apache/pulsar · error · ParameterException

Need to specify either enable-delete-while-inactive or…

Error message

Need to specify either enable-delete-while-inactive or disable-delete-while-inactive

What it means

Thrown by the 'set-inactive-topic-policies' namespace command when the flags controlling delete-while-inactive are ambiguous: enableDeleteWhileInactive == disableDeleteWhileInactive, i.e. neither flag was set or both were set. The command requires exactly one so it knows whether delete-while-inactive is switched on, and the error message names the two flags without the leading dashes. The command aborts before calling the admin API.

Solutions

Pass exactly one of the delete-while-inactive enable/disable flags together with --max-inactive-duration and the delete mode.
If enabling, include the enable flag explicitly plus a valid --inactive-topic-delete-mode value (delete_when_no_subscriptions or delete_when_subscriptions_caught_up).
Audit generated command lines to ensure the toggle flag is always present exactly once.

Example fix

// before
pulsar-admin namespaces set-inactive-topic-policies public/default --delete-when-no-subscriptions --max-inactive-duration 30
// after
pulsar-admin namespaces set-inactive-topic-policies public/default --enable-delete-while-inactive --delete-when-no-subscriptions --max-inactive-duration 30

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

MODE="delete_when_no_subscriptions"
if [[ "$MODE" != "delete_when_no_subscriptions" && "$MODE" != "delete_when_subscriptions_caught_up" ]]; then echo "invalid delete mode: $MODE"; exit 1; fi
pulsar-admin namespaces set-inactive-topic-policies public/default --enable-delete-while-inactive "$MODE" --max-inactive-duration 30

Prevention

Always include the enable/disable-delete-while-inactive toggle exactly once.
Validate the delete mode string against the two accepted enum values before running.
Keep toggle and mode flags in the same script block to avoid partial invocations.

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'pulsar-admin namespaces set-inactive-topic-policies <ns> --delete-when-no-subscriptions ...' without exactly one of the enable/disable-delete-while-inactive flags, or passing both at once.

Common situations: Omitting the toggle flag because the delete mode value was supplied (assuming mode alone implies enable); template merging adding both flags; older script examples predating the flag rename that drop the toggle.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/pulsar@820761864e (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b15e51474440a4cd. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at pulsar-client-tools/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/admin/cli/CmdNamespaces.java:1594

        @Option(names = { "--disable-delete-while-inactive", "-d" }, description = "Disable delete while inactive")
        private boolean disableDeleteWhileInactive = false;

        @Option(names = {"--max-inactive-duration", "-t"}, description = "Max duration of topic inactivity in "
                + "seconds, topics that are inactive for longer than this value will be deleted "
                + "(eg: 1s, 10s, 1m, 5h, 3d)", required = true,
                converter = TimeUnitToSecondsConverter.class)
        private Long maxInactiveDurationInSeconds;

        @Option(names = { "--delete-mode", "-m" }, description = "Mode of delete inactive topic, Valid options are: "
                + "[delete_when_no_subscriptions, delete_when_subscriptions_caught_up]", required = true)
        private String inactiveTopicDeleteMode;

        @Override
        void run() throws PulsarAdminException {
            String namespace = validateNamespace(namespaceName);
            if (enableDeleteWhileInactive == disableDeleteWhileInactive) {
                throw new ParameterException("Need to specify either enable-delete-while-inactive or "
                        + "disable-delete-while-inactive");
            }
            InactiveTopicDeleteMode deleteMode = null;
            try {
                deleteMode = InactiveTopicDeleteMode.valueOf(inactiveTopicDeleteMode);
            } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
                throw new ParameterException("delete mode can only be set to delete_when_no_subscriptions or "
                        + "delete_when_subscriptions_caught_up");
            }
            getAdmin().namespaces().setInactiveTopicPolicies(namespace, new InactiveTopicPolicies(deleteMode,
                    maxInactiveDurationInSeconds.intValue(), enableDeleteWhileInactive));
        }
    }

    @Command(description = "Set the delayed delivery policy on a namespace")
    private class SetDelayedDelivery extends CliCommand {
        @Parameters(description = "tenant/namespace", arity = "1")
        private String namespaceName;

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