JetBrains/intellij-community · error · InvalidDataException

Module {name} has no content roots and will not be created.

Error message

Module {name} has no content roots and will not be created.

What it means

Thrown by ModuleDescriptor.computeModuleFilePath() (InvalidDataException) when a module descriptor produced by project import has no content roots. The .iml path is derived from the first content root plus the module name; with zero content roots there is no basis for a path, so the importer refuses to fabricate a module file location.

Source

Thrown at java/idea-ui/src/com/intellij/ide/util/importProject/ModuleDescriptor.java:173

    return builder.toString();
  }

  public void clearModuleDependencies() {
    myDependencies.clear();
  }

  public void clearLibraryFiles() {
    myLibraryFiles.clear();
  }

  public @NotNull String computeModuleFilePath() throws InvalidDataException {
    final String name = getName();
    final Set<File> contentRoots = getContentRoots();
    if (!contentRoots.isEmpty()) {
      return contentRoots.iterator().next().getPath() + File.separator + name + ModuleFileType.DOT_DEFAULT_EXTENSION;
    }
    else {
      throw new InvalidDataException("Module " + name + " has no content roots and will not be created.");
    }
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to be881553f2)

Solutions

1. Add at least one content root to the descriptor: descriptor.addContentRoot(VfsUtilCore.pathToUrl(dir)) before computing the path
2. If importing, re-run import with correct source/root selection so the detector finds folders for every module
3. Skip modules with no roots instead of materializing them (they would be useless in the model)

Example fix

// before
ModuleDescriptor desc = new ModuleDescriptor(name, javaModuleType, contentEntryProvider);
desc.computeModuleFilePath(); // InvalidDataException: no content roots

// after
ModuleDescriptor desc = new ModuleDescriptor(name, javaModuleType, contentEntryProvider);
desc.addContentRoot(new File(baseDir, name));
desc.computeModuleFilePath(); // <root>/<name>/<name>.iml

if (descriptor.getContentRoots().isEmpty()) {
  descriptor.addContentRoot(moduleBaseDir); // or skip this descriptor entirely
}
String imlPath = descriptor.computeModuleFilePath();

try {
  paths.add(descriptor.computeModuleFilePath());
} catch (InvalidDataException e) {
  // log and skip the root-less module; do not abort the whole import
}

When it happens

Trigger: Building ModuleDescriptor objects during import-from-sources and calling computeModuleFilePath() on a descriptor whose getContentRoots() set is empty — e.g. addContentRoot() was never called or the detected roots list was empty.

Common situations: Importing a directory layout where a module's patterns match no folders; a third-party import plugin creates descriptors from a config that lists no roots; refactor leaves an intermediate descriptor unpopulated before path computation.

Related errors

• module.paths.validation.duplicate.content.error
• module.paths.validation.duplicate.source.root.error
• Module '{0}' already exist in project. Please, specify anoth
• Enter module file location
• Enter a module name

AI-assisted analysis of JetBrains/intellij-community@be881553f2 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/36dba98b157b40cf. Report an issue: GitHub.