[MC-75309] java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1 (at sa.b(SourceFile:148))

Moderator Note

For some people, reinstalling fixes this issue. To do so, press your Windows+R keys, type in %AppData% at the dialog, and press Enter. In the window that appears, open the .minecraft directory, and delete everything except for the saves directory that you see therein. Then, try running Minecraft again.

[19:48:42] [Client thread/INFO]: Setting user: <username>
Exception in thread "Client thread" com.google.gson.JsonSyntaxException: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:815)
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:768)
	at sa.b(SourceFile:148)
	at sa.<init>(SourceFile:42)
	at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.<init>(SourceFile:154)
	at cyk.<init>(SourceFile:40)
	at bss.<init>(SourceFile:285)
	at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(SourceFile:124)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1
	at com.google.gson.stream.JsonReader.beginArray(JsonReader.java:338)
	at com.google.gson.internal.bind.CollectionTypeAdapterFactory$Adapter.read(CollectionTypeAdapterFactory.java:79)
	at com.google.gson.internal.bind.CollectionTypeAdapterFactory$Adapter.read(CollectionTypeAdapterFactory.java:60)
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:803)
	... 7 more

Linked issues

is duplicated by 57

MC-78220 game won't start from launcher 1.6.11 Resolved

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MC-78256 I dont know what this means but my Son can't log in or play Resolved

MC-78263 My Minecraft Launcher Keeps Crashing Resolved

MC-78280 Crash Report Resolved

52 more links

relates to 1

MC-51590 Minecraft crashes when loading a World: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1 Resolved

Attachments

Comments 19

Mustek 2014-12-12T22:53:03Z

This is a technical support issue; this site is for bug reports only. For technical support please use the Mojang Support Center.

kasamikona 2014-12-13T08:57:01Z

Sorry Mustek, but it looks like this is an error in a JSON file somewhere, therefore an issue with the game (also note Exception in thread "Client thread"). Considering it gives an error right at startup, it's probably not a resource pack issue.

galaxy_2alex 2014-12-31T01:11:35Z

No, it's an actual issue which many people suffer from.
Reopened and redesigned.

pifase 2015-01-05T17:00:39Z

~~will it delete my servers?~~ it did delete them 😞

Keri Buri 2015-02-26T17:39:51Z

Having the same issues. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Still receiving the same errors.

Exception in thread "Client thread" com.google.gson.JsonSyntaxException: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:815)
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:768)
	at lu.b(SourceFile:151)
	at lu.<init>(SourceFile:43)
	at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.<init>(SourceFile:155)
	at bpp.<init>(SourceFile:41)
	at avf.<init>(SourceFile:293)
	at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(SourceFile:124)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was STRING at line 1 column 1
	at com.google.gson.stream.JsonReader.beginArray(JsonReader.java:338)
	at com.google.gson.internal.bind.CollectionTypeAdapterFactory$Adapter.read(CollectionTypeAdapterFactory.java:79)
	at com.google.gson.internal.bind.CollectionTypeAdapterFactory$Adapter.read(CollectionTypeAdapterFactory.java:60)
	at com.google.gson.Gson.fromJson(Gson.java:803)
	... 7 more
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM warning: Using incremental CMS is deprecated and will likely be removed in a future release

9 more comments

Jodi Smith 2015-03-01T20:41:27Z

thank you! This worked!

For some people, reinstalling fixes this issue. To do so, press your Windows+R keys, type in %AppData% at the dialog, and press Enter. In the window that appears, open the .minecraft directory, and delete everything except for the saves directory that you see therein. Then, try running Minecraft again

Mike Gomen 2015-03-09T14:41:00Z

Randomly started getting this error this morning (nothing changed other than what the launcher downloads).

Deleting everything but my saves/screenshots and re-installing did resolve it but felt a bit heavy-handed. Kind of curious how some people are randomly getting runtime syntax errors.

Joel Miller 2015-03-11T12:25:21Z

I uninstalled and reinstalled the game. That still didnt work is that the same as what is mentioned above? I dont know anything about this game as my kids are the ones who play it. Im just the one who paid for it.

michael 2015-03-17T09:54:26Z

Does deleting the usercache.json file in the server directory solve the problem?

Rachel Dunleavy 2015-03-18T21:19:02Z

Deleted the files per the moderator's recommendation- Minecraft is still not running

Dlawso the Really Lucky Rabbit 2015-03-18T21:22:46Z

Rachel, did you also delete the usercache.json file that Mojang recommended?

Rachel Dunleavy 2015-03-18T22:06:14Z

Where can that be found? I deleted all of them except for save files in the %AppData% .minecraft section.

Dlawso the Really Lucky Rabbit 2015-03-18T23:20:51Z

Go into the .minecraft folder and scroll all the way down. Most likely, it'll be under textures_4.png.

If you're still stuck, this should help: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/.minecraft

Justin Edelmayer 2015-04-08T01:54:54Z

Thank you. For mine, I am sorry that it was a duplicate issue report. But following this advice, it worked

Donovan Piko 2015-05-26T19:04:32Z

Reoccurred in 1.8.6, here's a screenshot

Swedz 2016-03-19T20:27:26Z

This issue is occurring on my MC 1.9 server.

I have tried deleting the usercache.json

Still does not work.

Amobio 2016-06-20T16:13:53Z

I fixed this issue on my 1.10 server by deleting all of the .json files. However, when I try to join, I get the same error as if the server was not up (java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused: no further information: ). However, the server seems to be running fine...

EDIT: When I checked server.properties, all the settings were reset/messed up. I can join fine now.

bob 2016-11-06T11:11:27Z

Is this still an issue in the latest snapshot 16w44a? If so please update the affected versions.

This is an automated comment on any open or reopened issue with out-of-date affected versions.

Uriel Salischiker 2018-10-02T20:23:13Z

Is this still a issue in the latest version of the game(currently 1.13.1)?

If so, please add it to the affected versions, thanks!