apache/hadoop · error · ParseException

-checkpoint may only take 'force' as an argument

Error message

-checkpoint may only take 'force' as an argument

What it means

Error "-checkpoint may only take 'force' as an argument" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/SecondaryNameNode.java:852

      
      boolean hasGetEdit = cmdLine.hasOption(geteditsizeOpt.getOpt());
      boolean hasCheckpoint = cmdLine.hasOption(checkpointOpt.getOpt()); 
      if (hasGetEdit && hasCheckpoint) {
        throw new ParseException("May not pass both "
            + geteditsizeOpt.getOpt() + " and "
            + checkpointOpt.getOpt());
      }
      
      if (hasGetEdit) {
        cmd = Command.GETEDITSIZE;
      } else if (hasCheckpoint) {
        cmd = Command.CHECKPOINT;
        
        String arg = cmdLine.getOptionValue(checkpointOpt.getOpt());
        if ("force".equals(arg)) {
          shouldForce = true;
        } else if (arg != null) {
          throw new ParseException("-checkpoint may only take 'force' as an "
              + "argument");
        }
      }
      
      if (cmdLine.hasOption(formatOpt.getOpt())) {
        shouldFormat = true;
      }
    }
    
    public Command getCommand() {
      return cmd;
    }
    
    public boolean shouldForceCheckpoint() {
      return shouldForce;
    }
    
    void usage() {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Pass only 'force' as the argument to -checkpoint, or no argument at all.

When it happens

Trigger: The -checkpoint option is given an argument other than 'force'.

Common situations: Running 'hdfs secondarynamenode -checkpoint <badArg>' with a typo or extra parameter.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/93c1182096071e24. Report an issue: GitHub.