apache/hadoop · error · IOException

Invalid file type: {arg}

Error message

Invalid file type: {arg}

What it means

Type implements the '-type' expression of 'hadoop fs find'. Its FILE_TYPES map accepts exactly three codes: 'd' (directory), 'l' (symbolic link) and 'f' (regular file). prepare() looks the argument up when the command is set up; anything else throws IOException('Invalid file type: <arg>') before traversal starts.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/shell/find/Type.java:108

    }

    public abstract boolean matches(FileStatus stat);
  }

  private FileType fileType = null;

  @Override
  public void addArguments(Deque<String> args) {
    addArguments(args, 1);
  }

  @Override
  public void prepare() throws IOException {
    String arg = getArgument(1);
    if (FILE_TYPES.containsKey(arg)) {
      this.fileType = FILE_TYPES.get(arg);
    } else {
      throw new IOException("Invalid file type: " + arg);
    }
  }

  @Override
  public Result apply(PathData item, int depth) throws IOException {
    if (this.fileType.matches(getFileStatus(item, depth))) {
      return Result.PASS;
    }
    return Result.FAIL;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Use only 'd', 'l' or 'f' as the -type argument
2. Drop or replace checks for unsupported types (filter by path/name instead)
3. For 'file or symlink' logic, run find twice: once with -type f and once with -type l

Example fix

# before
hadoop fs find /data -type file

# after
hadoop fs find /data -type f

static boolean isSupportedFindType(String t) {
  return Arrays.asList("d", "l", "f").contains(t);
}
// use: if (!isSupportedFindType(typeArg)) fail("-type supports d, l, f only");

Catch IOException from Find's prepare() phase; if the message starts with 'Invalid file type:', report the allowed values d/l/f before the traversal ever starts.

When it happens

Trigger: 'hadoop fs find / -type x', '-type b', '-type c', '-type p', '-type s' (POSIX types unsupported), or spelled-out words like '-type dir' / '-type file'.

Common situations: Porting GNU find scripts that filter block, character, pipe or socket files; uppercase 'D'; scripts generated from a mapping that spells out type words.

Related errors

• Invalid empty argument
• Invalid mode: {argument}
• Invalid read parameters: buf.length=%d, off=%d, len=%d
• Invalid start or len parameter
• Illegal option {}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8d165c96075dc324. Report an issue: GitHub.