14 pip error: No module named pip.__main__; 'pip' is a package and cannot be directly executed.

    Since the affected YouTube videos work from Terminal when using --js-runtimes deno, I'm wondering whether ytDownloader is failing to detect the Deno runtime when launched from the Dock.

    I hope this screenshot helps identify the issue.

    Thanks again for your time, patience, and all the work you put into ytDownloader. I really appreciate it!

    Best regards!

    Image

  9. aandrew-me commented on Oct 24, 2026

    @aandrew-me
    aandrew-me
    on Oct 24, 2026
    Owner

    Thank you. Yes, yt-dlp is failing to get the path of deno. Currently yt-dlp assumes that deno is installed with homebrew and checks for deno in

    • /opt/homebrew/bin/deno (Apple Silicon Homebrew)
    • /usr/local/bin/deno (Intel Homebrew)

    I assume, you have installed deno in some other way, which is why its failing to get the path. However when you launch from terminal specifying the env vars, it gets it from the environment variables.

    I am making some changes and I hope it will work fine in next update

  10. DeJoTaDeEmE commented on Oct 24, 2026

    @DeJoTaDeEmE
    DeJoTaDeEmE
    on Oct 24, 2026
    Author

    Thank you very much for looking into this and for working on a fix!

    I’m glad we managed to identify the issue. I’ll keep an eye out for the next update and test it as soon as it’s available.

    Thanks again for your great work and support! 😊

  11. aandrew-me
    added
    Added to source codeWill be available in next update
    on Oct 24, 2026
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