microsoft/garnet · error · Exception

Unable to parse MaxInlineKeySize value '{MaxInlineKeySize}'.

Error message

Unable to parse MaxInlineKeySize value '{MaxInlineKeySize}'. Expected a memory size string (e.g. '1k', '128').

What it means

MaxInlineKeySizeBytes() parses the MaxInlineKeySize option via TryParseSize, which accepts a bare integer or an integer with a k/m/g/t/p suffix (optionally followed by 'b'). If the parser cannot consume the entire string (trailing characters, non-numeric prefix, embedded symbols like '.' or 'x'), the value is rejected. This runs before store init so it fails fast at startup.

Source

Thrown at libs/server/Servers/GarnetServerOptions.cs:898

        /// </summary>
        internal int ReadCachePageSizeBits() => ValidatedPageSizeBits(ReadCachePageSize, nameof(ReadCachePageSize));

        /// <summary>
        /// Parse <see cref="MaxInlineKeySize"/> as a byte count.
        /// Returns the default value (1022 bytes, the Tsavorite limit) if the value is null or empty.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The byte-length value used for <c>KVSettings.MaxInlineKeySize</c>.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="Exception">Thrown when the value cannot be parsed or is outside the allowed range.</exception>
        public int MaxInlineKeySizeBytes()
        {
            const long MinBytes = 0;                    // TODO: LogSettings.MinMaxInlineSize
            const long MaxBytes = 1022;                 // TODO: LogSettings.MaxInlineKeySizeLimit (= (1 << kKeyLengthBits) - 2)

            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(MaxInlineKeySize))
                return KVSettings.DefaultMaxInlineKeySize;

            if (!TryParseSize(MaxInlineKeySize, out var sizeInBytes))
                throw new Exception($"Unable to parse {nameof(MaxInlineKeySize)} value '{MaxInlineKeySize}'. Expected a memory size string (e.g. '1k', '128').");

            if (sizeInBytes < MinBytes || sizeInBytes > MaxBytes)
                throw new Exception($"{nameof(MaxInlineKeySize)} value '{MaxInlineKeySize}' ({sizeInBytes} bytes) is outside the allowed range [{MinBytes}, {MaxBytes}] bytes.");

            return (int)sizeInBytes;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Parse and validate <see cref="MaxInlineValueSize"/> as a byte count.
        /// Tsavorite requires this to be at most 0xFFFFFE (the RecordDataHeader value-length field's
        /// inline limit; see <c>LogSettings.MaxInlineValueSizeLimit</c> — this value MUST be kept in sync because LogSettings
        /// is internal to Tsavorite.core and not visible from Garnet.server). If this value is not specified, it defaults
        /// to the minimum of 1m or <paramref name="pageSize"/> / 2; otherwise, the value must be &lt;= pageSize / 2.
        /// <returns>The byte-length value used for <c>KVSettings.MaxInlineValueSize</c>.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="Exception">Thrown when the value cannot be parsed or is outside the allowed byte range.</exception>
        /// </summary>
        public int MaxInlineValueSizeBytes(long pageSize)
        {

View on GitHub (pinned to 951b0fc683)

Solutions

1. Use a plain integer or integer+suffix form: '128', '1k', '1kb', '1K' are all valid.
2. Remove trailing spaces and avoid units other than k/m/g/t/p.
3. If you do not need to override the default, omit the flag (defaults to KVSettings.DefaultMaxInlineKeySize).

Example fix

# before (fails)
garnet-server --max-inline-key-size 0x80

# after
garnet-server --max-inline-key-size 128

static bool IsValidSizeString(string s) {
    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(s)) return true;
    return ServerOptions.TryParseSize(s, out _);
}
if (!IsValidSizeString(options.MaxInlineKeySize)) {
    throw new ArgumentException("MaxInlineKeySize must be like '128' or '1k'");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Setting --max-inline-key-size to a non-conforming string such as 'abc', '0x10', '1.5k', '1 k', or '12-'. Thrown at GarnetServerOptions.cs:897-898.

Common situations: Typos; using hex or binary notation; locale-specific formatting; stray whitespace or units the parser does not recognize (e.g. '12 bytes').

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

• Unable to parse MaxInlineValueSize value '{MaxInlineValueSiz
• Unable to parse InitialIORecordSize value '{InitialIORecordS
• MutablePercent must be between 10 and 95
• Store Log Memory size or PageCount must be specified
• Index size {IndexMemorySize} should not be less than index m

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/garnet@951b0fc683 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01f08b6c5f0be616. Report an issue: GitHub.