GoogleContainerTools/jib · error · GradleException

container.volumes is not an absolute Unix-style path: ${ex.g

Error message

container.volumes is not an absolute Unix-style path: ${ex.getInvalidVolume()}

What it means

Every path in jib.container.volumes must be an absolute Unix-style path; Jib throws InvalidContainerVolumeException when a volume value is relative or otherwise invalid while building via jibBuildTar, wrapped in this GradleException showing the invalid volume.

Source

Thrown at jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/BuildTarTask.java:168

    } catch (InvalidContainerizingModeException ex) {
      throw new GradleException(
          "invalid value for containerizingMode: " + ex.getInvalidContainerizingMode(), ex);

    } catch (InvalidWorkingDirectoryException ex) {
      throw new GradleException(
          "container.workingDirectory is not an absolute Unix-style path: "
              + ex.getInvalidPathValue(),
          ex);
    } catch (InvalidPlatformException ex) {
      throw new GradleException(
          "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 GradleException(
          "container.volumes is not an absolute Unix-style path: " + ex.getInvalidVolume(), ex);

    } catch (InvalidFilesModificationTimeException ex) {
      throw new GradleException(
          "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 GradleException(
          "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) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fb949e2676)

Solutions

Prefix each volume with '/', e.g. jib { container { volumes = ['/var/log/app'] } }
Use forward slashes only and remove drive letters/backslashes
Remove invalid volume entries if they were added by mistake

Example fix

// before
jib { container { volumes = ['var/log/app', '/data'] } }
// after
jib { container { volumes = ['/var/log/app', '/data'] } }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

project.jib.container.volumes.get().each { v ->
  if (!(v ==~ /^\/[^\0]+/)) throw new GradleException("container.volumes entries must be absolute Unix paths: $v")
}

Prevention

Prefix every volume path with '/'
Never copy relative VOLUME paths from Dockerfiles verbatim
Keep volumes list minimal and reviewed

When it happens

Trigger: Running gradle jibBuildTar with jib { container { volumes = ['data/logs'] } } (missing leading slash) or any non-absolute/Windows-style volume path in the set.

Common situations: Listing volumes relative to appRoot expecting Jib to resolve them; copy-pasting a Dockerfile VOLUME with a relative path; typos dropping the leading '/'; Windows path habits.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid value" and "allowed values are" config errors: what your library rejected and how to fix it — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/jib@fb949e2676 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/09b1882dc93616c6. Report an issue: GitHub.