apache/beam · error · IllegalStateException

is not supported

Error message

${codecStr} is not supported

What it means

SerializableAvroCodecFactory reconstructs an Avro CodecFactory from its serialized string form by pattern-matching known codecs (null, deflate, snappy, zstd with level). If the string matches none of the known patterns it throws IllegalStateException.

Solutions

1. Use the same (or newer) Beam version on both sides of serialization
2. Choose a codec supported by all Beam versions in use, e.g. snappy or deflate
3. Regenerate the serialized object with the older runtime's codec factory

Example fix

// before (newer Beam)
.withCodec(CodecFactory.zstandardCodec(3))
// after (older Beam without zstd)
.withCodec(CodecFactory.snappyCodec())

try { in.readObject(); } catch (IllegalStateException e) { codecFactory = CodecFactory.snappyCodec(); }

When it happens

Trigger: Deserializing a SerializableAvroCodecFactory (readExternal) whose codecStr came from a different Beam version supporting codecs this version doesn't recognize.

Common situations: Pipeline written with a newer Beam supporting e.g. zstandard levels, then deserialized/run with an older Beam lacking that codec pattern; or a manually corrupted codec string.

Related errors

• Could not encode avro from given row
• Error writing row to Avro
• Unknown mode for AvroSource
• A schema must be provided when writing to BigQuery using…
• An explicit schema is required to write non-schema'd…

AI-assisted analysis of apache/beam@12126d8942 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3271e047fac12e56. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at sdks/java/extensions/avro/src/main/java/org/apache/beam/sdk/extensions/avro/io/SerializableAvroCodecFactory.java:110

    Matcher deflateMatcher = deflatePattern.matcher(codecStr);
    if (deflateMatcher.find()) {
      codecFactory = CodecFactory.deflateCodec(Integer.parseInt(deflateMatcher.group("level")));
      return;
    }

    Matcher xzMatcher = xzPattern.matcher(codecStr);
    if (xzMatcher.find()) {
      codecFactory = CodecFactory.xzCodec(Integer.parseInt(xzMatcher.group("level")));
      return;
    }

    Matcher zstdMatcher = zstdPattern.matcher(codecStr);
    if (zstdMatcher.find()) {
      codecFactory = CodecFactory.zstandardCodec(Integer.parseInt(zstdMatcher.group("level")));
      return;
    }

    throw new IllegalStateException(codecStr + " is not supported");
  }

  public CodecFactory getCodec() {
    return codecFactory;
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    checkNotNull(codecFactory, "Inner CodecFactory is null, please use non default constructor");
    return codecFactory.toString();
  }
}

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