risingwavelabs/risingwave · error

error parsing with props json

Error message

error parsing with props json

What it means

In risectl's validate_source, the `--props` argument is parsed with serde_json::from_str and .expect panics with this message when the argument is not valid JSON (e.g. missing quotes around keys/values). It is a CLI-input misuse failure, not a server error: the with-properties must be passed as a JSON object string.

Source

Thrown at src/ctl/src/cmd_impl/meta/connection.rs:56

                ),
                Some(Info::ConnectionParams(params)) => {
                    format!(
                        "CONNECTION_PARAMS_{}: {}",
                        params.get_connection_type().unwrap().as_str_name(),
                        serde_json::to_string(&params.get_properties()).unwrap()
                    )
                }
                None => "None".to_owned(),
            }
        );
    }
    Ok(())
}

pub async fn validate_source(context: &CtlContext, props: String) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
    let with_props: HashMap<String, String> =
        serde_json::from_str::<HashMap<String, Value>>(props.as_str())
            .expect("error parsing with props json")
            .into_iter()
            .map(|(key, val)| match val {
                Value::String(s) => (key, s),
                _ => (key, val.to_string()),
            })
            .collect();
    let source_type = match with_props
        .get("connector")
        .expect("missing 'connector' in with clause")
        .as_str()
    {
        "kafka" => Ok(SourceType::Kafka),
        _ => Err(anyhow!(
            "unsupported source type, only kafka sources are supported"
        )),
    }?;
    let meta_client = context.meta_client().await?;
    let resp = meta_client

View on GitHub (pinned to 6469eb736d)

Solutions

1. Validate the JSON with a linter before passing it, e.g. props='{"url":"...","aws.region":"us-east-1"}'
2. Wrap the whole JSON in single quotes in the shell so inner double quotes survive
3. Use a file or heredoc to pass complex props instead of inline strings

Example fix

// before
rw meta validate-source --props '{url: "kafka://..."}'
// after
rw meta validate-source --props '{"url": "kafka://..."}'

let with_props: HashMap<String, Value> = serde_json::from_str(&props)
    .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("invalid props JSON: {e}"));

let parsed: Result<HashMap<String, Value>, _> = serde_json::from_str(&props);
if let Err(e) = parsed {
    eprintln!("props must be a valid JSON object: {e}");
    return;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `rw meta validate-source` where the with-props argument is not valid JSON — unquoted keys, single quotes, trailing commas, or a non-object value like a bare string.

Common situations: Hand-writing connector properties on the CLI without proper JSON quoting; shell stripping quotes (use single-quoted shell strings); generating props from config with the wrong serializer.

Understand the failure class

Background: JSON parse error: "Unexpected token" / "not valid JSON" / "failed to parse" — what JSON parsers are really complaining about — this error's family across 45 libraries.

Related errors

• schema from {url} not valid JSON
• cannot decode user key {} into raw bytes
• failed to parse request body
• Field '{}' not found in secret
• Can't cast string to date (expected format is YYYY-MM-DD)

AI-assisted analysis of risingwavelabs/risingwave@6469eb736d (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fdd791e3306ea27c. Report an issue: GitHub.