apache/cassandra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Either --node or --ip needs to be set

Error message

Either --node or --ip needs to be set

What it means

nodetool abortbootstrap requires identifying the bootstrap to abort by either --node (a node/host id) or --ip (endpoint address). execute() throws IllegalArgumentException when neither option was supplied.

Source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/tools/nodetool/AbortBootstrap.java:41

import picocli.CommandLine.Option;

import static org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils.EMPTY;
import static org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils.isEmpty;

@Command(name = "abortbootstrap", description = "Abort a failed bootstrap")
public class AbortBootstrap extends AbstractCommand
{
    @Option(paramLabel = "node_id", names = "--node", description = "Node ID of the node that failed bootstrap")
    private String nodeId = EMPTY;

    @Option(paramLabel = "ip", names = "--ip", description = "IP of the node that failed bootstrap")
    private String endpoint = EMPTY;

    @Override
    public void execute(NodeProbe probe)
    {
        if (isEmpty(nodeId) && isEmpty(endpoint))
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Either --node or --ip needs to be set");
        if (!isEmpty(nodeId) && !isEmpty(endpoint))
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Only one of --node or --ip need to be set");
        probe.abortBootstrap(nodeId, endpoint);
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)

Solutions

1. Add exactly one of: nodetool abortbootstrap --node <host-id>
2. Or use: nodetool abortbootstrap --ip <ip:port>
3. Check your script/CI variable actually has a value before invoking nodetool

Example fix

// before
nodetool abortbootstrap
// after
nodetool abortbootstrap --node 5f4a...   (or --ip 10.0.0.5:7000)

if ((nodeId == null || nodeId.isEmpty()) && (ip == null || ip.isEmpty()))
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Provide exactly one of --node or --ip");

try {
    probe.execute(nodeId, endpoint);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    // print usage and re-run with one of --node / --ip
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'nodetool abortbootstrap' with no flags, or with an empty string value for both --node and --ip (isEmpty checks treat EMPTY as unset).

Common situations: Forgetting the flag entirely; passing --node without a value so the field stays empty; scripting the command with a variable that resolved to empty string.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must pass :limit option" / "Missing required option" — required option errors explained — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• Only one of --node or --ip need to be set
• 'nodetool bootstrap resume' is disabled.
• Node is not yet bootstrapped completely. Use nodetool to che
• Can't abort bootstrap for - it does not exist in cluster me
• Can't abort bootstrap for - it is alive

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8a1a67ef74a533d7. Report an issue: GitHub.