apache/cassandra · error · IllegalArgumentException

does not match

Error message

{text} does not match {TIME}

What it means

Thrown by TimeoutStrategy.parseInMicros when the text does not match the TIME regex, which recognizes duration values with time units (us/ms/s/m/h/d etc.). The message shows the offending text and the expected pattern.

Solutions

1. Append a recognized time unit: us, ms, s, m, h, or d (e.g. '100ms').
2. Check for and remove stray whitespace or typo'd units.
3. Use the pattern in the message to confirm which units the TIME regex accepts.

Example fix

// before
long micros = TimeoutStrategy.parseInMicros("100"); // missing unit
// after
long micros = TimeoutStrategy.parseInMicros("100ms");

if (text == null || !text.matches("[0-9]+(?:\\.[0-9]+)?(?:us|ms|s|m|h|d)")) throw new IllegalArgumentException("duration must be <number><unit>, got: " + text);

try { long micros = TimeoutStrategy.parseInMicros(text); }
catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { if (e.getMessage().contains("does not match")) { /* append a valid unit */ } throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling parseInMicros (directly or via parse/parseWait/modifier) with a string that is not '<number><unit>', e.g. '100' with no unit, 'ms100', or a misspelled unit.

Common situations: Omitting the time unit ('100' instead of '100ms'); unsupported units like 'sec' or 'minutes'; extra whitespace or invisible characters in config values.

Understand the failure class

Background: "invalid duration" / "failed to parse duration": why your timeout, interval, or TTL string is rejected and which formats each library accepts — this error's family across 32 libraries.

Related errors

• does not match
• Invalid latency modifier specification
• Invalid specification
• Unrecognised attempt modifier
• is not a parsable long (base10) for

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/08a1cf6581b6df35. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/service/TimeoutStrategy.java:392

            return new Wait.Constant(((Constant) supplier).micros);
        if (modifier == null)
            modifier = modifiers.identity();
        return new Wait.Modifying(supplier, modifier);
    }

    public static long parseInMicros(String input, long orElse)
    {
        if (input == null)
            return orElse;

        return parseInMicros(input);
    }

    public static long parseInMicros(String text)
    {
        Matcher m = TIME.matcher(text);
        if (!m.matches())
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(text + " does not match " + TIME);

        if (text.length() == 1)
        {
            Invariants.require(text.charAt(0) == '0');
            return 0;
        }

        char penultimate = text.charAt(text.length() - 2);
        switch (penultimate)
        {
            default:  return parseInt(text.substring(0, text.length() - 1)) * 1000_000L;
            case 'm': return parseInt(text.substring(0, text.length() - 2)) * 1000L;
            case 'u': return parseInt(text.substring(0, text.length() - 2));
        }
    }

    private static String orElse(Supplier<String> get, String orElse)
    {

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