ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ValueError

Date range: "%s" , the start date must be before the end dat

Error message

Date range: "%s" , the start date must be before the end date

What it means

Error "Date range: "%s" , the start date must be before the end date" thrown in ytdl-org/youtube-dl.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/utils.py:3339

    else:
        return date_str


class DateRange(object):
    """Represents a time interval between two dates"""

    def __init__(self, start=None, end=None):
        """start and end must be strings in the format accepted by date"""
        if start is not None:
            self.start = date_from_str(start)
        else:
            self.start = datetime.datetime.min.date()
        if end is not None:
            self.end = date_from_str(end)
        else:
            self.end = datetime.datetime.max.date()
        if self.start > self.end:
            raise ValueError('Date range: "%s" , the start date must be before the end date' % self)

    @classmethod
    def day(cls, day):
        """Returns a range that only contains the given day"""
        return cls(day, day)

    def __contains__(self, date):
        """Check if the date is in the range"""
        if not isinstance(date, datetime.date):
            date = date_from_str(date)
        return self.start <= date <= self.end

    def __str__(self):
        return '%s - %s' % (self.start.isoformat(), self.end.isoformat())

    def __eq__(self, other):
        return (isinstance(other, DateRange)
                and self.start == other.start and self.end == other.end)

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

1. Fix the --date range so the start date is before the end date.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at youtube_dl/utils.py:3339 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7cb61583ba583933. Report an issue: GitHub.