denoland/deno · error

Invalid filter "{input}"

Error message

Invalid filter "{input}"

What it means

`deno outdated` accepts package filters of the form pkg, pkg@<semver-range>, or @scope/pkg@<semver-range>. The filter is split on '@' and any version part must parse as a semver range; failures are reported as an invalid filter. The bare form of this message (empty pattern after splitting) is effectively defensive and near-unreachable.

Source

Thrown at cli/tools/pm/outdated/mod.rs:753

        if let Some(scope_name) = s.strip_prefix('@') {
          if let Some(idx) = scope_name.find('@') {
            let (pattern, version_spec) = s.split_at(idx + 1);
            (
              pattern,
              Some(
                VersionReq::parse_from_specifier(
                  version_spec.trim_start_matches('@'),
                )
                .with_context(|| format!("Invalid filter \"{input}\""))?,
              ),
            )
          } else {
            (s, None)
          }
        } else {
          let mut parts = s.split('@');
          let Some(pattern) = parts.next() else {
            return Err(anyhow!("Invalid filter \"{input}\""));
          };
          (
            pattern,
            parts
              .next()
              .map(VersionReq::parse_from_specifier)
              .transpose()
              .with_context(|| format!("Invalid filter \"{input}\""))?,
          )
        };

      Ok(Filter {
        kind,
        regex: pattern_to_regex(pattern)
          .with_context(|| format!("Invalid filter \"{input}\""))?,
        version_spec,
      })
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 89f33cbef2)

Solutions

1. Start with a bare name: deno outdated pkg
2. When bounding updates, use valid range syntax: pkg@^1.2 or @scope/pkg@~2.0
3. Single-quote the whole filter so operators and spaces survive the shell
4. Check for a stray '@' with no version after it

Example fix

# before
deno outdated 'chalk@latest'
# after
deno outdated chalk   # or: deno outdated 'chalk@^4.0.0'

// validate a deno outdated filter before shelling out
import semver from "npm:semver";
function checkFilter(input: string): boolean {
  const i = input.lastIndexOf("@");
  if (i <= 0) return true; // no version part (covers plain and scoped names)
  const range = input.slice(i + 1);
  return range === "" || semver.validRange(range) !== null;
}

function isSemverRange(s: string, validRange: (r: string) => string | null): boolean {
  return validRange(s) !== null;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a filter whose version part is not a valid semver range, e.g. `deno outdated 'pkg@two'` or a shell-mangled range like '>=1 <2'; stray leading/trailing '@' (e.g. 'pkg@')

Common situations: Typos in ranges; copy-pasting npm dist-tags (latest, next) where a range is expected; shell quoting splitting the filter into multiple arguments.

Related errors

• The bench name can't be empty
• invalid doc test hashbang: #!/bin/sh (binary basename needs
• invalid doc test hashbang: #!/usr/bin/env -S deno run --allo
• Bench failed because the "only" option was used
• Bench failed

AI-assisted analysis of denoland/deno@89f33cbef2 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b45bc1a61e4f0f52. Report an issue: GitHub.