apache/hadoop · error · IllegalArgumentException

Too many arguments, Max=2 argument allowed

Error message

Too many arguments, Max=2 argument allowed

What it means

Error "Too many arguments, Max=2 argument allowed" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs-rbf/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/tools/federation/RouterAdmin.java:230

      return "\t[-refreshRouterArgs <host:ipc_port> <key> [arg1..argn]]";
    } else if (cmd.equals("-refreshSuperUserGroupsConfiguration")) {
      return "\t[-refreshSuperUserGroupsConfiguration]";
    } else if (cmd.equals("-refreshCallQueue")) {
      return "\t[-refreshCallQueue]";
    } else if (cmd.equals(DUMP_COMMAND)) {
      return "\t[" + DUMP_COMMAND + "]";
    }
    return getUsage(null);
  }

  /**
   * Usage: validates the maximum number of arguments for a command.
   * @param arg List of command line parameters.
   */
  private void validateMax(String[] arg) {
    if (arg[0].equals("-ls")) {
      if (arg.length > 3) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Too many arguments, Max=2 argument allowed");
      }
    } else if (arg[0].equals("-getDestination")) {
      if (arg.length > 2) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Too many arguments, Max=1 argument allowed only");
      }
    } else if (arg[0].equals("-safemode")) {
      if (arg.length > 2) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Too many arguments, Max=1 argument allowed only");
      }
    } else if (arg[0].equals("-nameservice")) {
      if (arg.length > 3) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Too many arguments, Max=2 arguments allowed");
      }
    } else if (arg[0].equals("-getDisabledNameservices")) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Pass at most 2 arguments to this dfsrouteradmin subcommand.
2. Quote paths containing spaces so they count as a single argument.
3. Run the command with -help to see its exact argument list.

When it happens

Trigger: RouterAdmin argument parsing: more than 2 positional arguments supplied to a subcommand.

Common situations: User added extra parameters or unquoted paths to a mount-table subcommand.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/76355c2ef71d0c36. Report an issue: GitHub.