# Filter or output plugin complains: Can't merge a non object mapping with an object mapping

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/filter-or-output-plugin-complains-cant-merge-a-non-object-mapping-with-an-object-mapping/46665>\
**Category:** Logstash\
**Created:** [April 7, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/filter-or-output-plugin-complains-cant-merge-a-non-object-mapping-with-an-object-mapping/46665 "2016-04-07T11:21:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DK\_3](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dk_3/32/48003_2.png) [@DK\_3](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DK_3)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/filter-or-output-plugin-complains-cant-merge-a-non-object-mapping-with-an-object-mapping/46665/1 "2016-04-07T11:21:45Z")

</div>

Not sure if its the json filter or the elasticsearch output plugin.  
But I'm hitting this Logstash error **"Can't merge a non object mapping [myMap.1.myList] with an object mapping [myMap.1.myList]"**

Logstash error:

```
{:timestamp=>"2016-04-07T10:50:56.952000+0000", :message=>"Failed action. ", :status=>400, :action=>["index", {:_id=>nil, :_index=>"logstash-2016.04.07", :_type=>"jsonlog", :_routing=>nil}, 2016-04-07T10:50:56.189Z MYHOST 
{"timestamp":"2016-04-07 10:50:55,562","level":"INFO","logger":"com.mycompany.MyClass","thread":"ListenerThread-1","object":"MyEvent","myMap":{"1":{"myList":["string1","\u30A4t\u30F2rk.\u30AB\u30F3\u30E8\u30A6\u30C6"]}}}], 
:response=>{"create"=>{"_index"=>"logstash-2016.04.07", "_type"=>"jsonlog", "_id"=>"AVPwWK2zIXtUygpTeLqZ", "status"=>400, 
"error"=>{"type"=>"illegal_argument_exception", "reason"=>"Can't merge a non object mapping [myMap.1.myList] with an object mapping [myMap.1.myList]"}}}, :level=>:warn}

```

My Logstash config:

```
input {
    courier {
        ...
    }
}

filter {

    if [type] in ["jsonlog"] {
        json {
            source => "message"
        }
    }

}

output {
    elasticsearch {
        ...
    }
}

```

logstash version `2.3.0-1`  
elasticsearch version `2.3.0`

I tried upgrade to elasticsearch version `2.3.1` and I'm hitting a slightly different error with the same json map entry:  
`"object mapping for [myMap.1.myList] tried to parse field [null] as object, but found a concrete value`

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![magnusbaeck](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/magnusbaeck/32/44943_2.png) [@magnusbaeck](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/magnusbaeck)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/filter-or-output-plugin-complains-cant-merge-a-non-object-mapping-with-an-object-mapping/46665/2 "2016-04-07T20:15:23Z")

</div>

The error message comes from Elasticsearch (the service, not the plugin). The field `myMap.1.myList` has been indexed by Elasticsearch and mapped as an object (I think) but now you're trying to index a document where that field is a string (actually an array of strings). Either fix your document to match the mapping in ES or reindex the data so that its mapping matches your data.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/filter-or-output-plugin-complains-cant-merge-a-non-object-mapping-with-an-object-mapping/46665/3 "2017-07-06T05:03:12Z")

</div>