The HTTP status code is the most useful single signal when a request fails. Reading the network tab in DevTools, the status of the failed request tells you the category of failure even when the body is opaque.
For YouTube downloaders, the codes that matter:
- 200 OK — request succeeded. - 206 Partial Content — range request succeeded (normal for chunked downloads). - 302 / 307 Redirect — the CDN routed you to a specific edge server; the player auto-follows. - 403 Forbidden — most common failure: expired download token, or IP doesn't match the signed URL's ip= parameter (see /glossary/signed-url). - 404 Not Found — the video ID doesn't exist or was removed at the URL level. - 410 Gone — the video was deleted (distinct from 404; YouTube returns 410 for known-deleted videos). - 429 Too Many Requests — rate limit. Back off, retry later. - 502 Bad Gateway — typically returned by VidPickr's /info when YouTube's upstream extraction fails.
When troubleshooting a download issue, the status code shortens the diagnostic loop significantly.
Common questions
What's the difference between 404 and 410?
Related terms
Signed URL
A signed URL is a download link with cryptographic parameters that authenticate the request and expire after a set time.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a globally distributed network of servers that caches content close to viewers, reducing latency and offloading traffic from origin servers.
Range request (HTTP byte range)
A range request is an HTTP request that asks for a specific byte range of a file rather than the full thing.
VidPickr is a free, browser-based YouTube downloader. Every term in this glossary either describes how YouTube delivers video or why your downloads behave the way they do. Try the downloader →