Added random sleep for given interval range. Fixes #9930

README.md

@@ -329,8 +329,11 @@ which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
     --bidi-workaround                Work around terminals that lack
                                      bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
                                      or fribidi executable in PATH
-    --sleep-interval SECONDS         Number of seconds to sleep before each
-                                     download.
+    --sleep-interval SECONDS/RANGE   Number of seconds to sleep before each
+                                     download. Also accepts random sleep in 
+                                     format <lower limit>to<upper limit> and
+                                     <upper limit>to<lower limit>, where limits
+                                     are in seconds.
 
 ## Video Format Options:
     -f, --format FORMAT              Video format code, see the "FORMAT

youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py

@@ -250,6 +250,10 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
     call_home:         Boolean, true iff we are allowed to contact the
                        youtube-dl servers for debugging.
     sleep_interval:    Number of seconds to sleep before each download.
+                        Accepts range for random sleep in formats:
+                        - <lower limit>to<upper limit>
+                        - <upper limit>to<lower limit>
+                            where limits are in seconds
     listformats:       Print an overview of available video formats and exit.
     list_thumbnails:   Print a table of all thumbnails and exit.
     match_filter:      A function that gets called with the info_dict of
@@ -1684,7 +1688,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             except (compat_urllib_error.URLError, compat_http_client.HTTPException, socket.error) as err:
                 self.report_error('unable to download video data: %s' % error_to_compat_str(err))
                 return
-            except (OSError, IOError) as err:
+            except (OSError, IOError, ValueError) as err:
                 raise UnavailableVideoError(err)
             except (ContentTooShortError, ) as err:
                 self.report_error('content too short (expected %s bytes and served %s)' % (err.expected, err.downloaded))

youtube_dl/downloader/common.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import os
 import re
 import sys
 import time
+import random
 
 from ..compat import compat_os_name
 from ..utils import (
@@ -344,8 +345,16 @@ class FileDownloader(object):
 
         sleep_interval = self.params.get('sleep_interval')
         if sleep_interval:
-            self.to_screen('[download] Sleeping %s seconds...' % sleep_interval)
-            time.sleep(sleep_interval)
+            sleep_interval_lower = sleep_interval.lower()
+
+            if 'to' in sleep_interval_lower:
+                lower_sleep_limit, upper_sleep_limit = map(float, sleep_interval_lower.split('to'))
+                sleep_time = random.uniform(lower_sleep_limit, upper_sleep_limit)
+            else:
+                sleep_time = float(sleep_interval)
+
+            self.to_screen('[download] Sleeping %s seconds...' % sleep_time)
+            time.sleep(sleep_time)
 
         return self.real_download(filename, info_dict)
 

youtube_dl/options.py

@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
         help='Work around terminals that lack bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv or fribidi executable in PATH')
     workarounds.add_option(
         '--sleep-interval', metavar='SECONDS',
-        dest='sleep_interval', type=float,
+        dest='sleep_interval', type=str,
         help='Number of seconds to sleep before each download.')
 
     verbosity = optparse.OptionGroup(parser, 'Verbosity / Simulation Options')