Thank you both so much the quotes fixed it where I formatted the string
with a comma. Great lesson for me.
You're awesome......
On Sunday, August 9, 2026 at 11:48:05 AM UTC-7 Tom Keffer wrote:
> No problem at all.
>
> There are actually two different classes of errors in the log.
>
> *Syntax error*
>
> The current time is being explicitly formatted with a tag something like
> $current.dateTime.format(%A,
> %B %d, %Y %H%M). Note the lack of quotation marks around the format. It
> should be $current.dateTime.format("%A, %B %d, %Y %H%M"). Here's an
> example in the log:
>
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> Evaluation of template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/statistics.html.tmpl failed
> with exception '<class 'SyntaxError'>'
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Ignoring template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/statistics.html.tmpl
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Reason: invalid syntax (<string>, line 1)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/cheetahgenerator.py", line 338, in generate
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> unicode_string = compiled_template.respond()
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "_etc_weewx_skins_Seasons_statistics_html_tmpl.py", line 178, in
> respond
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/Cheetah/Template.py", line 1712, in
> _handleCheetahInclude
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> self._CHEETAH__cheetahIncludes[_includeID].respond(trans)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "_etc_weewx_skins_Seasons_titlebar_inc.py", line 161, in respond
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "_etc_weewx_skins_Seasons_titlebar_inc.py", line 78, in
> __errorCatcher2
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "<string>", line 1
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> VFN(VFFSL(SL,"current.dateTime",True),"format",False)(format_string=%A,
> %B %d, %Y %H%M)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> ^
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>
> Nowhere in the Seasons skin is the format "%A, %B %d, %Y %H%M" used, with
> or without the quotation marks.
>
> A common point between all these errors is the template include file
> "Seasons/titlebar.inc". I modified my version and replaced
>
> <p class="lastupdate">$current.dateTime</p>
>
> with
>
> <p class="lastupdate">$current.dateTime.format(%A, %B %d, %Y %H%M)</p>
>
> and got precisely the same error:
>
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> Evaluation of template
> /home/tkeffer/weewx-data/skins/Seasons/statistics.html.tmpl failed with
> exception '<class 'SyntaxError'>'
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** Ignoring template
> /home/tkeffer/weewx-data/skins/Seasons/statistics.html.tmpl
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** Reason: invalid syntax (<string>, line 1)
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** Traceback (most recent call last):
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File "/home/tkeffer/git/weewx/src/weewx/cheetahgenerator.py", line
> 337, in generate
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** unicode_string = compiled_template.respond()
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File
> "_home_tkeffer_weewx_data_skins_Seasons_statistics_html_tmpl.py", line 178,
> in respond
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File
> "/home/tkeffer/git/weewx/.venv-3.13/lib/python3.13/site-packages/Cheetah/Template.py",
>
> line 1712, in _handleCheetahInclude
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** self._CHEETAH__cheetahIncludes[_includeID].respond(trans)
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File "_home_tkeffer_weewx_data_skins_Seasons_titlebar_inc.py", line
> 161, in respond
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File "_home_tkeffer_weewx_data_skins_Seasons_titlebar_inc.py", line
> 78, in __errorCatcher2
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** File "<string>", line 1
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** VFN(VFFSL(SL,"current.dateTime",True),"format",False)(%A, %B %d,
> %Y %H%M)
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** ^
> Aug 09 11:31:27 NUC-black weectl[1241232]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> **** SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>
> Is it possible that you changed "Seasons/titlebar.inc" and forgot the
> quotation marks?
>
> *strftime() error*
>
> The second class of errors look like this:
>
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
> Evaluation of template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/rss.xml.tmpl failed with
> exception '<class 'TypeError'>'
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Ignoring template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/rss.xml.tmpl
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Reason: strftime() argument 1 must be str, not list
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> Traceback (most recent call last):
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/cheetahgenerator.py", line 338, in generate
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> unicode_string = compiled_template.respond()
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "_etc_weewx_skins_Seasons_rss_xml_tmpl.py", line 144, in respond
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/cheetahgenerator.py", line 780, in filter
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> filtered = str(val)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/units.py", line 1083, in __str__
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> return self.toString()
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/units.py", line 1076, in toString
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> s = self.formatter.toString(self.value_t, self.context,
> addLabel=addLabel,
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> useThisFormat=useThisFormat,
> None_string=None_string,
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> localize=localize)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/units.py", line 734, in toString
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> s = self._to_string(val_t, context, addLabel, useThisFormat,
> None_string, localize)
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> File "/usr/share/weewx/weewx/units.py", line 784, in _to_string
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> val_str = time.strftime(self.time_format_dict.get(context,
> DEFAULT_TIME_FORMAT),
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> time.localtime(t))
> Aug 08 04:30:15 babcock weewxd[279844]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
> TypeError: strftime() argument 1 must be str, not list
>
> WeeWX allows customization of how times are formatted. You typically do
> this by modifying / adding entries in weewx.conf under [[[[TimeFormats]]]].
> I suspect that you modified the "current" entry by adding a comma. This
> would cause the parser for ConfigObj to interpret it as a list. For example,
>
> [[[[TimeFormats]]]]
> # day = %H:%M
> # week = %H:%M on %A
> # month = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # year = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # rainyear = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # current = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
>
> was changed to
>
> [[[[TimeFormats]]]]
> # day = %H:%M
> # week = %H:%M on %A
> # month = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # year = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # rainyear = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> current = %d-%b-%Y, %H:%M
>
> If you're going to do this, you should add quotation marks:
>
> [[[[TimeFormats]]]]
> # day = %H:%M
> # week = %H:%M on %A
> # month = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # year = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> # rainyear = %d-%b-%Y %H:%M
> current = "%d-%b-%Y, %H:%M"
>
>
> Added in postscript: I see that John Kline has given you essentially the
> same answer, except far more succinctly than my overly wordy response!
>
> -tk
>
> On Sun, Aug 9, 2026 at 8:56 AM [email protected] <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Thank you. Sorry I'm so awkward here. I have read many but never posted
>> before. Here is the weewxd log from this morning.
>> I hope I got it tight this time.
>>
>> On Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 4:22:04 PM UTC-7 Tom Keffer wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know, but could you set debug=1, restart weewx, let it run
>>> through the first reporting cycle, then post the log. There just isn't
>>> enough here to make a diagnosis.
>>>
>>> On Sat, Aug 8, 2026 at 4:09 PM [email protected] <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> After updating 2 of the 5 weewx weather servers the Cheetah generator
>>>> fails to create html files. Here's the log. It claims there is a syntax
>>>> error and errors out all the reports
>>>>
>>>> 08 17:00:15 babcock weewxd[410964]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator: ****
>>>> Reason: invalid syntax (<string>, line 1)
>>>> Aug 08 17:00:15 babcock weewxd[410964]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
>>>> **** Ignoring template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/index.html.tmpl
>>>> Aug 08 17:00:15 babcock weewxd[410964]: ERROR weewx.cheetahgenerator:
>>>> Evaluation of template /etc/weewx/skins/Seasons/index.html.tmpl failed
>>>> with
>>>> exception '<class 'SyntaxError'>'
>>>> Aug 08 17:00:15 babcock weewxd[410964]: INFO weewx.manager: Added
>>>> record 2026-08-08 17:00:00 MDT (1786230000) to daily summary in 'weewx.sdb'
>>>> Aug 08 17:00:15 babcock weewxd[410964]: INFO weewx.manager: Added
>>>> record 2026-08-08 17:00:00 MDT (1786230000) to database 'weewx.sdb'
>>>>
>>>> This error sounds familiar to me but I can't find anything on it. The
>>>> template files are normal. and Cheetah makes the .png files but no html
>>>> for
>>>> the pages
>>>>
>>>> I have removed and re-installed weewx on two machines (Pi 4 and a Pi 5)
>>>> and still have issues. What have I missed?
>>>>
>>>> --
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>>>>
>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/aed73623-7a6f-48c1-bd5a-32c44e330896n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>>>> .
>>>>
>>> --
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>>
> To view this discussion visit
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>>
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/ead1f50a-fe29-4b7b-92e0-8bd6a7f92893n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>> .
>>
>
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