apache/hadoop · error · HadoopIllegalArgumentException

Specified flags contains both remove and modify flags

Error message

Specified flags contains both remove and modify flags

What it means

Setfacl.processOptions throws HadoopIllegalArgumentException when the invocation mixes mutually exclusive operation modes: both -b and -k (remove-all/remove-default), both -m and -x (modify/remove-entries), any remove flag together with a modify flag, or --set combined with -b/-k/-m/-x. Each run must perform exactly one kind of ACL operation.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/shell/AclCommands.java:204

    List<AclEntry> accessAclEntries = null;

    @Override
    protected void processOptions(LinkedList<String> args) throws IOException {
      cf.parse(args);
      setRecursive(cf.getOpt("R"));
      // Mix of remove and modify acl flags are not allowed
      boolean bothRemoveOptions = cf.getOpt("b") && cf.getOpt("k");
      boolean bothModifyOptions = cf.getOpt("m") && cf.getOpt("x");
      boolean oneRemoveOption = cf.getOpt("b") || cf.getOpt("k");
      boolean oneModifyOption = cf.getOpt("m") || cf.getOpt("x");
      boolean setOption = cf.getOpt("-set");
      boolean hasExpectedOptions = cf.getOpt("b") || cf.getOpt("k") ||
          cf.getOpt("m") || cf.getOpt("x") || cf.getOpt("-set");

      if ((bothRemoveOptions || bothModifyOptions)
          || (oneRemoveOption && oneModifyOption)
          || (setOption && (oneRemoveOption || oneModifyOption))) {
        throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException(
            "Specified flags contains both remove and modify flags");
      }

      // Only -m, -x and --set expects <acl_spec>
      if (oneModifyOption || setOption) {
        if (args.isEmpty()) {
          throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException(
              "Missing arguments: <acl_spec> <path>");
        }
        if (args.size() < 2) {
          throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException(
              "Missing either <acl_spec> or <path>");
        }
        aclEntries = AclEntry.parseAclSpec(args.removeFirst(), !cf.getOpt("x"));
        if (aclEntries.isEmpty()) {
          throw new HadoopIllegalArgumentException(
              "Missing <acl_spec> entry");
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Split into sequential invocations: hadoop fs -setfacl -b /p && hadoop fs -setfacl -m user:bob:rw- /p.
2. Use --set with a complete ACL spec to define the final state in one shot instead of mixing removal and modification flags.

Example fix

# before
hadoop fs -setfacl -b -m user:bob:rw- /data

# after
hadoop fs -setfacl -b /data
hadoop fs -setfacl -m user:bob:rw- /data

# one mode per invocation: -b, -k, -m <spec>, -x <spec>, or --set <spec>
hadoop fs -setfacl -b /data && hadoop fs -setfacl -m user:bob:rw- /data

When it happens

Trigger: 'hadoop fs -setfacl -b -m user:bob:rw- /path', 'hadoop fs -setfacl --set user::rw- -x user:carol /path', or 'hadoop fs -setfacl -k -b /path' — any combination the flag-matrix in AclCommands.java:204 rejects.

Common situations: Porting muscle memory from chmod-style option chaining; attempting to 'reset then modify' an ACL in a single command instead of two sequential commands or one --set.

Related errors

• Missing arguments: <acl_spec> <path>
• Missing either <acl_spec> or <path>
• Missing <acl_spec> entry
• Expected one of -b, -k, -m, -x or --set options
• <path> is missing

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28f78c7411d5ec71. Report an issue: GitHub.