stanfordnlp/CoreNLP · error · RuntimeException

Sorry, but dependencies cannot be output as part of the…

Error message

Sorry, but ${options.semanticGraphMode} dependencies cannot be output as part of the TextOutputter

What it means

TextOutputter prints dependency graphs per sentence based on options.semanticGraphMode. The switch handles BASIC, COLLAPSED, CCPROCESSED etc.; any other SemanticGraphMode value hits the default branch and throws a RuntimeException because the requested dependency representation cannot be rendered in text output.

Solutions

Use -outputFormat json or xml, which support richer dependency modes
Set the semanticGraphMode option to BASIC, COLLAPSED, or CCPROCESSED for text output
Remove the dependencies option if you only need token/sentence text output

Example fix

// before
-outputFormat text -"output.options" semanticGraphMode=enhanced
// after
-outputFormat json -"output.options" semanticGraphMode=enhanced

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if ("text".equals(props.getProperty("outputFormat", "text"))) {
  String mode = props.getProperty("dependencies", props.getProperty("output.options", ""));
  if (mode != null && (mode.contains("enhanced") || mode.contains("SEMANTICGRAPH"))) {
    props.setProperty("outputFormat", "json");
  }
}

Try / catch

try {
  outputText(anno, options);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().contains("cannot be output as part of the TextOutputter")) {
    options.semanticGraphMode = SemanticGraphMode.COLLAPSED;
    outputText(anno, options);
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

For enhanced/advanced dependency output prefer JSON or XML output formats
Restrict semanticGraphMode to BASIC/COLLAPSED/CCPROCESSED with text output
Don't copy output options wholesale between different outputFormat settings

When it happens

Trigger: Running CoreNLP with outputFormat=text while the output/dependencies option sets semanticGraphMode to an unhandled enum value (e.g. enhanced++ style modes not mapped in this outputter's switch).

Common situations: Setting -outputFormat text with modern dependency options (enhanced dependencies) that TextOutputter doesn't map; copying options meant for JSON output (which supports more modes) into text output.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of stanfordnlp/CoreNLP@1b7edd19c4 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0bf59692ef48d489. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/edu/stanford/nlp/pipeline/TextOutputter.java:176

          break;
        case ENHANCED:
          graph = sentence.get(SemanticGraphCoreAnnotations.EnhancedDependenciesAnnotation.class);
          graphName = "enhanced dependencies";
          break;
        case ENHANCED_PLUS_PLUS:
          graph = sentence.get(SemanticGraphCoreAnnotations.EnhancedPlusPlusDependenciesAnnotation.class);
          graphName = "enhanced plus plus dependencies";
          break;
        case COLLAPSED:
          graph = sentence.get(SemanticGraphCoreAnnotations.CollapsedDependenciesAnnotation.class);
          graphName = "collapsed dependencies";
          break;
        case CCPROCESSED:
          graph = sentence.get(SemanticGraphCoreAnnotations.CollapsedCCProcessedDependenciesAnnotation.class);
          graphName = "cc processed dependencies";
          break;
        default:
          throw new RuntimeException("Sorry, but " + options.semanticGraphMode + " dependencies cannot be output as part of the TextOutputter");
        }
        if (graph != null) {
          pw.println();
          pw.println("Dependency Parse (" + graphName + "):");
          pw.print(graph.toList());
        }

        // display the entity mentions
        List<CoreMap> entityMentions = sentence.get(CoreAnnotations.MentionsAnnotation.class);
        if (entityMentions != null) {
          pw.println();
          pw.println("Extracted the following NER entity mentions:");
          for (CoreMap entityMention : entityMentions) {
            String nerConfidenceEntry;
            Map<String,Double> nerConfidences = entityMention.get(CoreAnnotations.NamedEntityTagProbsAnnotation.class);
            String nerConfidenceKey =
                    nerConfidences.keySet().size() > 0 ? (String) nerConfidences.keySet().toArray()[0] : "" ;
            if (!nerConfidenceKey.equals("") && !nerConfidenceKey.equals("O"))

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