stanfordnlp/CoreNLP · error · RuntimeException

unknown argument(s): "" + props.getProperty("") + '"'

Error message

unknown argument(s): "" + props.getProperty("") + '"'

What it means

RuntimeException from TaggerConfig.setProperties when a command-line/properties argument is not a recognized tagger option; unknown argument(s) are rejected so mis-typed flags do not silently change training or tagging behavior.

Solutions

1. Check flag spelling against documented TaggerConfig options
2. Remove or correct the unrecognized argument
3. Use a properties file for advanced options

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/edu/stanford/nlp/tagger/maxent/TaggerConfig.java:165 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of stanfordnlp/CoreNLP@1b7edd19c4 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/16ed149df3057329. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/edu/stanford/nlp/tagger/maxent/TaggerConfig.java:165

      if (name == null) {
        name = props.getProperty("dump");
      }
      if (name != null) {
        try (DataInputStream in = new DataInputStream(IOUtils.getInputStreamFromURLOrClasspathOrFileSystem(name))) {
          log.info("Loading default properties from tagger " + name);
          this.putAll(TaggerConfig.readConfig(in)); // overwrites defaults with any serialized values.
        } catch (Exception e) {
          throw new RuntimeIOException("No such trained tagger config file found: " + name);
        }
      }
    }

    setProperties(props);
  }

  public void setProperties(Properties props) {
    if (props.getProperty("") != null) {
      throw new RuntimeException("unknown argument(s): \"" + props.getProperty("") + '\"');
    }

    if (props.getProperty("genprops") != null) {
      printGenProps(System.out);
      System.exit(0);
    }

    if (props.containsKey("mode") && props.containsKey("file")) {
      this.setProperty("mode", props.getProperty("mode"));
      this.setProperty("file", props.getProperty("file"));
    } else if (props.containsKey("trainFile")) {
      //Training mode
      this.setProperty("mode", Mode.TRAIN.toString());
      this.setProperty("file", props.getProperty("trainFile", "").trim());
    } else if (props.containsKey("testFile")) {
      //Testing mode
      this.setProperty("mode", Mode.TEST.toString());
      this.setProperty("file", props.getProperty("testFile", "").trim());

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