oracle/graal · error · IllegalArgumentException

No options specified for MethodFilter:

Error message

No options specified for MethodFilter:

What it means

When Options.PerMethodOptions is parsed, a MethodFilter: line starts collecting option settings until the next line; if the collected map is empty when parsing ends, IllegalArgumentException('No options specified for MethodFilter:') is thrown. The enclosing catch prints the error and calls HotSpotGraalServices.exit(-1), so the JVM terminates.

Source

Thrown at compiler/src/jdk.graal.compiler/src/jdk/graal/compiler/hotspot/CompilationTask.java:545

                EconomicMap<String, String> optionSettings = null;
                for (String option : OptionsParser.splitOptions(perMethodOptions)) {
                    String prefix = "MethodFilter:";
                    if (option.startsWith(prefix)) {
                        MethodFilter filter = MethodFilter.parse(option.substring(prefix.length()));
                        if (filter.matches(getMethod())) {
                            // Begin accumulating options
                            optionSettings = EconomicMap.create();
                        } else if (optionSettings != null) {
                            // This is a new MethodFilter: so stop collecting options
                            break;
                        }
                    } else if (optionSettings != null) {
                        OptionsParser.parseOptionSettingTo(option, optionSettings);
                    }
                }
                if (optionSettings != null) {
                    if (optionSettings.isEmpty()) {
                        throw new IllegalArgumentException("No options specified for MethodFilter:");
                    }
                    values = EconomicMap.create();
                    OptionsParser.parseOptions(optionSettings, values, OptionsParser.getOptionsLoader());
                }
            } catch (Exception e) {
                values = null;
                TTY.println(e.toString());
                TTY.println("Errors encountered during " + Options.PerMethodOptions.getName() + " parsing.  Exiting...");
                HotSpotGraalServices.exit(-1, jvmciRuntime);
            }

            if (values != null) {
                newOptions = newOptions.derive(values);
                if (PrintCompilation.getValue(newOptions)) {
                    TTY.println("Compiling " + getMethod() + " with extra options: " + new OptionValues(values));
                }
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to a66e9ccd1d)

Solutions

1. Ensure every MethodFilter: entry is followed by at least one option assignment (e.g. MethodFilter:Foo, then a subsequent 'OptionName = value' line)
2. Remove the stray/trailing MethodFilter: line that has no options
3. Validate the PerMethodOptions content before startup (lint the file) since the failure kills the JVM

Example fix

# before (-Dgraal.PerMethodOptions content)
MethodFilter:HotSpotBlowup.*

# after
MethodFilter:HotSpotBlowup.*
InlineEverything = true

boolean perMethodOptionsOk(String s) {
    String[] lines = s.split("\n");
    boolean sawFilter = false;
    for (String l : lines) {
        if (l.startsWith("MethodFilter:")) { if (sawFilter) return false; sawFilter = true; }
        else if (sawFilter && l.matches("\\s*\\w+\\s*=.*")) sawFilter = false;
    }
    return !sawFilter; // false means a MethodFilter with no options follows
}

When it happens

Trigger: Setting -Dgraal.PerMethodOptions to a value/string containing a 'MethodFilter:' line (or a line that starts a new filter) that is the last line, or is followed only by another MethodFilter: line, so zero options accumulate for it.

Common situations: Trailing 'MethodFilter:...' entry with no key=value lines after it in a per-method options file or -Dgraal.PerMethodOptions string; typos like 'MethodFilter:Foo' followed by an option line the parser does not recognize as such; copy-paste truncation of an options file.

Related errors

• Option name must follow '<prefix>' prefix
• Compiler configuration '%s' not found. Available configurati
• The '%s' property is no longer supported.
• CrashAtThrowsOOME and CrashAtIsFatal cannot both be enabled
• SpectrePHTBarriers can be set to 'AllTargets' if and only if

AI-assisted analysis of oracle/graal@a66e9ccd1d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eed95135d895ffa8. Report an issue: GitHub.