invalid line: %s, because file modified must be an unix time

Error message

invalid line: %s, because file modified must be an unix timestamp

What it means

The optional third metadata field of a url_tree line is a Unix timestamp (seconds). strconv.ParseInt over it failing — non-numeric, fractional like '2024-01-01', or float epoch — produces this error with the whole line echoed.

Source

Thrown at drivers/url_tree/util.go:133

			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid line: %s, because file info must end with ':'", line)
		}
		info = info[:len(info)-1]
		if info == "" {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid line: %s, because file name can't be empty", line)
		}
		infoParts := strings.Split(info, ":")
		node.Name = infoParts[0]
		if len(infoParts) > 1 {
			size, err := strconv.ParseInt(infoParts[1], 10, 64)
			if err != nil {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid line: %s, because file size must be an integer", line)
			}
			node.Size = size
			haveSize = true
			if len(infoParts) > 2 {
				modified, err := strconv.ParseInt(infoParts[2], 10, 64)
				if err != nil {
					return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid line: %s, because file modified must be an unix timestamp", line)
				}
				node.Modified = modified
			}
		}
	} else {
		node.Name = stdpath.Base(url)
	}
	if !haveSize && headSize {
		size, err := getSizeFromUrl(url)
		if err != nil {
			log.Errorf("get size from url error: %s", err)
		} else {
			node.Size = size
		}
	}
	return node, nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 843d9dc814)

Solutions

Use integer Unix seconds: movie.mp4:1024:1700000000: https://x/m.mp4.
Omit modified (Name:Size:URL) if not needed.
Avoid ':' inside file names — it is the field separator.

Example fix

// before
movie.mp4:1024:2024-01-01: https://x/m.mp4

// after
movie.mp4:1024:1704153600: https://x/m.mp4

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

func validateModifiedField(line string) error {
    idx := strings.Index(line, "http")
    if idx <= 0 { return nil }
    parts := strings.Split(strings.TrimSuffix(line[:idx], ":"), ":")
    if len(parts) > 2 && parts[2] != "" {
        if _, err := strconv.ParseInt(parts[2], 10, 64); err != nil {
            return fmt.Errorf("modified %q must be unix seconds", parts[2])
        }
    }
    return nil
}

Try / catch

if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "must be an unix timestamp") { /* replace dates with epoch seconds */ }

Prevention

Use Unix epoch seconds, never ISO dates
Keep field order Name:Size:Modified
Avoid ':' in file names

When it happens

Trigger: Lines 'Name:Size:Modified:URL' where Modified is a date string ('2024-01-01'), an ISO timestamp, a float, or accidentally a URL fragment due to miscounted colons.

Common situations: Converting from human-readable listings, or misaligned colon fields where a name containing ':' shifts positions (e.g. 'a:b:1024:1700000000:URL' makes Modified parse '1700000000' but extra fields confuse earlier ones).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of AlistGo/alist@843d9dc814 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/69e5e20e9977b6d9. Report an issue: GitHub.