languagetool-org/languagetool · error · RuntimeException

Format error in file " + path + ", line: " + line + ", " + "

Error message

Format error in file " + path + ", line: " + line + ", " + "expected 3 semicolon-separated parts, got " + parts.length

What it means

ConfusionPairsDataLoader.loadWords parses a data file line by line and expects each non-comment line to have exactly 3 semicolon-separated parts (word, form, tag). A malformed line produces a RuntimeException naming the file, line, actual and expected part counts.

Source

Thrown at languagetool-language-modules/es/src/main/java/org/languagetool/rules/es/ConfusionPairsDataLoader.java:49

 * Load data for {@link AccentuationCheckRule}.
 * @since 3.3
 */
class ConfusionPairsDataLoader {

  private static final String FILE_ENCODING = "utf-8";

  Map<String, AnalyzedTokenReadings> loadWords(String path) {
    final Map<String, AnalyzedTokenReadings> map = new HashMap<>();
    final InputStream inputStream = JLanguageTool.getDataBroker().getFromRulesDirAsStream(path);
    try (Scanner scanner = new Scanner(inputStream, FILE_ENCODING)) {
      while (scanner.hasNextLine()) {
        final String line = scanner.nextLine().trim();
        if (line.isEmpty() || line.charAt(0) == '#') {  // ignore comments
          continue;
        }
        final String[] parts = line.split(";");
        if (parts.length != 3) {
          throw new RuntimeException("Format error in file " + path + ", line: "
                  + line + ", " + "expected 3 semicolon-separated parts, got "
                  + parts.length);
        }
        final AnalyzedToken analyzedToken = new AnalyzedToken(parts[1], parts[2], null);
        if (!map.containsKey(parts[0])) {
          map.put(parts[0], new AnalyzedTokenReadings(analyzedToken, 0));
        } else {
          AnalyzedTokenReadings atrs = map.get(parts[0]);
          atrs.addReading(analyzedToken, "");
          map.replace(parts[0], atrs);
        }
      }
    }
    return map;
  }
  
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e990059ce)

Solutions

Open the file named in the message at the reported line and make it have exactly 3 semicolon-separated fields.
Remove extra semicolons (including trailing ones) or add missing fields.
Keep the word/tag fields free of ';' characters; escape or rephrase such content.

Example fix

// before (confusion_pairs.txt, 4 parts)
bien;bian;VMIC0000;;comment
// after
bem;vien;VMIC0000

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String[] parts = line.split(";");
if (parts.length != 3) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException("Skipping malformed data line " + lineNo + ": expected 3 ';'-separated parts, got " + parts.length);
}

Try / catch

try {
  loader.loadWords(path, map);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
  LOG.error("Malformed confusion-pairs data file: {}", e.getMessage());
}

Prevention

Validate data files with a linter/script before committing
Never place ';' inside word or tag fields
Check for accidental trailing semicolons on data lines

When it happens

Trigger: loadWords → loadFromPath reads a confusion-pairs data file (e.g. Spanish confusion_pairs.txt) and a non-empty, non-# line splits on ';' into other than 3 fields.

Common situations: Hand-editing the data file and adding/removing a semicolon; a line containing a trailing semicolon (4 parts) or only 2 fields; using semicolons inside the tag or word field.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid ... format", "must be in format X", "does not look like a ..." — invalid argument format errors across CLI tools and libraries — this error's family across 17 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of languagetool-org/languagetool@2e990059ce (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/685562be2a92070b. Report an issue: GitHub.