firecrawl/firecrawl · error · ValueError

query format uses 'mode' instead of 'directQuote'

Error message

query format uses 'mode' instead of 'directQuote'

What it means

Error "query format uses 'mode' instead of 'directQuote'" thrown in firecrawl/firecrawl.

Source

Thrown at apps/python-sdk/firecrawl/v2/utils/validation.py:458

    Validate and prepare query format object.

    Args:
        format_obj: Format object that should be query type

    Returns:
        Validated query format dict

    Raises:
        ValueError: If query format is missing required 'prompt' field
    """
    if not isinstance(format_obj, dict):
        raise ValueError("query format must be an object with 'type' and 'prompt' fields")

    if not isinstance(format_obj.get('prompt'), str) or not format_obj['prompt'].strip():
        raise ValueError("query format requires a non-empty 'prompt' string")

    if "directQuote" in format_obj:
        raise ValueError("query format uses 'mode' instead of 'directQuote'")

    mode = format_obj.get("mode")
    if mode is not None and mode not in ("freeform", "directQuote"):
        raise ValueError("query format mode must be 'freeform' or 'directQuote'")

    return format_obj


def _validate_question_format(format_obj: Any) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """Validate and prepare question format object."""
    if not isinstance(format_obj, dict):
        raise ValueError("question format must be an object with 'type' and 'question' fields")

    if not isinstance(format_obj.get('question'), str) or not format_obj['question'].strip():
        raise ValueError("question format requires a non-empty 'question' string")

    return format_obj

View on GitHub (pinned to 656bffcc28)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at apps/python-sdk/firecrawl/v2/utils/validation.py:458 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of firecrawl/firecrawl@656bffcc28 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/534bc21000484191. Report an issue: GitHub.