"WARNING: video doesn't have subtitles" when there are only auto-generated (YouTube)

[Markus-N]

Checklist

• I'm reporting a broken site support
• I've verified that I'm running youtube-dl version 2020.03.24
• I've checked that all provided URLs are alive and playable in a browser
• I've checked that all URLs and arguments with special characters are properly quoted or escaped
• I've searched the bugtracker for similar issues including closed ones

Verbose log

youtube-dl --verbose --ignore-errors --write-description --write-info-json --write-sub --write-auto-sub "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdlDFn38pmo"
[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Custom config: []
[debug] Command-line args: ['--verbose', '--ignore-errors', '--write-description', '--write-info-json', '--write-sub', '--write-auto-sub', 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdlDFn38pmo']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs utf-8, out utf-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2020.03.24
[debug] Python version 3.8.2 (CPython) - Linux-5.6.2-arch1-2-x86_64-with-glibc2.2.5
[debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 4.2.2, ffprobe 4.2.2, rtmpdump 2.4
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[youtube] BdlDFn38pmo: Downloading webpage
WARNING: video doesn't have subtitles
[youtube] BdlDFn38pmo: Looking for automatic captions
[debug] Default format spec: bestvideo+bestaudio/best
[info] Writing video description to: Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.description
[info] Writing video subtitles to: Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.en.vtt
[info] Writing video description metadata as JSON to: Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.info.json
WARNING: Requested formats are incompatible for merge and will be merged into mkv.
[debug] Invoking downloader on 'https://r5---sn-h0jeenek.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1586812282&ei=GoGUXq6BFuSK8gPBh4LIBw&ip=95.208.155.175&id=o-AHg2Gk3_-CzObGH-UYZULwRWKidm5vYBX8b9PewWRI4P&itag=136&aitags=133%2C134%2C135%2C136%2C160%2C242%2C243%2C244%2C247%2C278&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mh=tY&mm=31%2C26&mn=sn-h0jeenek%2Csn-4g5e6nsd&ms=au%2Conr&mv=m&mvi=4&pl=24&gcr=de&initcwndbps=1218750&vprv=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&gir=yes&clen=288129253&dur=3959.920&lmt=1540865129926856&mt=1586790579&fvip=5&keepalive=yes&c=WEB&txp=5432432&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Caitags%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cgcr%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=AJpPlLswRQIhAOGPe5v9-GgCHsB4ChTKUCZkB1zvAtVcESEIAUW3It28AiBi6hlrdtPWLtboZIIDcX2GaIpRzb60on6k-bgZVWFWnA%3D%3D&lsparams=mh%2Cmm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl%2Cinitcwndbps&lsig=ALrAebAwRQIgQhrU9Q5YWKSLrwIlbC0vkSbLnbP8RNQeDlgQ0WcTfqICIQD1witz3GhSwnAhm9gCNmVXdIiVPeSv9Hn3KuAPSB3bQQ%3D%3D&ratebypass=yes'
[download] Destination: Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f136.mp4
[download] 100% of 274.78MiB in 02:01
[debug] Invoking downloader on 'https://r5---sn-h0jeenek.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1586812282&ei=GoGUXq6BFuSK8gPBh4LIBw&ip=95.208.155.175&id=o-AHg2Gk3_-CzObGH-UYZULwRWKidm5vYBX8b9PewWRI4P&itag=251&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mh=tY&mm=31%2C26&mn=sn-h0jeenek%2Csn-4g5e6nsd&ms=au%2Conr&mv=m&mvi=4&pl=24&gcr=de&initcwndbps=1218750&vprv=1&mime=audio%2Fwebm&gir=yes&clen=61914397&dur=3959.941&lmt=1540870236274852&mt=1586790579&fvip=5&keepalive=yes&c=WEB&txp=5411222&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cgcr%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=AJpPlLswRgIhAPzjxP9qi08chY_A5kFx22MDg8FpBskLCl_DesumeiqZAiEA0ueOnTvtUOVf5VWcNNYN9Zx00418dDxqyTh9tCmyeJQ%3D&lsparams=mh%2Cmm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl%2Cinitcwndbps&lsig=ALrAebAwRQIgQhrU9Q5YWKSLrwIlbC0vkSbLnbP8RNQeDlgQ0WcTfqICIQD1witz3GhSwnAhm9gCNmVXdIiVPeSv9Hn3KuAPSB3bQQ%3D%3D&ratebypass=yes'
[download] Destination: Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f251.webm
[download] 100% of 59.05MiB in 00:25
[ffmpeg] Merging formats into "Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.mkv"
[debug] ffmpeg command line: ffmpeg -y -loglevel repeat+info -i 'file:Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f136.mp4' -i 'file:Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f251.webm' -c copy -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 'file:Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.temp.mkv'
Deleting original file Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f136.mp4 (pass -k to keep)
Deleting original file Biohazard – Patient Zero (Thriller in voller Länge, komplette Filme auf Deutsch, Science Fiction)-BdlDFn38pmo.f251.webm (pass -k to keep)

youtube-dl --list-subs "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdlDFn38pmo"
[youtube] BdlDFn38pmo: Downloading webpage
WARNING: video doesn't have subtitles
[youtube] BdlDFn38pmo: Looking for automatic captions
Available automatic captions for BdlDFn38pmo:
Language formats
af       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sq       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
am       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ar       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
hy       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
az       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
bn       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
eu       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
be       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
bs       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
bg       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
my       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ca       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ceb      vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
zh-Hans  vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
zh-Hant  vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
co       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
hr       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
cs       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
da       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
nl       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
en       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
eo       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
et       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
fil      vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
fi       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
fr       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
gl       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ka       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
de       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
el       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
gu       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ht       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ha       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
haw      vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
iw       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
hi       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
hmn      vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
hu       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
is       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ig       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
id       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ga       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
it       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ja       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
jv       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
kn       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
kk       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
km       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
rw       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ko       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ku       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ky       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
lo       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
la       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
lv       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
lt       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
lb       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mk       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mg       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ms       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ml       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mt       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mi       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mr       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
mn       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ne       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
no       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ny       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
or       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ps       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
fa       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
pl       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
pt       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
pa       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ro       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ru       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sm       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
gd       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sr       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sn       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sd       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
si       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sk       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sl       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
so       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
st       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
es       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
su       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sw       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
sv       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
tg       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ta       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
tt       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
te       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
th       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
tr       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
tk       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
uk       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ur       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
ug       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
uz       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
vi       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
cy       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
fy       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
xh       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
yi       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
yo       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
zu       vtt, ttml, srv3, srv2, srv1
BdlDFn38pmo has no subtitles

youtube-dl --version
2020.03.24

Description

I'm trying to download german movies with auto-generated subs. I'm getting old and so do my ears :-(
However ... when I run youtube-dl it issues the "WARING: video doesn't have subtitles" but in the browser, there are auto-generated subtitles (and no other ones). What's even more curious ... it downloads some english subs in .vtt format. According to the browser they shouldn't exist.
I've tried all combinations of --write-sub, --write-auto-sub, and both. All with the same result.

Searching the existing issues, I've found a few old issues, but I'm not sure if they match. Some seem similar, but are closed. The fact that it does not work for me could indicate a language dependency. One more thing I noticed was it says it's looking for "automatic captions". After what I jsut learned about the difference between subs and captions, this could also be something to look for. Maybe the uplader of the video used the wrong one.

Some background info of my system:
Arch Linux, all packages up-to-date, XFCE desktop, system (and UI) language set to english, number, date, and currency format set to german. I've also tried prepending the youtube-dl call with LANG=de_DE.UTF-8 to no avail.

[dstftw]

What are you even reporting? It clearly states that not subtitles are available that is true. It clearly states there are only automatic captions are available that is also true. It downloads default en automatic captions according to your request that is again true.

[Markus-N]

I am reporting that the warning is wrong: There are german auto-generated subtitles when I open the URL in the browser. And if I watch the video in the browser, the subtitles that are shown are indeed german.

youtube-dl downloads some english subtitles that are not shown in the browser and that don't even appear to belong to this video.

Also, I have found a tool that can download the correct subtitles from the URL I provided: JDownloader2.
It has a few downsides though. The most important (to me) is missing scriptability.

So please reopen