GoogleContainerTools/jib · error · IllegalArgumentException

Cannot resolve against absolute Path: ${relativePath}

Error message

Cannot resolve against absolute Path: ${relativePath}

What it means

AbsoluteUnixPath.resolve() appends a relative path to this absolute path. Because the argument must be relative, it throws IllegalArgumentException when the given Path has a root (is absolute), since resolving against an absolute path would discard the base — likely indicating a caller mistake.

Source

Thrown at jib-build-plan/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/api/buildplan/AbsoluteUnixPath.java:112

  public AbsoluteUnixPath resolve(RelativeUnixPath relativeUnixPath) {
    int newSize = pathComponents.size() + relativeUnixPath.getRelativePathComponents().size();
    List<String> newPathComponents = new ArrayList<>(newSize);

    newPathComponents.addAll(pathComponents);
    newPathComponents.addAll(relativeUnixPath.getRelativePathComponents());
    return new AbsoluteUnixPath(newPathComponents);
  }

  /**
   * Resolves this path against another relative path (by the name elements of {@code
   * relativePath}).
   *
   * @param relativePath the relative path to resolve against
   * @return a new {@link AbsoluteUnixPath} representing the resolved path
   */
  public AbsoluteUnixPath resolve(Path relativePath) {
    if (relativePath.getRoot() != null) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot resolve against absolute Path: " + relativePath);
    }

    return AbsoluteUnixPath.fromPath(Paths.get(unixPath).resolve(relativePath));
  }

  /**
   * Resolves this path against another relative Unix path in string form.
   *
   * @param relativeUnixPath the relative path to resolve against
   * @return a new {@link AbsoluteUnixPath} representing the resolved path
   */
  public AbsoluteUnixPath resolve(String relativeUnixPath) {
    return resolve(RelativeUnixPath.get(relativeUnixPath));
  }

  /**
   * Returns the string form of the absolute Unix-style path.
   *

View on GitHub (pinned to fb949e2676)

Solutions

1. Pass a relative Path (no leading slash / no root), e.g. Paths.get("app/libs")
2. If the value is absolute, drop the resolve call and use AbsoluteUnixPath.get() or at() on the absolute path directly
3. Strip the root component if a relative sub-path is truly needed

Example fix

// before
AbsoluteUnixPath p = appRoot.resolve(Paths.get("/app/libs"));
// after
AbsoluteUnixPath p = appRoot.resolve(Paths.get("libs"));

if (relativePath.getRoot() != null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("resolve() expects a relative path");

boolean isRelativePath(Path p) { return p != null && p.getRoot() == null; }

try { AbsoluteUnixPath p = base.resolve(rel); } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { /* use the absolute path directly: AbsoluteUnixPath.fromPath(rel) */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling absolutePath.resolve(Paths.get("/opt/app")) — i.e. passing a Path with a non-null root.

Common situations: Mixing up the order of arguments or reusing a container-absolute destination path where a relative sub-path was intended.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• Path does not start with forward slash (/): ${unixPath}
• Cannot create AbsoluteUnixPath from non-absolute Path: ${pat
• Path starts with forward slash (/): ${relativePath}
• platforms set cannot be empty
• container.appRoot is not an absolute Unix-style path: ${inva

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/jib@fb949e2676 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/79ea7b28d8966ea0. Report an issue: GitHub.