Removed unreachable defensive guards and added test for strptime ValueError path.

owlbot/builtin_modules/custom_commands/placeholder_handlers.py

@@ -366,8 +366,6 @@ async def _evaluate_count(
             "RETURNING value",
             (counter_name, delta, delta),
         )
-        if row is None:
-            raise PlaceholderError("Internal error: counter update failed")
         return str(row["value"])
     else:
         try:
@@ -381,8 +379,6 @@ async def _evaluate_count(
             "RETURNING value",
             (counter_name, value),
         )
-        if row is None:
-            raise PlaceholderError("Internal error: counter update failed")
         return str(row["value"])
 
 

tests/test_placeholders.py

@@ -548,6 +548,14 @@ class TestCountdownCountup:
             "expected $(countup Dec 25 2025 12:00:00 AM EST)"
         )
 
+    async def test_countdown_valid_timezone_bad_date_format(self):
+        """$(countdown) with a recognized timezone but malformed date reports an error."""
+        result = await process("$(countdown not a valid date UTC)")
+        assert result == (
+            "Invalid $(countdown): unrecognized date format, "
+            "expected $(countdown Dec 25 2025 12:00:00 AM EST)"
+        )
+
     async def test_countup_future_date_returns_zero(self):
         """$(countup) with a future date returns '0 seconds'."""
         result = await process("$(countup Dec 25 2099 12:00:00 AM UTC)")