[Triage] No error description while adding youtube source from specific channels

[anastergun]

Hello, i'm trying to add some sources from youtube to download them automatically and have kinda a subscription folder updated with the last 3 days to watch on my tv via kodi but some sources simply fail adding without error messages.
Here are the sources that i found to fall into this problem:

https://www.youtube.com/@BrunoRataque
https://www.youtube.com/@joescott

BTW, i'm using pinchflat as a docker run container hosted in a linux machine with LibreELEC 12.2 legacy X64.

While searching the logs in portainer i was able to find these lines reffering the source that i was trying to add in the docker container:

Parameters: %{"_csrf_token" => "NAYoMmMiHgECL0FIQDxTXUsMBQ8sPHpBDb_e4UroZhve9t4d-zRwYlB3", "download_cutoff_date_preset" => "", "source" => %{"cookie_behaviour" => "disabled", "custom_name" => "Joe Scott", "download_cutoff_date" => "2025-10-22", "download_media" => "true", "fast_index" => "true", "max_duration_seconds" => "", "media_profile_id" => "1", "min_duration_seconds" => "", "original_url" => "https://www.youtube.com/@joescott", "output_path_template_override" => "", "retention_period_days" => "3", "title_filter_regex" => ""}}
2025-10-25 11:02:02.948 request_id=GHHAzp6337chm8YAACLC [info] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/8d/e9/8de97efb5decc6a97dfe92d8bca451f29d5dfdbfd7c43882345bc23727ec0706.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache
2025-10-25 11:02:16.891 request_id=GHHAzp6337chm8YAACLC [debug] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/8d/e9/8de97efb5decc6a97dfe92d8bca451f29d5dfdbfd7c43882345bc23727ec0706.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache exited: 0 with: WARNING: [youtube] Falling back to generic n function search
2025-10-25T14:00:43.572663000Z 2025-10-25 11:00:43.569 request_id=GHHAuKU1u0Wy14UAACFi [debug] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/31/2b/312b5a4c9368c7dca3f243c1b6ff3c56ee0da4d162416c4d5bc5f81c50b72dc8.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache exited: 0 with: WARNING: [youtube] Falling back to generic n function search
2025-10-25T14:02:16.892369000Z 2025-10-25 11:02:16.891 request_id=GHHAzp6337chm8YAACLC [debug] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/8d/e9/8de97efb5decc6a97dfe92d8bca451f29d5dfdbfd7c43882345bc23727ec0706.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache exited: 0 with: WARNING: [youtube] Falling back to generic n function search
25T14:02:02.948984000Z 2025-10-25 11:02:02.948 request_id=GHHAzp6337chm8YAACLC [info] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/8d/e9/8de97efb5decc6a97dfe92d8bca451f29d5dfdbfd7c43882345bc23727ec0706.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache
2025-10-25T14:00:28.559555000Z Parameters: %{"_csrf_token" => "NQZDMzohDSI8MnlKKngLAVYeGA8RN3wQEb4dmVaLduNgS0l80hOwdgDb", "download_cutoff_date_preset" => "", "source" => %{"cookie_behaviour" => "disabled", "custom_name" => "Joe Scott", "download_cutoff_date" => "2025-10-22", "download_media" => "true", "fast_index" => "true", "max_duration_seconds" => "", "media_profile_id" => "1", "min_duration_seconds" => "", "original_url" => "https://www.youtube.com/@joescott", "output_path_template_override" => "", "retention_period_days" => "3", "title_filter_regex" => ""}}
25T14:00:28.570080000Z 2025-10-25 11:00:28.566 request_id=GHHAuKU1u0Wy14UAACFi [info] | [command_wrapper]: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp called with: https://www.youtube.com/@joescott --simulate --skip-download --ignore-no-formats-error --playlist-end 1 --print-to-file %(.{channel,channel_id,playlist_id,playlist_title,filename})j /tmp/pinchflat/data/31/2b/312b5a4c9368c7dca3f243c1b6ff3c56ee0da4d162416c4d5bc5f81c50b72dc8.json --restrict-filenames --windows-filenames --quiet --cache-dir /tmp/pinchflat/data/yt-dlp-cache
2025-10-25T14:02:02.940126000Z Parameters: %{"_csrf_token" => "NAYoMmMiHgECL0FIQDxTXUsMBQ8sPHpBDb_e4UroZhve9t4d-zRwYlB3", "download_cutoff_date_preset" => "", "source" => %{"cookie_behaviour" => "disabled", "custom_name" => "Joe Scott", "download_cutoff_date" => "2025-10-22", "download_media" => "true", "fast_index" => "true", "max_duration_seconds" => "", "media_profile_id" => "1", "min_duration_seconds" => "", "original_url" => "https://www.youtube.com/@joescott", "output_path_template_override" => "", "retention_period_days" => "3", "title_filter_regex" => ""}}

I was able to add a lot of other sources normally and only these 2 i'm unable to add them.

[frigginbrownie]

Was having a similar issue with the Cercle channel. After doing some digging into the logs, the issue appears to be with how Pinchflat handles obtaining the channel or playlist name. If Pinchflat is unable to get the name on source creation, it will throw up an error message saying as much:

If you then add a custom name (which is my normal workflow and looks like it's OPs as well), you'll get an error message but never find out why:

Will see if I can create a fix for this.

[frigginbrownie]

On further investigation, this is a yt-dlp bug related to how it currently handles collaborator videos (it doesn't).

If the latest video on a channel is a collaboration (as it is on Cercle and Bruno Rataque right now, and was for Joe Scott two weeks ago), yt-dlp will detect the channel and uploader strings as NA/null. When Pinchflat attempts to index a channel, it will grab the newest URL and if it can't detect an channel name, fail to add the channel.

A fix was merged into yt-dlp yesterday (yt-dlp/yt-dlp#14677). If you run yt-dlp --upgrade-to nightly in your Pinchflat console then try and re-add the source, it will detect the correct channel name and add it.

There's probably a fix needed here for situations where Pinchflat can't get the channel string AND a custom name is entered, so a correct error message displays to the user.