RocketChat/Rocket.Chat · warning · Error

The "${property}.start" query parameter must be a valid date

Error message

The "${property}.start" query parameter must be a valid date.

What it means

Thrown by the validateDateParams helper used in GET livechat/rooms when the createdAt (or closedAt) JSON query param has a `.start` field that Date.parse cannot interpret as a valid date. The helper JSON.parses the param then validates start/end with Date.parse; an unparseable start string throws this.

Source

Thrown at apps/meteor/server/api/v1/omnichannel/rooms.ts:16

import { LivechatRooms } from '@rocket.chat/models';
import { isGETLivechatRoomsParams } from '@rocket.chat/rest-typings';

import { API } from '../..';
import { findRooms } from './lib/rooms';
import { hasPermissionAsync } from '../../../lib/authorization/hasPermission';
import { getPaginationItems } from '../../lib/getPaginationItems';

const validateDateParams = (property: string, date?: string) => {
	let parsedDate: { start?: string; end?: string } | undefined = undefined;
	if (date) {
		parsedDate = JSON.parse(date) as { start?: string; end?: string };
	}

	if (parsedDate?.start && isNaN(Date.parse(parsedDate.start))) {
		throw new Error(`The "${property}.start" query parameter must be a valid date.`);
	}
	if (parsedDate?.end && isNaN(Date.parse(parsedDate.end))) {
		throw new Error(`The "${property}.end" query parameter must be a valid date.`);
	}
	return parsedDate;
};

const isBoolean = (value?: string | boolean): boolean => value === 'true' || value === 'false' || typeof value === 'boolean';

API.v1.addRoute(
	'livechat/rooms',
	{ authRequired: true, validateParams: isGETLivechatRoomsParams },
	{
		async get() {
			const { offset, count } = await getPaginationItems(this.queryParams);
			const { sort, fields, query } = await this.parseJsonQuery();
			const { agents, departmentId, open, tags, roomName, onhold, queued, units } = this.queryParams;
			const { createdAt, customFields, closedAt } = this.queryParams;

View on GitHub (pinned to f9d3ec372b)

Solutions

1. Send createdAt/closedAt as JSON with ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sssZ) start/end values.
2. Omit the param entirely when no filter is desired rather than sending an empty or partial object.
3. Validate the date string client-side with `!isNaN(Date.parse(value))` before serializing to the query.
4. URL-encode the JSON string when sending as a query parameter.

Example fix

// before
GET('/api/v1/livechat/rooms?createdAt=' + JSON.stringify({ start: userInput }));

// after
const iso = new Date(userInput).toISOString();
if (isNaN(Date.parse(iso))) throw new ClientError('bad date');
GET('/api/v1/livechat/rooms?createdAt=' + encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify({ start: iso, end: isoEnd })));

function buildDateParam(start?: string, end?: string) {
  const out: { start?: string; end?: string } = {};
  if (start) { if (isNaN(Date.parse(start))) throw new ClientError('bad start'); out.start = new Date(start).toISOString(); }
  if (end) { if (isNaN(Date.parse(end))) throw new ClientError('bad end'); out.end = new Date(end).toISOString(); }
  return Object.keys(out).length ? JSON.stringify(out) : undefined;
}

const isIsoDate = (s: unknown): s is string => typeof s === 'string' && !isNaN(Date.parse(s));

try {
  await GET('/api/v1/livechat/rooms', { createdAt: buildDateParam(start, end) });
} catch (e) {
  if (/must be a valid date/i.test(e.message)) { showDateError(); return; }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: GET livechat/rooms?createdAt={"start":"2021-13-99","end":"..."} or any start value Date.parse rejects (e.g. 'foo', '2021/02/30', epoch in wrong format). Note JSON.parse itself can also throw SyntaxError before this check if the param is malformed JSON.

Common situations: Client formats dates inconsistently (locale-specific strings, MM/DD/YYYY vs ISO 8601); user typed a free-text date into a filter; frontend sends an empty object {"start":""} that should have been omitted; timezone offset string the parser rejects.

Related errors

• The "${property}.end" query parameter must be a valid date.
• The "customFields" query parameter must be a valid JSON.
• invalid-chart-name
• error-contact-not-found
• error-visitor-not-found

AI-assisted analysis of RocketChat/Rocket.Chat@f9d3ec372b (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/44fac02a4eef8772. Report an issue: GitHub.