apache/seatunnel · error · java.lang.IllegalArgumentException

Unrecognized option for boolean

Error message

Unrecognized option for boolean: %s. Expected either true or false(case insensitive)

What it means

Thrown from ConfigUtil.convertToBoolean as the switch default: a Boolean-typed option received text that uppercases to neither TRUE nor FALSE. This guard fires for typos like "ture", "yes", "1", or " enabled" — boolean options accept only the exact words true/false case-insensitively; numeric truthiness is intentionally not supported.

Solutions

1. Set the option to exactly true or false (case-insensitive), e.g. enable = true
2. Replace informal values like yes/no or 1/0 with true/false
3. Trim stray whitespace or invisible characters around the value in the config file

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at seatunnel-api/src/main/java/org/apache/seatunnel/api/configuration/util/ConfigUtil.java:279 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/seatunnel@cf67b549a7 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d7c3bc0b1bbead37. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at seatunnel-api/src/main/java/org/apache/seatunnel/api/configuration/util/ConfigUtil.java:279

            start = 1;
        }

        for (int i = start; i < value.length(); i++) {
            if (!Character.isDigit(value.charAt(i))) {
                return false;
            }
        }
        return true;
    }

    static Boolean convertToBoolean(Object o) {
        switch (o.toString().toUpperCase()) {
            case "TRUE":
                return true;
            case "FALSE":
                return false;
            default:
                throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                        String.format(
                                "Unrecognized option for boolean: %s. Expected either true or false(case insensitive)",
                                o));
        }
    }

    static <E extends Enum<?>> E convertToEnum(Object o, Class<E> clazz) {
        return Arrays.stream(clazz.getEnumConstants())
                .filter(
                        e ->
                                e.toString()
                                        .toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT)
                                        .equals(o.toString().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT)))
                .findAny()
                .orElseThrow(
                        () ->
                                new IllegalArgumentException(
                                        String.format(

View on GitHub (pinned to cf67b549a7)