apache/flink · error · IndexOutOfBoundsException

Length cannot be negative.

Error message

Length cannot be negative.

What it means

Error "Length cannot be negative." thrown in apache/flink.

Source

Thrown at flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/types/Record.java:1583

        public void skipBytesToRead(int numBytes) throws IOException {
            if (this.end - this.position < numBytes) {
                throw new EOFException("Could not skip " + numBytes + ".");
            }
            skipBytes(numBytes);
        }

        @Override
        public int read(byte[] b, int off, int len) throws IOException {
            if (b == null) {
                throw new NullPointerException("Byte array b cannot be null.");
            }

            if (off < 0) {
                throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException("Offset cannot be negative.");
            }

            if (len < 0) {
                throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException("Length cannot be negative.");
            }

            if (b.length - off < len) {
                throw new IndexOutOfBoundsException(
                        "Byte array does not provide enough space to store requested data" + ".");
            }

            if (this.position >= this.end) {
                return len == 0 ? 0 : -1;
            } else {
                int toRead = Math.min(this.end - this.position, len);
                System.arraycopy(this.memory, this.position, b, off, toRead);
                this.position += toRead;

                return toRead;
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2f3c205e92)

Solutions

1. Address the cause reported by the error message: Length cannot be negative.
2. Verify the inputs, configuration values, and classpath/dependency setup related to this operation, then retry.

Example fix

Correct the condition described ("Length cannot be negative.") and rerun the job or command.

When it happens

Trigger: Triggered at runtime when the operation fails because: Length cannot be negative.

Common situations: Commonly caused by misconfiguration, missing dependencies or files, unsupported types or operations, or invalid user input leading to: Length cannot be negative.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/flink@2f3c205e92 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/69234113d4a2b52e. Report an issue: GitHub.