HLS playlist contains EXT-X-GAP segments
A segment is declared missing, so playback will skip that period.
What it means
EXT-X-GAP marks a segment the server knows it does not have. The playlist keeps the slot so timing stays correct, but there is no media in it.
Why it matters
The viewer loses that piece of content. In live streaming this normally means the encoder dropped out briefly. The tag is the correct way to handle it — far better than a broken URL — but a run of gaps points at an upstream problem worth fixing.
How to fix it
- Look at encoder and contribution-link logs around the timestamps of the gaps.
- For redundant encoders, check the failover actually took over rather than both dropping.
- A single isolated gap is usually not worth chasing; a repeating pattern is.
Check your own stream
The free HLS analyzer runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the HLS analyzer →Frequently asked questions
- What does "HLS playlist contains EXT-X-GAP segments" mean?
- EXT-X-GAP marks a segment the server knows it does not have. The playlist keeps the slot so timing stays correct, but there is no media in it.
- Why does it matter?
- The viewer loses that piece of content. In live streaming this normally means the encoder dropped out briefly. The tag is the correct way to handle it — far better than a broken URL — but a run of gaps points at an upstream problem worth fixing.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Look at encoder and contribution-link logs around the timestamps of the gaps. 2. For redundant encoders, check the failover actually took over rather than both dropping. 3. A single isolated gap is usually not worth chasing; a repeating pattern is.
- How do I check an HLS playlist for this automatically?
- Paste the master or media playlist URL into the free HLS analyzer. It runs this check on every analysis alongside the ladder, timing and live-edge audits, and links each finding back to the page that explains it.
- What is the first thing to try?
- Look at encoder and contribution-link logs around the timestamps of the gaps.
Related HLS checks
- HLS ladder has a bitrate inversionA lower-resolution variant is allocated more bandwidth than a higher-resolution one, so adaptive switching picks the wrong rendition.
- HLS variant is missing the CODECS attributeWithout CODECS, players must download a segment before they can tell whether they can play the rendition at all.
- HLS variant references an undeclared rendition groupA variant points at an AUDIO or SUBTITLES group that has no matching EXT-X-MEDIA entry, which breaks playback on strict players.
- HLS segment is longer than EXT-X-TARGETDURATIONA segment rounds to more than the declared target duration, which violates the HLS specification.
- HLS live window is shorter than three target durationsThe playlist holds too little content, so any player that falls slightly behind runs off the end of the window.
- HLS playlist has no EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIMEWithout program date-time the stream cannot be mapped to wall-clock time, which breaks DVR seeking and multi-stream alignment.