yiisoft/yii2 · error · yii\base\InvalidArgumentException

Invalid operator '$operator'.

Error message

Invalid operator '$operator'.

What it means

yii\db\conditions\LikeConditionBuilder::parseOperator() (framework/db/conditions/LikeConditionBuilder.php:109) decomposes a LikeCondition's operator into conjunction (AND/OR), negation, and LIKE/ILIKE using the regex /^(AND |OR |)(((NOT |))I?LIKE)/. Anything not matching — an optional 'AND '/'OR ' prefix, optional 'NOT ', then exactly 'LIKE' or 'ILIKE' with single spaces — is rejected with InvalidArgumentException. Operators routed through conditionClasses ('LIKE','NOT LIKE','OR LIKE','OR NOT LIKE', pgsql 'ILIKE' variants at framework/db/pgsql/QueryBuilder.php:86-89) always match, so this error comes from LikeCondition objects constructed directly, or from a custom conditionClasses alias whose string does not follow the pattern.

Source

Thrown at framework/db/conditions/LikeConditionBuilder.php:109

     * @return string
     */
    private function getEscapeSql()
    {
        if ($this->escapeCharacter !== null) {
            return " ESCAPE '{$this->escapeCharacter}'";
        }

        return '';
    }

    /**
     * @param string $operator
     * @return array
     */
    protected function parseOperator($operator)
    {
        if (!preg_match('/^(AND |OR |)(((NOT |))I?LIKE)/', $operator, $matches)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Invalid operator '$operator'.");
        }
        $andor = ' ' . (!empty($matches[1]) ? $matches[1] : 'AND ');
        $not = !empty($matches[3]);
        $operator = $matches[2];

        return [$andor, $not, $operator];
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 66f00d18a2)

Solutions

1. Use only the recognized operators: LIKE, NOT LIKE, OR LIKE, OR NOT LIKE (plus ILIKE variants on PostgreSQL)
2. For genuinely custom SQL operators use \yii\db\Expression with bound params instead of LikeCondition
3. If you register an alias in conditionClasses, make its string match the regex exactly (e.g. 'OR NOT ILIKE') or map it to a custom condition class with its own builder

Example fix

// before
$cond = new \yii\db\conditions\LikeCondition('name', 'MATCH', 'foo'); // Invalid operator 'MATCH'

// after
$cond = new \yii\db\conditions\LikeCondition('name', 'LIKE', 'foo');
// or for custom predicates:
$cond = new \yii\db\Expression('name ~ :pat', [':pat' => '^foo']);

function isValidLikeOperator(string $operator): bool
{
    return (bool) preg_match('/^(AND |OR |)(((NOT |))I?LIKE)/', $operator);
}

if (!isValidLikeOperator($op)) {
    throw new \InvalidArgumentException("Unsupported LIKE operator: $op");
}
$cond = new \yii\db\conditions\LikeCondition($column, $op, $value);

try {
    $sql = $queryBuilder->buildExpression($condition, $params);
} catch (\yii\base\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    // operator rejected by parseOperator — fall back to a raw Expression
    $sql = $queryBuilder->buildExpression(new \yii\db\Expression($rawSql, $params), $params);
}

When it happens

Trigger: new LikeCondition('name', 'SIMILAR TO', 'foo'); registering a custom alias via setConditionClasses(['MATCH' => LikeCondition::class]) and using ['match','name','x']; hand-built operator strings like 'NOT LIKE' (double space) or 'like it'.

Common situations: Code written before Yii 2.0.14 (when condition building moved to dedicated classes) that built LIKE operators manually; porting PostgreSQL-specific search operators; reusable query helper packages constructing LikeCondition instances.

Related errors

• Operator '$operator' requires two operands.
• Operator '$operator' requires two operands.
• Operator '$operator' requires three operands.
• Subquery for EXISTS operator must be a Query object.
• Operator '$operator' requires two operands.

AI-assisted analysis of yiisoft/yii2@66f00d18a2 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b995384af7f0ab2e. Report an issue: GitHub.