apache/hadoop · error · IllegalArgumentException

Incorrect number of arguments.

Error message

Incorrect number of arguments.

What it means

Error "Incorrect number of arguments." thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/shell/SnapshotCommands.java:112

  public static class DeleteSnapshot extends FsCommand {
    public static final String NAME = DELETE_SNAPSHOT;
    public static final String USAGE = "<snapshotDir> <snapshotName>";
    public static final String DESCRIPTION = 
        "Delete a snapshot from a directory";

    private String snapshotName;

    @Override
    protected void processPath(PathData item) throws IOException {
      if (!item.stat.isDirectory()) {
        throw new PathIsNotDirectoryException(item.toString());
      }
    }

    @Override
    protected void processOptions(LinkedList<String> args) throws IOException {
      if (args.size() != 2) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Incorrect number of arguments.");
      }
      snapshotName = args.removeLast();
    }

    @Override
    protected void processArguments(LinkedList<PathData> items)
        throws IOException {
      super.processArguments(items);
      if (numErrors != 0) { // check for error collecting paths
        return;
      }
      assert (items.size() == 1);
      PathData sroot = items.getFirst();
      sroot.fs.deleteSnapshot(sroot.path, snapshotName);
      out.println("Deleted snapshot " + snapshotName + " under " + sroot.path);
    }
  }
  

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Supply the exact number of arguments required by the snapshot command; check the command usage.
2. Remove extra arguments or add the missing <snapshotDir>/<snapshotName> arguments.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown by snapshot shell commands (e.g. renameSnapshot) when the number of positional arguments does not match what the command requires.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cce7c3a6ba38a541. Report an issue: GitHub.