1 files changed, 24 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/searx/utils.py b/searx/utils.py
index 8fdcb0fda..ee044704b 100644
--- a/searx/utils.py
+++ b/searx/utils.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
-"""Utility functions for the engines
-
-"""
+"""Utility functions for the engines"""
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -18,6 +16,7 @@ from random import choice
 from html.parser import HTMLParser
 from html import escape
 from urllib.parse import urljoin, urlparse, parse_qs, urlencode
+from datetime import timedelta
 from markdown_it import MarkdownIt
 
 from lxml import html
@@ -831,3 +830,25 @@ def js_variable_to_python(js_variable):
     s = s.replace(chr(1), ':')
     # load the JSON and return the result
     return json.loads(s)
+
+
+def parse_duration_string(duration_str: str) -> timedelta | None:
+    """Parse a time string in format MM:SS or HH:MM:SS and convert it to a `timedelta` object.
+
+    Returns None if the provided string doesn't match any of the formats.
+    """
+    duration_str = duration_str.strip()
+
+    if not duration_str:
+        return None
+
+    try:
+        # prepending ["00"] here inits hours to 0 if they are not provided
+        time_parts = (["00"] + duration_str.split(":"))[:3]
+        hours, minutes, seconds = map(int, time_parts)
+        return timedelta(hours=hours, minutes=minutes, seconds=seconds)
+
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        pass
+
+    return None