GoogleContainerTools/jib · error · MojoExecutionException

Skaffold sync is currently only available for Jib projects i

Error message

Skaffold sync is currently only available for Jib projects in 'exploded' containerizing mode, but the containerizing mode of ${getProject().getArtifactId()} is '${getContainerizingMode()}'

What it means

Skaffold sync via SyncMapMojo additionally requires Jib's containerizing mode to be 'exploded', because the sync map is computed against the exploded WAR/jar layout. The mojo parses the configured containerizingMode (jib.containerizeMode property/config) and throws this MojoExecutionException if it is 'packaged' or otherwise not 'exploded'.

Source

Thrown at jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojo.java:66

    checkJibVersion();
    if (MojoCommon.shouldSkipJibExecution(this)) {
      return;
    }

    // TODO: move these shared checks with SyncMapTask into plugins-common
    // add check that means this is only for jars
    if (!"jar".equals(getProject().getPackaging())) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException(
          "Skaffold sync is currently only available for 'jar' style Jib projects, but the packaging of "
              + getProject().getArtifactId()
              + " is '"
              + getProject().getPackaging()
              + "'");
    }
    // add check for exploded containerization
    try {
      if (!ContainerizingMode.EXPLODED.equals(ContainerizingMode.from(getContainerizingMode()))) {
        throw new MojoExecutionException(
            "Skaffold sync is currently only available for Jib projects in 'exploded' containerizing mode, but the containerizing mode of "
                + getProject().getArtifactId()
                + " is '"
                + getContainerizingMode()
                + "'");
      }
    } catch (InvalidContainerizingModeException ex) {
      throw new MojoExecutionException("Invalid containerizing mode", ex);
    }

    try (TempDirectoryProvider tempDirectoryProvider = new TempDirectoryProvider()) {
      MavenProjectProperties projectProperties =
          MavenProjectProperties.getForProject(
              Preconditions.checkNotNull(descriptor),
              getProject(),
              getSession(),
              getLog(),
              tempDirectoryProvider,

View on GitHub (pinned to fb949e2676)

Solutions

  1. Set containerizing mode to exploded: <containerizingMode>exploded</containerizingMode> in the jib-maven-plugin configuration (or omit it, as exploded is the default).
  2. Remove -Djib.containerizeMode=packaged from the build command/CI if Skaffold dev sync is used.
  3. If packaged mode is required, disable Skaffold sync for this project and rely on full rebuilds.
  4. Sync in packaged mode requires upgrading: check Jib releases for changed sync constraints, or use Skaffold's rebuild strategy.

Example fix

// before
<configuration><containerizingMode>packaged</containerizingMode></configuration>
// after
<configuration><containerizingMode>exploded</containerizingMode></configuration>
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String mode = System.getProperty("jib.containerizeMode", "exploded");
if (!"exploded".equals(mode)) throw new IllegalStateException("Skaffold sync requires jib.containerizeMode=exploded");

Try / catch

try { ... } catch (MojoExecutionException e) { if (e.getMessage().contains("'exploded' containerizing mode")) { /* set containerizingMode to exploded or drop sync */ } }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Running skaffold-sync on a jar project whose containerizing mode resolves to anything other than EXPLODED, e.g. <containerizingMode>packaged</containerizingMode> in the jib plugin configuration or -Djib.containerizeMode=packaged.

Common situations: Projects that switched to packaged mode for faster builds and then noticed Skaffold sync fails; copy-pasted Jib config from a non-Skaffold project.

Understand the failure class

Background: Invalid enum value errors: "Unknown type", "Invalid scope", "must be one of" — when a string is not on the library's allowed list — this error's family across 23 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/jib@fb949e2676 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/811a36dde678674e. Report an issue: GitHub.