From 28f54bb592985db4390400c6d29e693dd9764dee Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Trenton H <797416+stumpylog@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:17:07 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Chore: Import dateparser lazily so processes that never parse
 dates skip it

---
 src/documents/filters.py                              | 3 ++-
 src/documents/plugins/date_parsing/base.py            | 4 ++--
 src/documents/tests/date_parsing/test_date_parsing.py | 8 ++++----
 src/paperless/settings/custom.py                      | 3 ++-
 src/paperless/tests/test_utils.py                     | 5 ++++-
 src/paperless/utils.py                                | 4 ++--
 6 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/documents/filters.py b/src/documents/filters.py
index 00a47552d..2c6cfb269 100644
--- a/src/documents/filters.py
+++ b/src/documents/filters.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ from decimal import InvalidOperation
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from typing import Any
 
-import dateparser
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from django.db.models import Case
@@ -350,6 +349,8 @@ class DateQueryField(serializers.DateField):
             if not isinstance(value, str):
                 raise
 
+        import dateparser
+
         try:
             parsed = dateparser.parse(
                 value,
diff --git a/src/documents/plugins/date_parsing/base.py b/src/documents/plugins/date_parsing/base.py
index fd45ceec8..af393b577 100644
--- a/src/documents/plugins/date_parsing/base.py
+++ b/src/documents/plugins/date_parsing/base.py
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass
 from types import TracebackType
 from typing import Self
 
-import dateparser
-
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -80,6 +78,8 @@ class DateParserPluginBase(ABC):
 
         Uses configuration from `self.config`.
         """
+        import dateparser
+
         try:
             return dateparser.parse(
                 date_string,
diff --git a/src/documents/tests/date_parsing/test_date_parsing.py b/src/documents/tests/date_parsing/test_date_parsing.py
index f43303d22..c7de0c370 100644
--- a/src/documents/tests/date_parsing/test_date_parsing.py
+++ b/src/documents/tests/date_parsing/test_date_parsing.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class TestParseString:
         ):
             # We still need to mock dateparser.parse to force the exception
             mocker.patch(
-                "documents.plugins.date_parsing.base.dateparser.parse",
+                "dateparser.parse",
                 side_effect=ValueError(
                     "Parsing error: 01/01/2024",
                 ),
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ class TestRegexDateParser:
         parser = RegexDateParserPlugin(base_config)
 
         # Patch the dateparser.parse
-        target = "documents.plugins.date_parsing.base.dateparser.parse"
+        target = "dateparser.parse"
 
         def fake_parse(
             date_string: str,
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ class TestRegexDateParser:
         )
         parser = RegexDateParserPlugin(cfg)
 
-        target = "documents.plugins.date_parsing.base.dateparser.parse"
+        target = "dateparser.parse"
 
         def fake_parse(
             date_string: str,
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ class TestRegexDateParser:
         parser = RegexDateParserPlugin(cfg)
 
         # Patch the module's dateparser.parse so we can inspect calls
-        target = "documents.plugins.date_parsing.base.dateparser.parse"
+        target = "dateparser.parse"
 
         def fake_parse(
             date_string: str,
diff --git a/src/paperless/settings/custom.py b/src/paperless/settings/custom.py
index 2bf53a8cc..7b5b5a749 100644
--- a/src/paperless/settings/custom.py
+++ b/src/paperless/settings/custom.py
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
 
 from celery.schedules import crontab
-from dateparser.languages.loader import LocaleDataLoader
 
 from paperless.settings.parsers import get_choice_from_env
 from paperless.settings.parsers import get_int_from_env
@@ -352,6 +351,8 @@ def parse_dateparser_languages(languages: str | None) -> list[str]:
             )
             language_list.append("zh")
 
+    from dateparser.languages.loader import LocaleDataLoader
+
     return list(LocaleDataLoader().get_locale_map(locales=language_list))
 
 
diff --git a/src/paperless/tests/test_utils.py b/src/paperless/tests/test_utils.py
index 152913867..8dedc8854 100644
--- a/src/paperless/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/src/paperless/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@ def test_ocr_to_dateparser_languages_exception(
             raise RuntimeError("Simulated error")
 
     with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING):
-        monkeypatch.setattr(utils, "LocaleDataLoader", lambda: DummyLoader())
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "dateparser.languages.loader.LocaleDataLoader",
+            lambda: DummyLoader(),
+        )
         result = utils.ocr_to_dateparser_languages("eng+fra")
         assert result == []
         assert (
diff --git a/src/paperless/utils.py b/src/paperless/utils.py
index 46269588c..9380901bf 100644
--- a/src/paperless/utils.py
+++ b/src/paperless/utils.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import logging
 
-from dateparser.languages.loader import LocaleDataLoader
-
 logger = logging.getLogger("paperless.utils")
 
 OCR_TO_DATEPARSER_LANGUAGES = {
@@ -125,6 +123,8 @@ def ocr_to_dateparser_languages(ocr_languages: str) -> list[str]:
     - If a language cannot be mapped or validated, it is skipped with a warning.
     - Returns a list of valid locales, or an empty list if none could be converted.
     """
+    from dateparser.languages.loader import LocaleDataLoader
+
     loader = LocaleDataLoader()
     result = []
     try: