puppetlabs/puppet · error · ArgumentError

Illegal radix: %{radix}, expected 2, 8, 10, 16, or default

Error message

Illegal radix: %{radix}, expected 2, 8, 10, 16, or default

What it means

The new() function on Puppet's Integer type (Integer.new) converts values to Integer and takes an optional radix for string conversion (from_args calls Integer(from, radix)). assert_radix permits only the bases 2, 8, 10 and 16, or :default (auto-detect); anything else raises ArgumentError naming the bad radix. A radix passed as a String ('16' instead of 16) is rejected too, because only Integer case labels match.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/pops/types/types.rb:1191

        TypeAsserter.assert_instance_of('Integer.new', loader.load(:type, 'namedargs'), args_hash)
      end

      def on_error(from, radix = :default, abs = nil)
        assert_radix(radix) unless radix == :default
        if from.is_a?(String)
          _("The string '%{str}' cannot be converted to Integer") % { str: from }
        else
          t = TypeCalculator.singleton.infer(from).generalize
          _("Value of type %{type} cannot be converted to Integer") % { type: t }
        end
      end

      def assert_radix(radix)
        case radix
        when 2, 8, 10, 16
          # do nothing
        else
          raise ArgumentError, _("Illegal radix: %{radix}, expected 2, 8, 10, 16, or default") % { radix: radix }
        end
        radix
      end
    end
  end

  DEFAULT = PIntegerType.new(-Float::INFINITY)
end

# @api public
#
class PFloatType < PNumericType
  def self.register_ptype(loader, ir)
    create_ptype(loader, ir, 'NumericType')
  end

  def generalize
    DEFAULT

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

Solutions

1. Use 2, 8, 10 or 16, or omit the radix entirely for auto-detection.
2. Pass the radix as an Integer, not a String: Integer.new($s, Integer($radix)).
3. Constrain the parameter (e.g. Optional[Enum['2','8','10','16']] plus a cast) and fail early with your own message.
4. For arbitrary bases, do the conversion in a custom function instead of the type system.

Example fix

# before (Puppet DSL)
Integer.new('777', 9)   # ArgumentError: Illegal radix: 9, expected 2, 8, 10, 16, or default

# after
unless $radix == undef or $radix in [2, 8, 10, 16] {
  fail("radix must be 2, 8, 10, or 16, got '${radix}'")
}
Integer.new('777', $radix)

VALID_RADIXES = [2, 8, 10, 16].freeze
radix = radix.to_i if radix.is_a?(String)  # '16' -> 16
fail "bad radix #{radix}" unless radix.nil? || VALID_RADIXES.include?(radix)

def valid_radix?(r)
  r.nil? || r == :default || [2, 8, 10, 16].include?(r)
end

begin
  Integer.new(value, radix)
rescue ArgumentError => e
  raise unless e.message.include?('Illegal radix')
  Integer.new(value)   # fall back to auto-detection
end

When it happens

Trigger: Integer.new('77', 9) in a manifest (9 is not a supported base); Integer.new($s, '16') where the radix arrives as a quoted string; supplying the radix from an unvalidated module parameter or Hiera value.

Common situations: A module exposes a base/radix parameter without constraining it; Hiera delivers the value as a quoted string; porting Ruby habits where Integer(str, base) accepts bases 2..36 but Puppet's type system only supports 2/8/10/16.

Related errors

• Illegal format '#{actual}' specified for value of Integer ty
• Only Runtime type 'ruby' is supported, got #{type.runtime}
• #{my_caller.class}(): wrong argument type (#{obj.class}; is
• Init cannot be parameterized with an undefined type and addi
• Creation of new instance of type '%{type_name}' is not suppo

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c00e612fef2e4aa0. Report an issue: GitHub.