apache/flink · error · IllegalArgumentException

The value '${number}' cannot be represented as an integer nu

Error message

The value '${number}' cannot be represented as an integer number.

What it means

After parseDuration extracts a leading digit run, it converts that substring with new BigInteger. Overflow is impossible (BigInteger), so this IllegalArgumentException means the digit run itself was not a valid integer token — classically a bare decimal point, a lone sign, or a floating-point value like ".5" or "1.5".

Source

Thrown at flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/util/TimeUtils.java:101

                // Fall back to parse ISO-8601 duration format
                Duration parsedDuration = Duration.parse(trimmed);
                if (parsedDuration.isNegative()) {
                    // Don't support negative duration which is consistent with before format
                    throw new NumberFormatException("negative duration is not supported");
                }
                return parsedDuration;
            } catch (DateTimeParseException e) {
                throw new NumberFormatException(
                        "text does not start with a number, and is not a valid ISO-8601 duration format: "
                                + trimmed);
            }
        }

        final BigInteger value;
        try {
            value = new BigInteger(number); // this throws a NumberFormatException
        } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                    "The value '" + number + "' cannot be represented as an integer number.", e);
        }

        final ChronoUnit unit;
        if (unitLabel.isEmpty()) {
            unit = ChronoUnit.MILLIS;
        } else {
            unit = LABEL_TO_UNIT_MAP.get(unitLabel);
        }
        if (unit == null) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                    "Time interval unit label '"
                            + unitLabel
                            + "' does not match any of the recognized units: "
                            + TimeUnit.getAllUnits());
        }

        try {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2f3c205e92)

Solutions

Use an integer value with a smaller unit: "90 s" instead of "1.5 min".
Or use ISO-8601 which permits fractional seconds: "PT1.5M".
If generating config programmatically, round or convert durations to integral units before serialization.

Example fix

# before
timeout=1.5 min

# after
timeout=90 s

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (t.matches(".*\\d\\.\\d.*") && !t.startsWith("P")) {
    // fractional in number+unit form: convert to integral smaller unit or PT form first
    t = toIso8601(t); // custom conversion
}
TimeUtils.parseDuration(t);

Prevention

Avoid fractional values in number+unit durations; express in a smaller unit.
Use ISO-8601 (PT1.5M) when fractions are required.
Round durations to whole units in config generators.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling TimeUtils.parseDuration("1.5 s") or TimeUtils.parseDuration(".5min"): the digit scan stops at '.', leaving number="1" or ".5"-style tokens that BigInteger cannot parse depending on where the scan stopped; typically triggered by decimal values.

Common situations: Users writing fractional durations ("1.5 min") — supported by ISO-8601 but not by the number+unit path when the integer part is malformed; config generators emitting doubles into duration fields.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/flink@2f3c205e92 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92b754662b6185a8. Report an issue: GitHub.