elastic/elasticsearch · error · ClassCastException

Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [boolean]

Error message

Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [boolean]

What it means

Painless throws this ClassCastException at runtime when a right-shift (>>) is applied to a boolean value through the def/dynamic path. DefMath.rsh(boolean, long) is a stub that always throws; booleans are not numeric and cannot participate in bitwise shift. The stub exists so the dynamic dispatcher has a method handle for every promoted type, yielding a clear message rather than a NoSuchMethodException.

Source

Thrown at modules/lang-painless/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/painless/DefMath.java:1032

    private static int rsh(int a, long b) {
        return a >> b;
    }

    private static long rsh(long a, long b) {
        return a >> b;
    }

    private static float rsh(float a, long b) {
        throw new ClassCastException("Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [float]");
    }

    private static double rsh(double a, long b) {
        throw new ClassCastException("Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [double]");
    }

    private static boolean rsh(boolean a, long b) {
        throw new ClassCastException("Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [boolean]");
    }

    public static Object rsh(Object left, long right) {
        if (left instanceof Long) {
            return (long) left >> right;
        } else {
            return intIntegralValue(left) >> right;
        }
    }

    private static int ush(int a, long b) {
        return a >>> b;
    }

    private static long ush(long a, long b) {
        return a >>> b;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Convert the boolean to an integer explicitly before shifting: '(x ? 1 : 0) >> 1'.
2. Use a typed declaration (int/long) and assign a numeric value so the compiler rejects the boolean assignment early.
3. Reconsider the logic; shifting a boolean is almost always a sign of a type confusion bug.

Example fix

// before
def x = doc['active'].value;  // boolean field
def y = x >> 1;
// after
int x = doc['active'].value ? 1 : 0;
int y = x >> 1;

// Convert boolean to int before any bitwise op:
// def x = doc['active'].value;
// int n = (x instanceof Boolean) ? (((Boolean)x) ? 1 : 0) : ((Number)x).intValue();
// int y = n >> 1;

// boolean isBool = x instanceof Boolean;

When it happens

Trigger: A def-typed variable that holds a boolean at runtime is shifted: 'def x = true; def y = x >> 1;'. Also occurs when a doc field is boolean-typed and the script attempts bit operations on it.

Common situations: Scripts that operate generically over def values without checking the runtime type, or that assume a flag field (0/1) is stored as an integer when it is actually boolean. Logic ported from dynamically-typed languages that treat booleans as 1/0.

Related errors

• Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [float]
• Cannot apply [>>] operation to type [double]
• Cannot apply [>>>] operation to type [float]
• Cannot apply [>>>] operation to type [double]
• Cannot apply [>>>] operation to type [boolean]

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c45850bb6487f247. Report an issue: GitHub.