Incorrect parsing of --datadir with ‘=’ syntax on Ubuntu 24.04 via systemd (v1.30.2+)

[mostwanted7]

Description
On Ubuntu 24.04, when running Nethermind (v1.30.2 and later) via systemd, the application crashes when the --datadir argument is passed using the ‘=’ syntax (e.g., --datadir=/vm-datadisk/nethermind). The error message produced is:

Unrecognized command or argument '/vm-datadisk/nethermind'.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create or update a systemd service file with the following flags (in this exact order):

/usr/local/bin/nethermind \
  --datadir=/var/lib/nethermind \
  --network=holesky

2. Start the service and observe logs, the nethermind service will crash.

Workarounds

• Remove the ‘=’ sign:

/usr/local/bin/nethermind \
  --datadir /var/lib/nethermind \
  --network=holesky

• Reorder the arguments (move datadir one line down)

/usr/local/bin/nethermind \
  --network=holesky \
  --datadir=/var/lib/nethermind

Environment

• Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04
• Version: 1.30.2 and later
• Installation Method: Github release binary download
• Consensus Client: Any

Additional context

• The bug does NOT appear on previous versions of Nethermind.
• Even though the flag is getting deprecated and replaced by data-dir, it is still supported with a warning, and therefore should work.

[kamilchodola]

@rubo we adjusted sth in that matter recently, right?

[rubo]

I recall a user reported a similar issue on Discord that we couldn't reproduce. The workaround was to make the --data-dir not to be the first parameter. But we don't have any changes related to = handling.

This could be a bug in the underlying parser library. Needs an investigation.

[rubo]

We were not able to reproduce the issue on our end.
@mostwanted7 Could you please try the same with Docker?

Also, a few remarks about the report above:

• --network=holesky: Nethermind doesn't have a --network option. It's -c, --config instead. Otherwise, there will be the "Unrecognized command or argument..." error.

• Even though the flag is getting deprecated and replaced by data-dir, it is still supported with a warning, and therefore should work.

  What warning do you mean? There should not be any warning about that.