apache/hadoop · error · IllegalArgumentException

-delete and -diff/-rdiff are mutually exclusive. The -delete

Error message

-delete and -diff/-rdiff are mutually exclusive. The -delete option will be ignored.

What it means

Error "-delete and -diff/-rdiff are mutually exclusive. The -delete option will be ignored." thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-tools/hadoop-distcp/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/tools/DistCpOptions.java:590

    private void setOptionsForSplitLargeFile() {
      if (blocksPerChunk <= 0) {
        return;
      }

      LOG.info("Enabling preserving blocksize since "
          + DistCpOptionSwitch.BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK.getSwitch() + " is passed.");
      preserve(FileAttribute.BLOCKSIZE);

      LOG.info("Set " + DistCpOptionSwitch.APPEND.getSwitch()
          + " to false since " + DistCpOptionSwitch.BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK.getSwitch()
          + " is passed.");
      this.append = false;
    }

    private void validate() {
      if ((useDiff || useRdiff) && deleteMissing) {
        // -delete and -diff/-rdiff are mutually exclusive.
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("-delete and -diff/-rdiff are "
            + "mutually exclusive. The -delete option will be ignored.");
      }

      if (!atomicCommit && atomicWorkPath != null) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "-tmp work-path can only be specified along with -atomic");
      }

      if (syncFolder && atomicCommit) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Atomic commit can't be used with "
            + "sync folder or overwrite options");
      }

      if (deleteMissing && !(overwrite || syncFolder)) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Delete missing is applicable "
            + "only with update or overwrite options");
      }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Remove either -delete or -diff/-rdiff from the distcp command line; they cannot be combined.
2. Run deletion in a separate distcp job if both behaviors are needed.

When it happens

Trigger: distcp is invoked with -delete together with -diff or -rdiff.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01a86d5b922d8807. Report an issue: GitHub.