diff --git a/util/remaining-gnu-error.py b/util/remaining-gnu-error.py
index 7bd9b141a..20b3faee7 100755
--- a/util/remaining-gnu-error.py
+++ b/util/remaining-gnu-error.py
@@ -11,10 +11,21 @@ import json
 import sys
 
 base = "../gnu/tests/"
-urllib.request.urlretrieve(
-    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uutils/coreutils-tracking/main/gnu-full-result.json",
-    "result.json",
-)
+
+# Try to download the file, use local copy if download fails
+result_json = "result.json"
+try:
+    urllib.request.urlretrieve(
+        "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uutils/coreutils-tracking/main/gnu-full-result.json",
+        result_json
+    )
+except Exception as e:
+    print(f"Failed to download the file: {e}")
+    if not os.path.exists(result_json):
+        print(f"Local file '{result_json}' not found. Exiting.")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        print(f"Using local file '{result_json}'.")
 
 types = ("/*/*.sh", "/*/*.pl", "/*/*.xpl")