opendataloader-project/opendataloader-pdf · error · IllegalArgumentException

Unsupported format '%s'. Supported values: json, text, html,

Error message

Unsupported format '%s'. Supported values: json, text, html, pdf, markdown, tagged-pdf

What it means

Thrown by the default branch of the format switch when a parsed value matches no case. Recognized cases are json, text, html, pdf, markdown, tagged-pdf, plus deprecated markdown-with-html and markdown-with-images (accepted with a warning). Any other token is rejected with the offending value and the canonical supported list (which omits the deprecated names).

Source

Thrown at java/opendataloader-pdf-core/src/main/java/org/opendataloader/pdf/api/cli/CLIOptions.java:626

                case "markdown":
                    config.setGenerateMarkdown(true);
                    break;
                case "markdown-with-html":
                    System.err.println("[WARN] --format markdown-with-html is deprecated and will be removed "
                            + "in the next major release. Use --format markdown --markdown-with-html instead.");
                    config.setUseHTMLInMarkdown(true);
                    break;
                case "markdown-with-images":
                    System.err.println("[WARN] --format markdown-with-images is deprecated and will be removed "
                            + "in the next major release. Use --format markdown with --image-output "
                            + "(off|embedded|external) instead.");
                    config.setGenerateMarkdown(true);
                    break;
                case "tagged-pdf":
                    config.setGenerateTaggedPDF(true);
                    break;
                default:
                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.format(
                            "Unsupported format '%s'. Supported values: json, text, html, pdf, markdown, tagged-pdf",
                            value));
            }
        }
    }

    private static Set<String> parseOptionValues(String[] optionValues) {
        Set<String> values = new LinkedHashSet<>();
        for (String rawValue : optionValues) {
            if (rawValue == null) {
                continue;
            }
            String[] splitValues = rawValue.split(",");
            for (String candidate : splitValues) {
                String format = candidate.trim().toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT);
                if (!format.isEmpty()) {
                    values.add(format);
                }

View on GitHub (pinned to a7789b8e77)

Solutions

1. Use the full lowercase token: json, text, html, pdf, markdown, or tagged-pdf.
2. Replace md with markdown and txt with text.
3. If you used markdown-with-html, prefer `--format markdown --markdown-with-html`.

Example fix

// before
opendataloader-pdf doc.pdf --format md
// after
opendataloader-pdf doc.pdf --format markdown

Set<String> ALLOWED = Set.of("json", "text", "html", "pdf", "markdown", "tagged-pdf");
// NOTE: --format is case-sensitive (no lowercasing in the switch)
for (String value : parseOptionValues(commandLine.getOptionValues("format"))) {
    if (!ALLOWED.contains(value)) throw new IllegalArgumentException("Bad --format token: " + value);
}

boolean isAcceptableFormatToken(String v) {
    return Set.of("json", "text", "html", "pdf", "markdown", "tagged-pdf").contains(v);
}

try {
    CLIOptions.applyAllTo(config, cmd);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    System.err.println(e.getMessage());
    System.exit(2);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Pass `--format md` (markdown is the full token), `--format txt`, `--format JSON` (case is NOT normalized for format values — the switch is case-sensitive, unlike image-format/table-method), or a typo like `markdwon`.

Common situations: Using common abbreviations (md, txt, htm) that are not accepted; uppercase values (this option does not lowercase, so case matters); assuming a deprecated alias still works after removal.

Related errors

• Unsupported image format '%s'. Supported values: png, jpeg
• Unsupported table method '%s'. Supported values: %s
• Unsupported value '%s'. Supported values: all, hidden-text,
• Option --format requires at least one value. Supported value
• Unsupported hybrid backend '%s'. Supported values: %s

AI-assisted analysis of opendataloader-project/opendataloader-pdf@a7789b8e77 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/217dae5146151cc7. Report an issue: GitHub.