diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index e4a26a1e8..58303e0e7 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -241,6 +241,9 @@ from .extractor import gen_extractors
 from .YoutubeDL import YoutubeDL
 from .PostProcessor import *
 
+class OptionsError(Exception):
+    pass
+
 def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
     def _readOptions(filename_bytes):
         try: