GoogleContainerTools/jib · error · MojoExecutionException

<container><creationTime> should be an ISO 8601 date-time (s

Error message

<container><creationTime> should be an ISO 8601 date-time (see DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME) or a special keyword ("EPOCH", "USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP"): <invalidCreationTime>

What it means

Thrown as a MojoExecutionException from BuildTarMojo.execute when the <container><creationTime> value (or jib.container.creationTime property) is neither an ISO 8601 date-time (DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME) nor one of the special keywords EPOCH or USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. Jib validates the container image creation time at build time and reports the offending value in the message.

Source

Thrown at jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/BuildTarMojo.java:130

      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "<from><platforms> contains a platform configuration that is missing required values or has invalid values: "
              + ex.getMessage()
              + ": "
              + ex.getInvalidPlatform(),
          ex);
    } catch (InvalidContainerVolumeException ex) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "<container><volumes> is not an absolute Unix-style path: " + ex.getInvalidVolume(), ex);

    } catch (InvalidFilesModificationTimeException ex) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "<container><filesModificationTime> should be an ISO 8601 date-time (see "
              + "DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME) or special keyword \"EPOCH_PLUS_SECOND\": "
              + ex.getInvalidFilesModificationTime(),
          ex);

    } catch (InvalidCreationTimeException ex) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "<container><creationTime> should be an ISO 8601 date-time (see "
              + "DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME) or a special keyword (\"EPOCH\", "
              + "\"USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP\"): "
              + ex.getInvalidCreationTime(),
          ex);

    } catch (JibPluginExtensionException ex) {
      String extensionName = ex.getExtensionClass().getName();
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "error running extension '" + extensionName + "': " + ex.getMessage(), ex);

    } catch (IncompatibleBaseImageJavaVersionException ex) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          HelpfulSuggestions.forIncompatibleBaseImageJavaVersionForMaven(
              ex.getBaseImageMajorJavaVersion(), ex.getProjectMajorJavaVersion()),
          ex);

    } catch (InvalidImageReferenceException ex) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fb949e2676)

Solutions

Set <creationTime> to a full ISO 8601 date-time, e.g. 2021-07-28T10:15:30Z.
Or use the exact keywords EPOCH or USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP (case-sensitive).
Check any -Djib.container.creationTime override for typos, whitespace, or empty values from CI variables.
If using ${maven.build.timestamp}, configure maven.build.timestamp.format as yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss'Z' so the injected value parses.

Example fix

<!-- before -->
<creationTime>now</creationTime>
<!-- after -->
<creationTime>USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP</creationTime>

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String c = System.getProperty("jib.container.creationTime", pomValue);
if (c != null && !c.equals("EPOCH") && !c.equals("USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP")) {
  java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE_TIME.parse(c); // throws if invalid
}

Prevention

Prefer the USE_CURRENT_TIMESTAMP keyword over generating timestamps manually.
Include both date and time components (ISO 8601 date-time, not date-only).
Keywords are case-sensitive — copy them exactly.
Validate CI-provided values for emptiness before passing them via -Djib.container.creationTime.

When it happens

Trigger: Running a jib goal with <creationTime> set to something like 'now', '2021-07-28' (date only, no time part), 'use_current_timestamp' (wrong case), or an empty string.

Common situations: Users assume 'now' works, supply a date without a time component, mis-case the keywords, or inject the value via a property/CI variable that is empty or formatted for a different tool.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/jib@fb949e2676 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d3915dc9188297e4. Report an issue: GitHub.