What causes "The "updatedSince" query parameter must be a valid date." in RocketChat/Rocket.Chat?

Always send ISO 8601 UTC: new Date().toISOString() (e.g. 2026-08-18T12:00:00.000Z)

RocketChat/Rocket.Chat · error · Meteor.Error

error-updatedSince-param-invalid

error-updatedSince-param-invalid

Error message

The "updatedSince" query parameter must be a valid date.

What it means

Thrown by GET /api/v1/rooms.get when the updatedSince query parameter is present but Date.parse(updatedSince) returns NaN, i.e. the string is not a parseable date. The endpoint expects an ISO 8601 timestamp and uses it to return only rooms updated after that instant (plus removed rooms). Any locale-specific or non-standard format risks rejection.

Solutions

Always send ISO 8601 UTC: new Date().toISOString() (e.g. 2026-08-18T12:00:00.000Z)
Convert epoch values before sending: new Date(epochMs).toISOString()
Validate client-side with Number.isNaN(Date.parse(value)) and fix before the request
Omit updatedSince entirely when you want the full room list snapshot

Example fix

// before
await sdk.get('rooms.get', { updatedSince: String(Date.now()) }); // epoch millis -> NaN parse

// after
await sdk.get('rooms.get', { updatedSince: new Date().toISOString() }); // 2026-08-18T12:00:00.000Z

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (updatedSince && Number.isNaN(Date.parse(updatedSince))) {
  updatedSince = new Date(updatedSinceEpochMs).toISOString();
}

Try / catch

try {
  await sdk.get('rooms.get', { updatedSince });
} catch (e: any) {
  if (e?.response?.data?.errorType === 'error-updatedSince-param-invalid') {
  return sdk.get('rooms.get', { updatedSince: new Date().toISOString() }); // one-shot fallback
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Centralize date serialization: every outbound timestamp goes through toISOString()
Never pass Date.now() output directly as updatedSince
Add a lint/test assertion on the query builder for ISO format

When it happens

Trigger: GET rooms.get?updatedSince=1650000000000 (epoch milliseconds as a string, not parseable); updatedSince=18/08/2026 (locale format); a truncated timestamp like 2026-08-18T12:60:00Z; sending a timezone name like UTC.

Common situations: Passing Date.now() output directly instead of new Date().toISOString(); client libraries formatting dates per user locale; database timestamps copied as epoch numbers; timezone-less local formats like 2026-08-18 14:30 (parseable in most engines but non-portable).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of RocketChat/Rocket.Chat@e4b8178b20 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ebe277bb25e9b027. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at apps/meteor/server/api/v1/rooms.ts:248

				properties: {
					update: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'object' } }, // relaxed: IRoom composed with lastMessage
					remove: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'object' } }, // relaxed: IRoom composed with lastMessage
					success: { type: 'boolean', enum: [true] },
				},
				required: ['update', 'remove', 'success'],
				additionalProperties: false,
			}),
			400: validateBadRequestErrorResponse,
			401: validateUnauthorizedErrorResponse,
		},
	},
	async function action() {
		const { updatedSince } = this.queryParams;

		let updatedSinceDate;
		if (updatedSince) {
			if (isNaN(Date.parse(updatedSince))) {
				throw new Meteor.Error('error-updatedSince-param-invalid', 'The "updatedSince" query parameter must be a valid date.');
			} else {
				updatedSinceDate = new Date(updatedSince);
			}
		}

		let result = await roomsGetMethod(this.userId, updatedSinceDate);

		if (Array.isArray(result)) {
			result = {
				update: result,
				remove: [],
			};
		}

		return API.v1.success({
			update: await Promise.all(result.update.map((room) => composeRoomWithLastMessage(room, this.userId))),
			remove: await Promise.all(result.remove.map((room) => composeRoomWithLastMessage(room, this.userId))),
		});

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