player: preserve Deobfuscation error class through map_url wrapping

Followup to audit CRIT-1. The original audit added Deobfuscation to
the switch_client whitelist but missed that map_url re-wraps the
cipher_to_url_params error into ExtractionError::InvalidData on line
~727 — InvalidData is NOT switchable, so when a cipher stream appears
on Mobile/Desktop (where our sig fn is unavailable), the player chain
still died instead of falling through to the next client.

Caught by the full integration suite: get_player_from_client::case_2_mobile
panicked with InvalidData wrapping our "sig fn unavailable" error.
Now stays as Deobfuscation through the wrap so switch_client trips
and iOS / Tv handle the request instead.

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "rustypipe"
-version = "0.11.4"
+version = "0.11.5"
 rust-version = "1.67.1"
 edition.workspace = true
 authors.workspace = true
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ path_macro = "1.0.0"
 tracing-test = "0.2.5"
 
 # Included crates
-rustypipe = { path = ".", version = "0.11.4", default-features = false }
+rustypipe = { path = ".", version = "0.11.5", default-features = false }
 rustypipe-downloader = { path = "./downloader", version = "0.3.1", default-features = false, features = [
     "indicatif",
     "audiotag",

docs/PORTING_NPE_PIPELINE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+# Porting NPE's player-JS pipeline into rustypipe
+
+**Branch:** `kayos/m1-sig-port`
+**Goal:** Replace `src/deobfuscate.rs`'s narrow regex approach with
+NewPipeExtractor's full pipeline so the fork keeps working as YouTube
+rotates its `player_ias.vflset/.../base.js`.
+
+## The diagnosis
+
+Upstream rustypipe 0.11.4 (June 2025) extracts the signature
+deobfuscation function with six regex patterns aimed at the call site
+(`var&&(var=SIGFN(decodeURIComponent(var)))`). On current YouTube player
+`c2f7551f` (May 2026) all six miss. NewPipeExtractor master's six
+patterns also miss on the same file — and NPE-master's nsig (throttling)
+pipeline is openly broken (`TeamNewPipe/NewPipeExtractor#1339`, open
+since 2026-02-03; the dev branch has had no sig/nsig commits in 60
+days). The reason NPE *appears* to work in apps is that the
+Innertube paths for Android / iOS / TV clients return stream URLs that
+don't carry an obfuscated `s=` signature for most videos — sig deobf
+is a fallback the typical playback path never reaches.
+
+Two structural changes have happened since rustypipe was last cut:
+
+1. **The sig fn call site now sometimes takes a numeric prefix arg.**
+   New shape: `var&&(var=SIGFN(123,decodeURIComponent(var)))`. NPE's
+   regex set has one pattern for this; rustypipe doesn't.
+
+2. **YT routes literal token references through a global string array.**
+   Near the top of every recent `player.js`:
+   ```js
+   var e="startsWith{redirector.googlevideo.com{split{...{decodeURIComponent{...".split("{")
+   ```
+   Calls then reference `e[N]` instead of the literal symbol. So an
+   anchor like `decodeURIComponent` is no longer present at the sig-fn
+   call site as text — it's `e[37]` (or whatever the index is).
+
+NPE's pipeline handles (1) but not (2). To make the fork robust we
+do both.
+
+## What we're porting
+
+| NPE file | Rust target | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| `YoutubeSignatureUtils.java` | `src/deobfuscate.rs` (rewritten) | Sig fn name + body + helper-obj + global-var assembly |
+| `YoutubeThrottlingParameterUtils.java` | new `src/deobfuscate/throttling.rs` module | nsig fn name + body + early-return fixup |
+| `utils/jsextractor/JavaScriptExtractor.matchToClosingBrace` | new `src/deobfuscate/jslexer.rs` | Find a `name=function` site, walk braces until balanced |
+| `YoutubeJavaScriptPlayerManager.java` | already covered by rustypipe's `cache.rs` | We keep rustypipe's cache shape but extend the cached payload to include nsig fn + global var |
+
+## Pipeline (the desired flow)
+
+```
+player.js (string)
+  │
+  ├── extract_sig_fn_name        // 6+ regex patterns, w/ globalVar[N] retry
+  │       │
+  │       └── fall back to:      // globalVar[N] indirection
+  │               1. extract_global_string_array_indices()
+  │               2. find N where arr[N] == "decodeURIComponent"
+  │               3. re-run patterns with `(?:decodeURIComponent|globalVar\[N\])`
+  │
+  ├── extract_sig_fn_body        // lexer brace-walk, regex fallback
+  ├── extract_global_var         // var X="...".split("{")  (verbatim)
+  ├── extract_helper_obj_name    // from inside fn body: [;,]NAME[..
+  ├── extract_helper_obj_body    // var NAME={...};
+  └── assemble:
+        globalVar + ";" + helperObj + ";" + deobfFn + ";" + callerFn
+        ── eval in rquickjs ──→ deobf_sig(input) ⇒ deobf(input)
+
+player.js (string)
+  │
+  ├── extract_nsig_fn_name       // 7 NPE patterns including arr-index variants
+  │       │
+  │       └── if array variant: resolve var NAME=[fn1,fn2,fnN]
+  │
+  ├── extract_nsig_fn_body       // lexer brace-walk
+  ├── fixup_early_return         // strip `if(typeof X==="undefined")return arg;`
+  └── eval in rquickjs ──→ deobf_nsig(input) ⇒ deobf(input)
+```
+
+## Milestones
+
+| ID | Subject | Effort | Gate |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| M1.1 | Port `matchToClosingBrace` (clean brace walker) to `src/deobfuscate/jslexer.rs` | S | Standalone unit test against a tiny `var Wka=function(d){return /,/}/` fixture |
+| M1.2 | Replace `get_sig_fn_name` with NPE's 6 patterns (including `(\d+,)decodeURIComponent`) | S | T-1 fixture is the prior-working `9216d1f7` player + new fixture `c2f7551f.js` |
+| M1.3 | Add `extract_global_string_array` returning `(var_name, Vec<String>)` | S | unit test for the `var e="…".split("{")` shape |
+| M1.4 | Add `extract_helper_obj_name` from fn body + `extract_helper_obj_body` | S | unit test against the `qB={w8:..,EC:..,Np:..}` style fixture |
+| M1.5 | Assemble globalVar + helperObj + sigFn + caller; round-trip via rquickjs | M | the existing `t_deobfuscate_sig` test fixture passes via new code path |
+| M1.6 | Add globalVar[N] indirection retry to sig fn name extraction | M | new test: a fixture where the call site uses `e[N]` instead of `decodeURIComponent` |
+| M1.7 | Port nsig pipeline (`YoutubeThrottlingParameterUtils`) — 7 patterns + array-resolution + early-return fixup | M | port + run NPE's `nsig_tests` table in `tests/sig_tests.rs` |
+| M1.8 | Add live integration test downloading current `player.js` and asserting round-trip end-to-end | S | `cargo test --features live -- t_update` |
+| M1.9 | Bump `Cargo.toml` to `0.12.0-sulkta.1`, tag, push to `Sulkta-Coop/rustypipe` `kayos/m1-sig-port` | S | clean release |
+
+## Not in M1 (parking lot)
+
+- Deno / external-JS-runtime swap (yt-dlp's path; we revisit if M1
+  doesn't hold).
+- Caching the assembled deobf code across processes (cookie-jar style
+  on Android).
+- N-tier fallback against multiple geo `player.js` variants if YT ever
+  splits them.
+
+## Why this is safe-ish to ship
+
+NPE's pipeline is what straw v0.1.0-X currently relies on for the rare
+videos that hit the sig path. Porting it 1:1 to Rust gives us a
+behavioural baseline equivalent to what NPE provides — no regression
+from the Java side. The globalVar[N] indirection added in M1.6 is the
+forward-looking piece that handles current `c2f7551f`-style
+obfuscation NPE doesn't yet handle. If M1.6 turns out unnecessary
+(e.g. NPE-dev lands its own fix first), we can pull the patterns into
+parity but keep our generalised resolution layer.
+
+## Tracking
+
+Workspace task IDs:
+- `#226` parent — fork + ship the patched fork
+- `#230` audit + port the sig pipeline (this milestone)
+- `#231` build pipeline + crafting-table integration
+
+When M1 lands, U-2..U-5 revival becomes a `Cargo.toml` dep flip in
+`rust/strawcore/` + cherry-pick of the parked commits
+(`7ff5ac79e..a13896f5e` on `Sulkta-Coop/straw`).

src/client/mod.rs

@@ -100,7 +100,17 @@ impl ClientType {
     }
 
     fn needs_deobf(self) -> bool {
-        !matches!(self, ClientType::Ios)
+        // As of YT iOS client v19.x and Android InnerTube v19.x (Dec 2024+),
+        // both paths return pre-signed stream URLs (no &s= cipher param, no
+        // &n= throttling param), so they don't need player.js deobfuscation.
+        // YT has experimented with serving cipher streams to iOS and n= params
+        // to Android in past A/B tests — if that returns, this matcher needs
+        // to be revisited along with the po_token strategy and a switchable
+        // fallback to a Tv/Desktop client.
+        //
+        // Skipping the deobf fetch here keeps the player path alive even when
+        // YouTube rotates player.js to a shape our extractor doesn't recognise.
+        !matches!(self, ClientType::Ios | ClientType::Android)
     }
 
     fn needs_po_token(self) -> bool {
@@ -1272,55 +1282,87 @@ impl RustyPipe {
 
     /// Get deobfuscation data (either from cache or extracted from YouTube's JavaScript code)
     async fn get_deobf_data(&self) -> Result<DeobfData, Error> {
+        // Cheap read-path first: avoid serialising concurrent player calls behind
+        // the write lock when the cache is already fresh (the common case after
+        // the first request). Only escalate to a write lock on cache miss.
+        // (Sulkta fork audit LOW-2.)
+        {
+            let read_guard = self.inner.cache.deobf.read().await;
+            if let Some(data) = read_guard.get() {
+                return Ok(data.clone());
+            }
+        }
+
         // Write lock here to prevent concurrent tasks from fetching the same data
         let mut deobf_data = self.inner.cache.deobf.write().await;
 
-        match deobf_data.get() {
-            Some(deobf_data) => Ok(deobf_data.clone()),
-            None => {
-                // Only attempt to fetch deobf data every 24 hours to avoid a flood of error reports
-                // if the client JS cannot be parsed
-                if deobf_data.should_retry() {
-                    tracing::debug!("getting deobf data");
+        // Recheck under the write lock — another writer may have filled the cache
+        // between the read drop and the write acquire.
+        if let Some(data) = deobf_data.get() {
+            return Ok(data.clone());
+        }
 
-                    match DeobfData::extract(&self.inner.http, self.inner.reporter.as_deref()).await
-                    {
-                        Ok(new_data) => {
-                            // Write new data to the cache
-                            *deobf_data = CacheEntry::from(new_data.clone());
-                            drop(deobf_data);
-                            self.store_cache().await;
-                            Ok(new_data)
-                        }
-                        Err(e) => {
-                            // Try to fall back to expired cache data if available, otherwise return error
-                            deobf_data.retry_later(24);
-                            let res = match deobf_data.get_expired() {
-                                Some(d) => {
-                                    tracing::warn!("could not get new deobf data ({e}), falling back to expired cache");
-                                    Ok(d.clone())
-                                }
-                                None => Err(e),
-                            };
-                            drop(deobf_data);
-                            self.store_cache().await;
-                            res
-                        }
+        // Only attempt to fetch deobf data every 24 hours to avoid a flood of error reports
+        // if the client JS cannot be parsed
+        if deobf_data.should_retry() {
+            tracing::debug!("getting deobf data");
+
+            match DeobfData::extract(&self.inner.http, self.inner.reporter.as_deref()).await
+            {
+                Ok(new_data) => {
+                    // Sulkta fork (audit CRIT-2): soft-failed DeobfData (missing
+                    // sig_fn or nsig_fn) is cached with a much shorter freshness
+                    // window so the next player call retries extraction soon, in
+                    // case YouTube has rotated player.js back to a shape we
+                    // recognise. Otherwise a single rotation could poison the
+                    // cache for the full 24h freshness window even if YT fixed
+                    // things minutes later.
+                    let mut entry = CacheEntry::from(new_data.clone());
+                    if !new_data.is_complete() {
+                        // Force re-extraction on the next request after ~1h
+                        // (so AddrLane workers and short-lived processes get a
+                        // chance to recover without restarting), AND stamp
+                        // failed_version so a library version bump also triggers
+                        // re-extraction immediately.
+                        entry.retry_later(1);
+                        tracing::warn!(
+                            "deobf data partial (has_sig={}, has_nsig={}); caching with 1h retry",
+                            new_data.has_sig(),
+                            new_data.has_nsig()
+                        );
                     }
-                } else {
-                    match deobf_data.get_expired() {
+                    *deobf_data = entry;
+                    drop(deobf_data);
+                    self.store_cache().await;
+                    Ok(new_data)
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    // Try to fall back to expired cache data if available, otherwise return error
+                    deobf_data.retry_later(24);
+                    let res = match deobf_data.get_expired() {
                         Some(d) => {
-                            tracing::warn!(
-                                "could not get new deobf data, falling back to expired cache"
-                            );
+                            tracing::warn!("could not get new deobf data ({e}), falling back to expired cache");
                             Ok(d.clone())
                         }
-                        None => Err(Error::Extraction(ExtractionError::Deobfuscation(
-                            "could not get deobf data".into(),
-                        ))),
-                    }
+                        None => Err(e),
+                    };
+                    drop(deobf_data);
+                    self.store_cache().await;
+                    res
                 }
             }
+        } else {
+            match deobf_data.get_expired() {
+                Some(d) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(
+                        "could not get new deobf data, falling back to expired cache"
+                    );
+                    Ok(d.clone())
+                }
+                None => Err(Error::Extraction(ExtractionError::Deobfuscation(
+                    "could not get deobf data".into(),
+                ))),
+            }
         }
     }
 

src/client/player.rs

@@ -245,8 +245,31 @@ impl RustyPipeQuery {
     /// The order may change in the future in case YouTube applies changes to their
     /// platform that disable a client or make it less reliable.
     pub fn player_client_order(&self) -> &'static [ClientType] {
+        // iOS first — it skips player.js deobfuscation entirely (pre-signed
+        // stream URLs) AND doesn't require device attestation the way Android
+        // does. Tv is the secondary fallback (needs sig_timestamp in the
+        // request payload, but the soft-fail extraction keeps that piece alive
+        // even when sig_fn/nsig_fn extraction breaks).
+        //
+        // Android is intentionally NOT in the order: `needs_po_token` doesn't
+        // flag Android, so requests would fire unsigned and increasingly trip
+        // YouTube's "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" — and that mapping
+        // becomes Unavailable{Captcha} which is not switchable. Re-add when
+        // a real po_token strategy for Android lands.
+        //
+        // Desktop is only consulted when botguard is wired (po_token signing
+        // available). For authenticated-via-cookie users on botguard
+        // sessions we put Desktop second so they don't walk through three
+        // wrong clients before reaching the one their cookie works on.
         if self.client.inner.botguard.is_some() {
-            &[ClientType::Desktop, ClientType::Ios, ClientType::Tv]
+            if self.opts.auth == Some(true) {
+                // Authed-cookie users: prefer Desktop second (where the cookie
+                // actually maps to an OAuth session), Tv third (OAuth token),
+                // iOS first as a quick anonymous path.
+                &[ClientType::Ios, ClientType::Desktop, ClientType::Tv]
+            } else {
+                &[ClientType::Ios, ClientType::Tv, ClientType::Desktop]
+            }
         } else {
             &[ClientType::Ios, ClientType::Tv]
         }
@@ -702,10 +725,19 @@ impl<'a> StreamsMapper<'a> {
                 None => match signature_cipher {
                     Some(signature_cipher) => {
                         self.cipher_to_url_params(signature_cipher).map_err(|e| {
-                            ExtractionError::InvalidData(
-                        format!("Could not deobfuscate signatureCipher `{signature_cipher}`: {e}")
-                            .into(),
-                    )
+                            // Audit follow-up to CRIT-1: keep the Deobfuscation
+                            // error class through the wrapper so `switch_client`
+                            // still trips when a cipher stream surfaces on a
+                            // client whose deobf is unavailable. The previous
+                            // `InvalidData(...)` wrapping silently demoted this
+                            // to a non-switchable error and killed the whole
+                            // player_from_clients chain on Mobile/Desktop sig paths.
+                            ExtractionError::Deobfuscation(
+                                format!(
+                                    "signatureCipher `{signature_cipher}`: {e}"
+                                )
+                                .into(),
+                            )
                         })
                     }
                     None => Err(ExtractionError::InvalidData(

src/deobfuscate.rs

@@ -15,6 +15,28 @@ use crate::{
 
 pub struct Deobfuscator {
     ctx: Context,
+    has_sig: bool,
+    has_nsig: bool,
+}
+
+impl DeobfData {
+    /// True when both sig_fn and nsig_fn were extracted from the player.js.
+    /// Used by the cache layer to stamp partial extractions with a shorter
+    /// retry window than fully-good ones (see `get_deobf_data`).
+    pub fn is_complete(&self) -> bool {
+        !self.sig_fn.is_empty() && !self.nsig_fn.is_empty()
+    }
+
+    /// True when the signature deobfuscation fn was extracted successfully.
+    pub fn has_sig(&self) -> bool {
+        !self.sig_fn.is_empty()
+    }
+
+    /// True when the throttling-parameter (nsig) deobfuscation fn was
+    /// extracted successfully.
+    pub fn has_nsig(&self) -> bool {
+        !self.nsig_fn.is_empty()
+    }
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -28,7 +50,10 @@ pub struct DeobfData {
 impl DeobfData {
     /// Download and extract the latest deobfuscation data from YouTube
     ///
-    /// Creates a report if the data could not be extracted
+    /// Creates a report if the data could not be extracted, including a
+    /// `Level::WARN` report on partial (sig_fn / nsig_fn) extraction failure
+    /// so reporter-based consumers (e.g. `FileReporter`) get an artefact to
+    /// debug new player.js shapes against.
     pub async fn extract(http: &Client, reporter: Option<&dyn Reporter>) -> Result<Self, Error> {
         let js_url = get_player_js_url(http).await?;
         let player_js = get_response(http, &js_url).await?;
@@ -36,35 +61,98 @@ impl DeobfData {
 
         let res = Self::extract_fns(&js_url, &player_js);
 
-        if let Err(e) = &res {
-            if let Some(reporter) = reporter {
-                let report = Report {
-                    info: RustyPipeInfo::new(None, None),
-                    level: Level::ERR,
-                    operation: "extract_deobf",
-                    error: Some(e.to_string()),
-                    msgs: vec![],
-                    deobf_data: None,
-                    http_request: crate::report::HTTPRequest {
-                        url: &js_url,
-                        method: "GET",
-                        req_header: None,
-                        req_body: None,
-                        status: 200,
-                        resp_body: player_js,
-                    },
-                };
-                reporter.report(&report);
+        match &res {
+            Err(e) => {
+                if let Some(reporter) = reporter {
+                    let report = Report {
+                        info: RustyPipeInfo::new(None, None),
+                        level: Level::ERR,
+                        operation: "extract_deobf",
+                        error: Some(e.to_string()),
+                        msgs: vec![],
+                        deobf_data: None,
+                        http_request: crate::report::HTTPRequest {
+                            url: &js_url,
+                            method: "GET",
+                            req_header: None,
+                            req_body: None,
+                            status: 200,
+                            resp_body: player_js,
+                        },
+                    };
+                    reporter.report(&report);
+                }
             }
+            Ok(data) if !data.is_complete() => {
+                // Soft-fail observability — without this, a sig/nsig extraction
+                // regression is invisible to reporter-based consumers and only
+                // shows up at `RUST_LOG=warn`. straw / torttube depend on the
+                // reporter for in-app crash dumps.
+                if let Some(reporter) = reporter {
+                    let mut missing = Vec::with_capacity(2);
+                    if !data.has_sig() {
+                        missing.push("sig_fn");
+                    }
+                    if !data.has_nsig() {
+                        missing.push("nsig_fn");
+                    }
+                    let report = Report {
+                        info: RustyPipeInfo::new(None, None),
+                        level: Level::WRN,
+                        operation: "extract_deobf_soft_fail",
+                        error: Some(format!(
+                            "partial extraction; missing: {}",
+                            missing.join(", ")
+                        )),
+                        msgs: vec![],
+                        deobf_data: Some(data.clone()),
+                        http_request: crate::report::HTTPRequest {
+                            url: &js_url,
+                            method: "GET",
+                            req_header: None,
+                            req_body: None,
+                            status: 200,
+                            resp_body: player_js,
+                        },
+                    };
+                    reporter.report(&report);
+                }
+            }
+            Ok(_) => {}
         }
         res
     }
 
     pub fn extract_fns(js_url: &str, player_js: &str) -> Result<Self, Error> {
-        let sig_fn = get_sig_fn(player_js)?;
-        let nsig_fn = get_nsig_fn(player_js)?;
+        // The signature timestamp is the only piece every "needs_deobf" client
+        // actually requires in its request payload — without it, those clients
+        // get an error back. So we hard-fail on sts extraction.
         let sts = get_sts(player_js)?;
 
+        // sig_fn and nsig_fn are needed only when YouTube returns stream URLs
+        // containing the &s= cipher / &n= throttling params. Most clients
+        // (iOS, Android, Tv) get pre-signed URLs and never touch these.
+        // Tolerate extraction failures here so a single rotated player.js
+        // shape doesn't bring down the whole player path for those clients.
+        // When a stream URL DOES carry &s= / &n=, `Deobfuscator::deobfuscate_sig`
+        // / `deobfuscate_nsig` short-circuit with a switchable error class
+        // (see `ExtractionError::switch_client` whitelist) so the client
+        // fallback loop tries the next client instead of killing the call.
+        let sig_fn = match get_sig_fn(player_js) {
+            Ok(f) => f,
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!("could not extract sig deobf fn (sig deobfuscation disabled until YT rotates player.js again): {}", e);
+                String::new()
+            }
+        };
+        let nsig_fn = match get_nsig_fn(player_js) {
+            Ok(f) => f,
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!("could not extract nsig deobf fn (throttling parameter deobf disabled until YT rotates player.js again): {}", e);
+                String::new()
+            }
+        };
+
         Ok(Self {
             js_url: js_url.to_owned(),
             sig_fn,
@@ -79,19 +167,63 @@ impl Deobfuscator {
     pub fn new(data: &DeobfData) -> Result<Self, DeobfError> {
         let rt = Runtime::new()?;
         let ctx = Context::full(&rt)?;
-        ctx.with(|ctx| {
-            let mut opts = rquickjs::context::EvalOptions::default();
-            opts.strict = false;
-            ctx.eval_with_options::<(), _>(data.sig_fn.as_bytes(), opts)?;
-            let mut opts = rquickjs::context::EvalOptions::default();
-            opts.strict = false;
-            ctx.eval_with_options::<(), _>(data.nsig_fn.as_bytes(), opts)
+        let has_sig = data.has_sig();
+        let has_nsig = data.has_nsig();
+        ctx.with(|ctx| -> Result<(), rquickjs::Error> {
+            // Skip JS eval for any deobf fn we couldn't extract. The matching
+            // `deobfuscate_sig` / `deobfuscate_nsig` calls below guard on
+            // `has_sig` / `has_nsig` and short-circuit with a clean
+            // `sig fn unavailable` error instead of falling into rquickjs
+            // and getting an opaque `FromJs { from: "undefined" ... }` —
+            // and that opaque shape used to land in `ExtractionError::Deobfuscation`
+            // which the upstream client-fallback loop treats as non-switchable.
+            if has_sig {
+                let mut opts = rquickjs::context::EvalOptions::default();
+                opts.strict = false;
+                ctx.eval_with_options::<(), _>(data.sig_fn.as_bytes(), opts)?;
+            }
+            if has_nsig {
+                let mut opts = rquickjs::context::EvalOptions::default();
+                opts.strict = false;
+                ctx.eval_with_options::<(), _>(data.nsig_fn.as_bytes(), opts)?;
+            }
+            Ok(())
         })?;
-        Ok(Self { ctx })
+        Ok(Self {
+            ctx,
+            has_sig,
+            has_nsig,
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// True when the underlying DeobfData had a valid sig fn extracted.
+    /// Exposed for consumers that want to short-circuit cipher streams
+    /// without invoking `deobfuscate_sig` and observing the error.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    pub fn has_sig(&self) -> bool {
+        self.has_sig
+    }
+
+    /// True when the underlying DeobfData had a valid nsig fn extracted.
+    /// Exposed for consumers that want to short-circuit throttled URLs.
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    pub fn has_nsig(&self) -> bool {
+        self.has_nsig
     }
 
     /// Deobfuscate the `s` parameter from the `signature_cipher` field
     pub fn deobfuscate_sig(&self, sig: &str) -> Result<String, DeobfError> {
+        if !self.has_sig {
+            // Short-circuit with a recognisable error class. Goes through
+            // `From<DeobfError> for ExtractionError` → `ExtractionError::Deobfuscation`,
+            // which is in `switch_client`'s whitelist as of the Sulkta fork — so
+            // `player_from_clients` will try the next client (typically iOS,
+            // which doesn't carry signature_cipher streams) rather than killing
+            // the whole call.
+            return Err(DeobfError::Other(
+                "sig fn unavailable (player.js rotation; deobf extraction soft-failed)".into(),
+            ));
+        }
         let res = self
             .ctx
             .with(|ctx| call_fn(&ctx, DEOBF_SIG_FUNC_NAME, sig))?;
@@ -101,6 +233,13 @@ impl Deobfuscator {
 
     /// Deobfuscate the `n` stream URL parameter to circumvent throttling
     pub fn deobfuscate_nsig(&self, nsig: &str) -> Result<String, DeobfError> {
+        if !self.has_nsig {
+            // Same short-circuit as deobfuscate_sig — switchable error class
+            // for the client-fallback loop instead of an opaque rquickjs panic.
+            return Err(DeobfError::Other(
+                "nsig fn unavailable (player.js rotation; throttle deobf soft-failed)".into(),
+            ));
+        }
         let res = self
             .ctx
             .with(|ctx| call_fn(&ctx, DEOBF_NSIG_FUNC_NAME, nsig))?;

src/error.rs

@@ -259,6 +259,13 @@ impl ExtractionError {
                 ..
             } | ExtractionError::WrongResult(_)
                 | ExtractionError::Botguard(_)
+                // Sulkta fork (CRIT-1): deobf failures are usually transient
+                // — YT rotated the player.js to a shape our regex doesn't
+                // recognise, or served a cipher stream to a client that doesn't
+                // have a working sig fn in cache. Switching to another client
+                // (iOS first, which doesn't need deobf at all) is the right
+                // recovery move rather than killing the whole call.
+                | ExtractionError::Deobfuscation(_)
         )
     }
 

tests/sulkta_smoke.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+//! Sulkta-fork smoke tests for the player pipeline.
+//!
+//! Verifies the patched default client order (`Ios, Tv` without botguard) plus
+//! the soft-fail DeobfData::extract works against current YouTube player.js.
+//!
+//! Run with: `cargo test --test sulkta_smoke -- --nocapture`
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use rstest::{fixture, rstest};
+use rustypipe::client::{ClientType, RustyPipe};
+use rustypipe::error::{Error, ExtractionError, UnavailabilityReason};
+
+/// A stable, long-running, public-domain music video. Used by upstream
+/// tests too (`n4tK7LYFxI0` = Spektrem - Shine, NCS).
+const TEST_VIDEO_ID: &str = "n4tK7LYFxI0";
+
+/// Build a `RustyPipe` with a per-process scratch storage dir. Avoids the
+/// concurrent-write race with `tests/youtube.rs` that shares `rustypipe_cache.json`
+/// in the repo root, which was tripping audit MED-3.
+#[fixture]
+fn rp() -> RustyPipe {
+    let scratch: PathBuf = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
+        "rustypipe-sulkta-smoke-{}-{}",
+        std::process::id(),
+        std::time::SystemTime::now()
+            .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+            .map(|d| d.as_nanos())
+            .unwrap_or(0)
+    ));
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(&scratch)
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("create scratch storage dir {scratch:?}: {e}"));
+    RustyPipe::builder()
+        .storage_dir(&scratch)
+        .build()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("build RustyPipe with scratch={scratch:?}: {e}"))
+}
+
+/// Sanity: iOS path returns stream URLs and never touches the deobf code.
+#[rstest]
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn ios_player_returns_streams(rp: RustyPipe) {
+    let pd = rp
+        .query()
+        .player_from_client(TEST_VIDEO_ID, ClientType::Ios)
+        .await
+        .expect("iOS player_from_client should succeed");
+
+    assert_eq!(pd.details.id, TEST_VIDEO_ID);
+    assert!(
+        !pd.video_streams.is_empty() || !pd.video_only_streams.is_empty(),
+        "expected at least one video stream"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        !pd.audio_streams.is_empty(),
+        "expected at least one audio stream"
+    );
+}
+
+/// TV path exercises the `needs_deobf=true` branch: the sig_timestamp request
+/// payload is required, but the soft-fail patch keeps the call alive even when
+/// sig_fn/nsig_fn regex extraction fails on a rotated player.js.
+///
+/// YouTube IP-bans some shared egress IPs (datacenters, LAN-routed servers)
+/// for the TV client with "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot". That's
+/// environmental — match it precisely on the `UnavailabilityReason` enum
+/// instead of substring-matching the rendered error so a real regression
+/// can't sneak past the catch arm.
+#[rstest]
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn tv_player_returns_streams(rp: RustyPipe) {
+    match rp
+        .query()
+        .player_from_client(TEST_VIDEO_ID, ClientType::Tv)
+        .await
+    {
+        Ok(pd) => {
+            assert_eq!(pd.details.id, TEST_VIDEO_ID);
+            assert!(
+                !pd.video_streams.is_empty() || !pd.video_only_streams.is_empty(),
+                "TV path returned no video streams"
+            );
+            // Symmetric with iOS / default-order tests so a regression that
+            // silently drops the audio adaptation set can't pass here.
+            assert!(
+                !pd.audio_streams.is_empty(),
+                "TV path returned no audio streams"
+            );
+        }
+        Err(Error::Extraction(ExtractionError::Unavailable {
+            reason: UnavailabilityReason::IpBan,
+            ..
+        })) => {
+            eprintln!(
+                "TV path skipped: YT IpBan on this egress (expected on shared/datacenter IPs)"
+            );
+        }
+        Err(e) => panic!("TV path failed for a non-environmental reason: {e}"),
+    }
+}
+
+/// The patched default-client order should pick iOS as primary and return
+/// playable streams in the absence of botguard signing.
+#[rstest]
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn default_client_order_returns_streams(rp: RustyPipe) {
+    let order = rp.query().player_client_order();
+    eprintln!("default client order (no botguard): {order:?}");
+    assert_eq!(
+        order[0],
+        ClientType::Ios,
+        "iOS should be the no-botguard primary"
+    );
+
+    let pd = rp
+        .query()
+        .player(TEST_VIDEO_ID)
+        .await
+        .expect("default-clients player() should succeed");
+
+    assert_eq!(pd.details.id, TEST_VIDEO_ID);
+    assert!(
+        !pd.video_streams.is_empty() || !pd.video_only_streams.is_empty(),
+        "expected at least one video stream from the default-clients path"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        !pd.audio_streams.is_empty(),
+        "expected at least one audio stream from the default-clients path"
+    );
+
+    // Probe one returned audio stream to confirm YT actually serves it.
+    // GET with Range 0-1023 + an iOS User-Agent because YT's googlevideo
+    // CDN tends to 403 HEAD requests and UA mismatches.
+    let stream_url = pd
+        .audio_streams
+        .first()
+        .expect("at least one audio stream")
+        .url
+        .clone();
+    eprintln!(
+        "probing first audio URL: {}",
+        &stream_url[..stream_url.len().min(180)]
+    );
+    let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .user_agent(
+            "com.google.ios.youtube/19.45.4 (iPhone16,2; U; CPU iOS 18_1 like Mac OS X; en_US)",
+        )
+        .build()
+        .unwrap();
+    let resp = client
+        .get(&stream_url)
+        .header("Range", "bytes=0-1023")
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .expect("GET request to YT CDN should not error");
+    let status = resp.status();
+    let body_len = resp.bytes().await.map(|b| b.len()).unwrap_or(0);
+    eprintln!("response: {body_len} bytes, status {status}");
+    assert!(
+        status.is_success() || status.is_redirection(),
+        "audio URL Range-GET returned non-OK status: {status} (body={body_len} bytes; URL may need visitor_data or po_token)"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        body_len > 0,
+        "audio URL returned OK but zero bytes — likely a sig-required URL we couldn't deobf"
+    );
+}