What causes "invalid setting year_from: {zlib_year_from}" in searxng/searxng?

Set zlib_year_from to a value from ENGINE_TRAITS['z-library'].custom['year_from'] in searx/engines/zlibrary.py

searxng/searxng · error · ValueError

invalid setting year_from: {zlib_year_from}

Error message

invalid setting year_from: {zlib_year_from}

What it means

setup() validates `zlib_year_from` against the allowed year_from values in ENGINE_TRAITS['z-library'].custom['year_from']; a value outside that list raises ValueError.

Source

Thrown at searx/engines/zlibrary.py:92

zlib_ext: str = ""
"""Filter z-library's results by a file ending. Common filters for example are
``PDF`` and ``EPUB``.
"""

i18n_language = gettext("Language")
i18n_book_rating = gettext("Book rating")
i18n_file_quality = gettext("File quality")


def setup(engine_settings: dict[str, t.Any]) -> bool:  # pylint: disable=unused-argument
    """Check of engine's settings."""
    traits: EngineTraits = EngineTraits(**ENGINE_TRAITS["z-library"])

    if zlib_ext and zlib_ext not in traits.custom["ext"]:
        raise ValueError(f"invalid setting ext: {zlib_ext}")
    if zlib_year_from and zlib_year_from not in traits.custom["year_from"]:
        raise ValueError(f"invalid setting year_from: {zlib_year_from}")
    if zlib_year_to and zlib_year_to not in traits.custom["year_to"]:
        raise ValueError(f"invalid setting year_to: {zlib_year_to}")
    return True


def request(query: str, params: "OnlineParams") -> None:
    lang: str | None = traits.get_language(params["searxng_locale"], traits.all_locale)
    search_url: str = (
        base_url
        + "/s/{search_query}/?page={pageno}"
        + "&yearFrom={zlib_year_from}"
        + "&yearTo={zlib_year_to}"
        + "&languages[]={lang}"
        + "&extensions[]={zlib_ext}"
    )
    params["url"] = search_url.format(
        search_query=quote(query),
        pageno=params["pageno"],

View on GitHub (pinned to 9fea41204f)

Solutions

Set zlib_year_from to a value from ENGINE_TRAITS['z-library'].custom['year_from'] in searx/engines/zlibrary.py
Omit the setting to use the default
Update SearXNG if the supported range changed

Example fix

# before
  zlib_year_from: 1500
# after
  zlib_year_from: 1800

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from searx.engines.zlibrary import ENGINE_TRAITS
assert zlib_year_from in ENGINE_TRAITS['z-library']['custom']['year_from']

Try / catch

try:
    setup(engine_settings)
except ValueError as e:
    logger.error('bad year_from: %s', e)

Prevention

Use only documented year values
Validate settings before deploying

When it happens

Trigger: Configuring zlib_year_from in settings.yml with a year not in the supported list (e.g. 1800 or a future year).

Common situations: User sets an arbitrary year range without knowing the supported set.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of searxng/searxng@9fea41204f (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ff5f2258c4a15b73. Report an issue: GitHub.