apache/druid · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid value[ ] for[ ]

Error message

Invalid value[%s] for[%s]

What it means

DeferExpressionDimensions is an enum of deferred group-by dimension selector modes keyed by JSON name. fromString throws IAE when the supplied jsonName matches none of the enum values, i.e. an unknown value for the groupByEnableDeferredSelector-style config key.

Solutions

1. Use one of the exact accepted jsonName values for the key (see DeferExpressionDimensions.values()).
2. Read the enum source to list valid values, and validate config input before submitting queries.
3. If upgrading, migrate old context values to the current enum names.

Example fix

// before
context.put("groupByEnableDeferredSelector", "yes");
// after
context.put("groupByEnableDeferredSelector", DeferExpressionDimensions.<VALUE>.getJsonName()); // e.g. a valid enum jsonName

boolean ok = Arrays.stream(DeferExpressionDimensions.values()).anyMatch(v -> v.getJsonName().equals(jsonName));

try { mode = DeferExpressionDimensions.fromString(jsonName); } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { mode = DEFAULT; }

When it happens

Trigger: Setting the group-by query context/config key controlling deferred expression dimensions to a string other than the accepted names (e.g. a typo or "true"/"false" instead of the enum's jsonName values).

Common situations: Configuration typos in query context or GroupByQueryConfig; behavior changes across Druid versions where accepted values changed.

Understand the failure class

Background: Invalid enum value errors: "Unknown type", "Invalid scope", "must be one of" — when a string is not on the library's allowed list — this error's family across 23 libraries.

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AI-assisted analysis of apache/druid@9b90983fd2 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/983bd67e77b93b9e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/DeferExpressionDimensions.java:149

  public static final String JSON_KEY = "deferExpressionDimensions";

  private final String jsonName;

  DeferExpressionDimensions(String jsonName)
  {
    this.jsonName = jsonName;
  }

  @JsonCreator
  public static DeferExpressionDimensions fromString(final String jsonName)
  {
    for (final DeferExpressionDimensions value : values()) {
      if (value.jsonName.equals(jsonName)) {
        return value;
      }
    }

    throw new IAE("Invalid value[%s] for[%s]", jsonName, JSON_KEY);
  }

  public abstract boolean useDeferredGroupBySelector(
      ExpressionPlan plan,
      List<String> requiredBindingsList,
      ColumnInspector inspector
  );

  @Override
  @JsonValue
  public String toString()
  {
    return jsonName;
  }


  /**
   * {@link VectorColumnSelectorFactory} currently can only make dictionary encoded selectors for string types, so

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