apache/dubbo · error · IllegalArgumentException

Unknown unit '${suffix}'

Error message

Unknown unit '${suffix}'

What it means

Thrown by DurationStyle.TimeUnit.fromSuffix(suffix) when the suffix string does not case-insensitively match any of the supported suffixes: ns, us, ms, s, m, h, d. Called by SIMPLE.parse when a value like "100ms" is split into a number and a suffix that is then looked up.

Source

Thrown at dubbo-common/src/main/java/org/apache/dubbo/common/convert/StringToDurationConverter.java:233

            public static TimeUnit fromChronoUnit(ChronoUnit chronoUnit) {
                if (chronoUnit == null) {
                    return TimeUnit.MILLIS;
                }
                for (TimeUnit candidate : values()) {
                    if (candidate.chronoUnit == chronoUnit) {
                        return candidate;
                    }
                }
                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown unit " + chronoUnit);
            }

            public static TimeUnit fromSuffix(String suffix) {
                for (TimeUnit candidate : values()) {
                    if (candidate.suffix.equalsIgnoreCase(suffix)) {
                        return candidate;
                    }
                }
                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown unit '" + suffix + "'");
            }
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 3a3043227f)

Solutions

1. Use the exact short suffix: ns (nanos), us (micros), ms (millis), s (seconds), m (minutes), h (hours), d (days).
2. If you need a unit not in the list (weeks, months), convert to days or hours manually.
3. Omit the suffix entirely to use the default unit (milliseconds).

Example fix

// before
dubbo.provider.timeout=100sec

// after
dubbo.provider.timeout=100s

private static final Set<String> VALID = Set.of("ns","us","ms","s","m","h","d");
if (suffix != null && !VALID.contains(suffix.toLowerCase())) {
    // unknown suffix — reject or map
}

static boolean isValidSuffix(String s) {
    return s != null && Set.of("ns","us","ms","s","m","h","d").contains(s.toLowerCase());
}

try {
    return TimeUnit.fromSuffix(suffix);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    return TimeUnit.MILLIS; // default fallback
}

When it happens

Trigger: A duration value matches the SIMPLE pattern ([+-]?\d+)([a-zA-Z]{0,2}) and contains a suffix, but the suffix is not one of the 7 recognized abbreviations. Examples: "100sec", "100min", "100hr", "100w" (weeks not supported), "100mo".

Common situations: Using full or alternate unit names instead of the short abbreviations. Common confusions: 'sec' instead of 's', 'min' instead of 'm', 'hr' instead of 'h', 'wk' instead of nothing (weeks unsupported).

Related errors

• '${value}' is not a valid duration
• Unknown unit ${chronoUnit}
• '${value}' is not a valid simple duration
• '${value}' is not a valid ISO-8601 duration
• The source String is more than one character!

AI-assisted analysis of apache/dubbo@3a3043227f (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8d4d947feb53dd88. Report an issue: GitHub.