What causes "Invalid input - Operation: %s, PayloadType: %s" in conductor-oss/conductor?

Use valid operation values: 'READ' or 'WRITE' (case-insensitive).

conductor-oss/conductor · error · IllegalArgumentException

Invalid input - Operation: %s, PayloadType: %s

Error message

Invalid input - Operation: %s, PayloadType: %s

What it means

Thrown by ExecutionService.getExternalStorageLocation when the 'operation' or 'type' string parameters cannot be mapped to valid ExternalPayloadStorage.Operation (READ, WRITE) or PayloadType (WORKFLOW_INPUT, WORKFLOW_OUTPUT, TASK_INPUT, TASK_OUTPUT) enum values via valueOf. The method uppercases the input and attempts enum conversion; any failure is wrapped in IllegalArgumentException. Also thrown if externalPayloadStorage.getLocation itself throws.

Source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/com/netflix/conductor/service/ExecutionService.java:712

     * @param path the path for which the external storage location is to be populated
     * @param operation the type of {@link Operation} to be performed
     * @param type the {@link PayloadType} at the external uri
     * @return the external uri at which the payload is stored/to be stored
     */
    public ExternalStorageLocation getExternalStorageLocation(
            String path, String operation, String type) {
        try {
            ExternalPayloadStorage.Operation payloadOperation =
                    ExternalPayloadStorage.Operation.valueOf(StringUtils.upperCase(operation));
            ExternalPayloadStorage.PayloadType payloadType =
                    ExternalPayloadStorage.PayloadType.valueOf(StringUtils.upperCase(type));
            return externalPayloadStorage.getLocation(payloadOperation, payloadType, path);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            String errorMsg =
                    String.format(
                            "Invalid input - Operation: %s, PayloadType: %s", operation, type);
            LOGGER.error(errorMsg);
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(errorMsg);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to cf7c3e4a8a)

Solutions

Use valid operation values: 'READ' or 'WRITE' (case-insensitive).
Use valid payload type values: 'WORKFLOW_INPUT', 'WORKFLOW_OUTPUT', 'TASK_INPUT', 'TASK_OUTPUT' (case-insensitive).
Check the API documentation or ExternalPayloadStorage interface for the complete enum set before constructing the request.

Example fix

// before — invalid operation and type
GET /api/external-storage/location?path=/foo&operation=delete&type=input
// 400: Invalid input - Operation: delete, PayloadType: input

// after — valid values
GET /api/external-storage/location?path=/foo&operation=WRITE&type=TASK_INPUT

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Validate operation and type strings before calling getExternalStorageLocation
private static final Set<String> VALID_OPERATIONS = Set.of("READ", "WRITE");
private static final Set<String> VALID_PAYLOAD_TYPES =
    Set.of("WORKFLOW_INPUT", "WORKFLOW_OUTPUT", "TASK_INPUT", "TASK_OUTPUT");

String op = operation.toUpperCase();
String pt = type.toUpperCase();
if (!VALID_OPERATIONS.contains(op)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid operation: " + operation
        + ". Valid: READ, WRITE");
}
if (!VALID_PAYLOAD_TYPES.contains(pt)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid payload type: " + type
        + ". Valid: " + VALID_PAYLOAD_TYPES);
}

Type guard

public static boolean isValidStorageOperation(String op) {
    return Set.of("READ", "WRITE").contains(op.toUpperCase());
}

public static boolean isValidPayloadType(String type) {
    return Set.of("WORKFLOW_INPUT", "WORKFLOW_OUTPUT", "TASK_INPUT", "TASK_OUTPUT")
        .contains(type.toUpperCase());
}

Prevention

Use only READ/WRITE for operation and the four valid PayloadType enum names for type.
Add enum validation in client SDKs before making the request.
Document the exact enum values in API documentation.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the external storage location API (GET /api/external-storage/location) or the service method with an invalid operation string (e.g. 'DELETE', 'COPY', 'delete') or an invalid payload type string (e.g. 'TASK_STATUS', 'WORKFLOW_STATUS', 'input'). Case is handled (uppercased) but the resulting string must match a valid enum constant.

Common situations: Passing an unsupported operation like 'DELETE' or 'COPY' — only READ and WRITE are supported. Passing a payload type like 'INPUT' instead of 'TASK_INPUT' or 'WORKFLOW_INPUT'. Typo in the query parameter. Client SDK using a different naming convention than the server's enum constants.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of conductor-oss/conductor@cf7c3e4a8a (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0efeb62c38d6d79f. Report an issue: GitHub.