microsoft/autogen · error · ValueError

Invalid search query format. Expected string, dict with 'que

Error message

Invalid search query format. Expected string, dict with 'query', or SearchQuery

What it means

Error "Invalid search query format. Expected string, dict with 'query', or SearchQuery" thrown in microsoft/autogen.

Source

Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:441

        Returns:
            SearchResults: Container with search results and metadata

        Raises:
            ValueError: If the search query is empty or invalid
            ValueError: If there is an authentication error or other search issue
            asyncio.CancelledError: If the operation is cancelled
        """
        if isinstance(args, str):
            if not args.strip():
                raise ValueError("Search query cannot be empty")
            search_query = SearchQuery(query=args)
        elif isinstance(args, dict) and "query" in args:
            search_query = SearchQuery(query=args["query"])
        elif isinstance(args, SearchQuery):
            search_query = args
        else:
            raise ValueError("Invalid search query format. Expected string, dict with 'query', or SearchQuery")

        if cancellation_token is not None and cancellation_token.is_cancelled():
            raise asyncio.CancelledError("Operation cancelled")

        cache_key = ""
        if self.search_config.enable_caching:
            cache_key_parts = [
                search_query.query,
                str(self.search_config.top),
                self.search_config.query_type,
                ",".join(sorted(self.search_config.search_fields or [])),
                ",".join(sorted(self.search_config.select_fields or [])),
                ",".join(sorted(self.search_config.vector_fields or [])),
                str(self.search_config.filter or ""),
                str(self.search_config.semantic_config_name or ""),
            ]
            cache_key = ":".join(filter(None, cache_key_parts))
            if cache_key in self._cache:

View on GitHub (pinned to 027ecf0a37)

Solutions

1. Pass a string, dict with 'query', or SearchQuery

Example fix

query='text' or {'query': 'text'}

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/tools/azure/_ai_search.py:441 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/autogen@027ecf0a37 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1d5158fe7c1b60ca. Report an issue: GitHub.