apache/hadoop · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid argument: {}. Please specify either true or false.

Error message

Invalid argument: {}. Please specify either true or false.

What it means

Error "Invalid argument: {}. Please specify either true or false." thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs-rbf/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/tools/federation/RouterAdmin.java:837

    if (!updated) {
      System.err.println("Cannot update mount point " + mount);
    }
    return updated;
  }

  /**
   * Parse string to boolean.
   * @param value the string to be parsed.
   * @return parsed boolean value.
   * @throws Exception if other than true|false is provided.
   */
  private boolean getBooleanValue(String value) throws Exception {
    if (value.equalsIgnoreCase("true")) {
      return true;
    } else if (value.equalsIgnoreCase("false")) {
      return false;
    }
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid argument: " + value
        + ". Please specify either true or false.");
  }

  /**
   * Gets the mount table entry.
   * @param mount name of the mount entry.
   * @param mountTable the mount table.
   * @return corresponding mount entry.
   * @throws IOException in case of failure to retrieve mount entry.
   */
  private MountTable getMountEntry(String mount, MountTableManager mountTable)
      throws IOException {
    GetMountTableEntriesRequest getRequest =
        GetMountTableEntriesRequest.newInstance(mount);
    GetMountTableEntriesResponse getResponse =
        mountTable.getMountTableEntries(getRequest);
    List<MountTable> results = getResponse.getEntries();
    MountTable existingEntry = null;

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Pass exactly 'true' or 'false' for this boolean argument.
2. Check the option's expected value type in -help output.

When it happens

Trigger: RouterAdmin boolean argument parsing received a value other than true/false.

Common situations: User passed yes/no, 1/0, or an empty value for a readonly/readonly-style boolean flag.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/262b5caf9f30edcd. Report an issue: GitHub.