microsoft/qlib · error · ValueError

freq format is not supported, the freq should be like (n)mon

Error message

freq format is not supported, the freq should be like (n)month/mon, (n)week/w, (n)day/d, (n)minute/min

What it means

Error "freq format is not supported, the freq should be like (n)month/mon, (n)week/w, (n)day/d, (n)minute/min" thrown in microsoft/qlib.

Source

Thrown at qlib/utils/time.py:169

        -------
        freq: Tuple[int, str]
            Unified freq, including freq count and unified freq unit. The freq unit should be '[month|week|day|minute]'.
                Example:

                .. code-block::

                    print(Freq.parse("day"))
                    (1, "day" )
                    print(Freq.parse("2mon"))
                    (2, "month")
                    print(Freq.parse("10w"))
                    (10, "week")

        """
        freq = freq.lower()
        match_obj = re.match("^([0-9]*)(month|mon|week|w|day|d|minute|min)$", freq)
        if match_obj is None:
            raise ValueError(
                "freq format is not supported, the freq should be like (n)month/mon, (n)week/w, (n)day/d, (n)minute/min"
            )
        _count = int(match_obj.group(1)) if match_obj.group(1) else 1
        _freq = match_obj.group(2)
        _freq_format_dict = {
            "month": Freq.NORM_FREQ_MONTH,
            "mon": Freq.NORM_FREQ_MONTH,
            "week": Freq.NORM_FREQ_WEEK,
            "w": Freq.NORM_FREQ_WEEK,
            "day": Freq.NORM_FREQ_DAY,
            "d": Freq.NORM_FREQ_DAY,
            "minute": Freq.NORM_FREQ_MINUTE,
            "min": Freq.NORM_FREQ_MINUTE,
        }
        return _count, _freq_format_dict[_freq]

    @staticmethod
    def get_timedelta(n: int, freq: str) -> pd.Timedelta:

View on GitHub (pinned to 79633dd950)

Solutions

1. Use a freq string like (n)month/mon, (n)week/w, (n)day/d, or (n)minute/min, e.g. '1day', '5min'.
2. Fix the freq format in your config or call to match the supported pattern.

When it happens

Trigger: This error is raised at qlib/utils/time.py:169 when the guard condition fails: "freq format is not supported". It triggers when the code path receives input or a state that violates the precondition checked at this point — e.g. an unimplemented abstract method being called, an unsupported argument type/value, or an invalid configuration. To avoid it, satisfy the documented precondition before this call: implement the required method in your subclass, or pass a supported value of the expected type as described by the message.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/qlib@79633dd950 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f3af2308c3b1a0b5. Report an issue: GitHub.