apache/pulsar · error · ParameterException

Cannot specify both archive and sink-type

Error message

Cannot specify both archive and sink-type

What it means

A Pulsar IO sink can be defined either by a custom NAR archive (--archive) or by a built-in connector type (--sink-type), never both, since the deployment mechanism is ambiguous. The CLI throws this ParameterException during argument processing when both are supplied.

Source

Thrown at pulsar-client-tools/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/admin/cli/CmdSinks.java:532

            if (isNotBlank(subsName)) {
                sinkConfig.setSourceSubscriptionName(subsName);
            }

            if (null != subsPosition) {
                sinkConfig.setSourceSubscriptionPosition(subsPosition);
            }

            if (null != topicsPattern) {
                sinkConfig.setTopicsPattern(topicsPattern);
            }

            if (parallelism != null) {
                sinkConfig.setParallelism(parallelism);
            }

            if (archive != null && (sinkType != null || sinkConfig.getSinkType() != null)) {
                throw new ParameterException("Cannot specify both archive and sink-type");
            }

            if (null != archive) {
                sinkConfig.setArchive(archive);
            }

            if (sinkType != null) {
                sinkConfig.setArchive(validateSinkType(sinkType));
            } else if (sinkConfig.getSinkType() != null) {
                sinkConfig.setArchive(validateSinkType(sinkConfig.getSinkType()));
            }

            Resources resources = sinkConfig.getResources();
            if (cpu != null) {
                if (resources == null) {
                    resources = new Resources();
                }
                resources.setCpu(cpu);

View on GitHub (pinned to 820761864e)

Solutions

1. Remove --archive and keep --sink-type to use a built-in connector
2. Remove --sink-type and keep --archive to use a custom NAR
3. If a --sink-config-file sets sinkType, do not also pass --archive

Example fix

// before
pulsar-admin sinks create --archive ./my-sink.nar --sink-type cassandra ...
// after
pulsar-admin sinks create --sink-type cassandra ...

const hasArchive = args.includes('--archive');
const hasSinkType = args.includes('--sink-type');
if (hasArchive && hasSinkType) throw new Error('Pass either --archive or --sink-type, not both');

const isSinkDeployment = (o) => o.archive == null || (o.sinkType == null && o.sinkConfig?.sinkType == null);

try {
  // run sinks create
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('both archive and sink-type')) { /* strip one flag and retry */ }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `pulsar-admin sinks create` (or update) with both `--archive /path/to/sink.nar` and `--sink-type <builtin-name>` (or a sinkConfig that already has sinkType set, e.g. via --sink-config-file).

Common situations: Copy-pasting example commands and appending a built-in type on top of an archive; combining a config file that sets sinkType with an explicit --archive flag.

Related errors

• Cannot specify both archive and source-type
• Sink archive not specified
• Sink Archive file %s does not exist
• Invalid sink type '%s' -- Available sinks are: %s
• You must specify a name for the sink

AI-assisted analysis of apache/pulsar@820761864e (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1732fcce6228a26f. Report an issue: GitHub.