apache/seatunnel · error · HiveConnectorException

ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT

ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT

Error message

Hive connector only support [text parquet orc] table now

What it means

HiveSourceConfig only knows how to build a catalog table for TEXT, PARQUET, and ORC file formats. When the resolved FileFormat is anything else (e.g. Avro, SequenceFile, RCFile, or unknown), the switch's default branch throws ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT.

Source

Thrown at seatunnel-connectors-v2/connector-hive/src/main/java/org/apache/seatunnel/connectors/seatunnel/hive/source/config/HiveSourceConfig.java:308

    private CatalogTable parseCatalogTable(
            ReadonlyConfig readonlyConfig,
            ReadStrategy readStrategy,
            FileFormat fileFormat,
            HadoopConf hadoopConf,
            List<String> filePaths,
            Table table) {
        if (CollectionUtils.isEmpty(filePaths)) {
            return handleEmptyFilesFallback(readonlyConfig, table);
        }
        switch (fileFormat) {
            case PARQUET:
            case ORC:
                return parseCatalogTableFromRemotePath(
                        readonlyConfig, hadoopConf, filePaths, table);
            case TEXT:
                return parseCatalogTableFromTable(readonlyConfig, readStrategy, table);
            default:
                throw new HiveConnectorException(
                        CommonErrorCodeDeprecated.ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT,
                        "Hive connector only support [text parquet orc] table now");
        }
    }

    private static CatalogTable handleEmptyFilesFallback(
            ReadonlyConfig readonlyConfig, Table table) {
        // Keep a stable schema even when directory is empty.
        return buildCatalogTableFromHiveMeta(readonlyConfig, table);
    }

    private CatalogTable parseCatalogTableFromRemotePath(
            ReadonlyConfig readonlyConfig,
            HadoopConf hadoopConf,
            List<String> filePaths,
            Table table) {
        CatalogTable catalogTable = buildEmptyCatalogTable(readonlyConfig, table);
        try {

View on GitHub (pinned to cf67b549a7)

Solutions

1. Convert the table to a supported format (e.g. CTAS: `CREATE TABLE t_orc STORED AS ORC AS SELECT * FROM t_avro`) and read that
2. If the files are actually text/parquet/orc but detected differently, explicitly set `file_format_type = "<correct type>"` in the source config
3. Check the table's `inputFormat`/storage handler via `DESCRIBE FORMATTED` to confirm the actual format
4. If the target format is required, use a different connector or extend the read strategy

Example fix

// before
source {
  Hive {
    file_format_type = "avro"
    ...
  }
}
// after
source {
  Hive {
    file_format_type = "orc"   // supported: text | parquet | orc
    ...
  }
}

// Check the storage format before configuring the source
List<String> supported = Arrays.asList("text", "parquet", "orc");
String fmt = config.getOptional(HiveSourceOptions.FILE_FORMAT_TYPE)
                        .orElse("parquet").toLowerCase();
if (!supported.contains(fmt)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
        "file_format_type '" + fmt + "' unsupported; use one of " + supported);
}

boolean isSupportedFormat(String fmt) {
    return fmt != null
        && (fmt.equalsIgnoreCase("text")
            || fmt.equalsIgnoreCase("parquet")
            || fmt.equalsIgnoreCase("orc"));
}

try {
    // ... start Hive source
} catch (org.apache.seatunnel.connectors.seatunnel.hive.exception.HiveConnectorException e) {
    if ("ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT".equals(e.getSeaTunnelErrorCode().getCode())
            && e.getMessage().contains("only support [text parquet orc]")) {
        throw new IllegalStateException(
            "Unsupported Hive table format; convert to orc/parquet/text first", e);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: parseCatalogTable() receives a fileFormat outside {PARQUET, ORC, TEXT} — i.e. the Hive table's underlying data files (per configured table_names / file_format_type resolution) are in an unsupported storage format such as Avro, RCFile, SequenceFile, or an empty/unknown format.

Common situations: Pointing the Hive source at tables written by other engines in Avro or SequenceFile; a table whose file extension doesn't map to text/parquet/orc; setting file_format_type to an unsupported value in the SeaTunnel config.

Related errors

• ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT
• COMMON_ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT
• FORMAT_NOT_SUPPORT
• ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT
• ILLEGAL_ARGUMENT

AI-assisted analysis of apache/seatunnel@cf67b549a7 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e5c206fe3c651f6. Report an issue: GitHub.