sqlmapproject/sqlmap · error · SqlmapSyntaxException

value for --technique must be a string composed by the lette

Error message

value for --technique must be a string composed by the letters %s. Refer to the user's manual for details

What it means

Error "value for --technique must be a string composed by the letters %s. Refer to the user's manual for details" thrown in sqlmapproject/sqlmap.

Source

Thrown at lib/core/option.py:793

    debugMsg = "forcing back-end DBMS operating system to user defined "
    debugMsg += "value '%s'" % conf.os
    logger.debug(debugMsg)

    Backend.setOs(conf.os)

def _setTechnique():
    validTechniques = sorted(getPublicTypeMembers(PAYLOAD.TECHNIQUE), key=lambda x: x[1])
    validLetters = [_[0][0].upper() for _ in validTechniques]

    if conf.technique and isinstance(conf.technique, six.string_types):
        _ = []

        for letter in conf.technique.upper():
            if letter not in validLetters:
                errMsg = "value for --technique must be a string composed "
                errMsg += "by the letters %s. Refer to the " % ", ".join(validLetters)
                errMsg += "user's manual for details"
                raise SqlmapSyntaxException(errMsg)

            for validTech, validInt in validTechniques:
                if letter == validTech[0]:
                    _.append(validInt)
                    break

        conf.technique = _

def _setDBMS():
    """
    Force the back-end DBMS option.
    """

    if not conf.dbms:
        return

    debugMsg = "forcing back-end DBMS to user defined value"
    logger.debug(debugMsg)

View on GitHub (pinned to 0a35b20e39)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/core/option.py:793 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of sqlmapproject/sqlmap@0a35b20e39 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f2e1bf679cac8d05. Report an issue: GitHub.