pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · IllegalArgumentException

The configuration parameter does not match a valid scheme:

Error message

The configuration parameter does not match a valid scheme: 

What it means

KettleGenericFileSystemConfigBuilder.extractScheme() throws this IllegalArgumentException when a configuration parameter name does not start with 'vfs.' followed by a scheme segment (e.g. 'vfs.sftp.xxx'). First branch: the parameter is null, shorter than 5 chars, or lacks the 'vfs.' prefix.

Solutions

1. Prefix the parameter with the scheme, e.g. 'vfs.sftp.userDirIsRoot'
2. Ensure the name is non-null and longer than 4 characters
3. Log the full parameter name in the exception message at the call site to spot malformed keys
4. Validate parameter names against the 'vfs.<scheme>.<name>' pattern before passing to the config builder
5. Use constants or the config builder's own key constants instead of string concatenation

Example fix

// before
configBuilder.setParameter( opts, "sftp.StrictHostKeyChecking", "no", "sftp" );
// after
configBuilder.setParameter( opts, "vfs.sftp.StrictHostKeyChecking", "no", "sftp" );

static boolean isValidVfsParam( String name ) {
  return name != null && name.length() > 4 && name.startsWith( "vfs." )
    && name.indexOf( ".", 4 ) > 4 && name.indexOf( ".", 4 ) < name.length() - 1;
}
// call before: isValidVfsParam(paramName)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setParameter/getParameter (via scheme()) with a name like 'sftp.key', 'vfs', 'vfs.' or null instead of 'vfs.<scheme>.<param>'.

Common situations: Hand-built FileSystemOptions maps with malformed keys, typos dropping the 'vfs.' prefix, programmatic config builders concatenating names incorrectly.

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

• ConnectionFileSystem.ExpectedConnectionNotFound
• CustomVfsSettingsParser.Log.FailedToLoad
• FileSystemConfigBuilder could not parse parameter:
• Invalid repository type
• Only local files are supported at this time, file [

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/346df37c49764932. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/core/vfs/configuration/KettleGenericFileSystemConfigBuilder.java:92

  }

  /**
   * Extract the scheme from a Kettle VFS configuration paramter (vfs.scheme.parameter)
   *
   * @param fullParameterName
   *          A VFS configuration parameter in the form of 'vfs.scheme.parameter'
   */
  public static String extractScheme( String fullParameterName ) throws IllegalArgumentException {
    String result = null;

    // Verify that this is a Kettle VFS configuration parameter
    if ( ( fullParameterName != null )
      && ( fullParameterName.length() > 4 ) && ( fullParameterName.startsWith( "vfs." ) ) ) {
      int schemeEnd = fullParameterName.indexOf( ".", 4 );
      if ( schemeEnd > 4 ) {
        result = fullParameterName.substring( 4, schemeEnd );
      } else {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException( "The configuration parameter does not match a valid scheme: "
          + fullParameterName );
      }
    } else {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException( "The configuration parameter does not match a valid scheme: "
        + fullParameterName );
    }

    return result;
  }

  protected KettleGenericFileSystemConfigBuilder() {
    super();
  }

  @Override
  protected Class<? extends FileSystem> getConfigClass() {
    return FileSystem.class;
  }

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