How to Fix the "does not match a known configuration key" Error in Tableau Server

When migrating Tableau Server or transferring configurations across environments, importing an exported configuration file using tsm settings import may fail with the following error:

Configuration error: At least one configuration value you specified does not match a known configuration key.
Use this parameter to override unknown key error: --force-keys

Root Cause

This error occurs when the imported JSON configuration file contains keys that are not registered in the target Tableau Server's TSM schema dictionary.

When migrating across differing server versions or topologies, the exported JSON from the source server often includes parameters that are unrecognized by the target server's schema validator. To maintain system integrity, TSM rejects unrecognized keys and halts the import process.

Solution

You can resolve this issue using one of two methods:

Method 1: Use the --force-keys Flag (Recommended)

Add the --force-keys parameter to bypass obsolete or unrecognized keys and apply only the valid configurations supported by the target server.

tsm settings import -f <filename>.json --force-keys
tsm pending-changes apply

Run tsm pending-changes list beforehand to confirm that only desired configuration changes are queued.

Method 2: Manually Remove Invalid Keys from the JSON File

Open the exported JSON file in a text editor, delete the unknown keys listed in the error message, save the file, and run the import command again.