apache/dolphinscheduler · error · ServiceException

50038

50038

Error message

update task definition error

What it means

Thrown when persisting the task definition list of a workflow fails during updateDagDefine (saveTaskResult == Constants.DEFINITION_FAILURE). The underlying task-definition save reported failure, aborting the workflow update.

Source

Thrown at dolphinscheduler-api/src/main/java/org/apache/dolphinscheduler/api/service/impl/WorkflowDefinitionServiceImpl.java:714

        }
    }

    protected WorkflowDefinition updateDagDefine(User loginUser,
                                                 List<WorkflowTaskRelationLog> taskRelationList,
                                                 WorkflowDefinition workflowDefinition,
                                                 WorkflowDefinition workflowDefinitionDeepCopy,
                                                 List<TaskDefinitionLog> taskDefinitionLogs) {
        taskDatasourcePermissionChecker.checkPermission(loginUser, taskDefinitionLogs);
        taskSubWorkflowPermissionChecker.checkPermission(loginUser, taskDefinitionLogs);
        int saveTaskResult = processService.saveTaskDefine(loginUser, workflowDefinition.getProjectCode(),
                taskDefinitionLogs, Boolean.TRUE);
        if (saveTaskResult == Constants.EXIT_CODE_SUCCESS) {
            log.info("The task has not changed, so skip");
        }
        if (saveTaskResult == Constants.DEFINITION_FAILURE) {
            log.error("Update task definitions error, projectCode:{}, workflowDefinitionCode:{}.",
                    workflowDefinition.getProjectCode(), workflowDefinition.getCode());
            throw new ServiceException(Status.UPDATE_TASK_DEFINITION_ERROR);
        }
        boolean isChange = false;
        if (workflowDefinition.equals(workflowDefinitionDeepCopy) && saveTaskResult == Constants.EXIT_CODE_SUCCESS) {
            List<WorkflowTaskRelationLog> workflowTaskRelationLogList = workflowTaskRelationLogMapper
                    .queryByWorkflowCodeAndVersion(workflowDefinition.getCode(), workflowDefinition.getVersion());
            if (taskRelationList.size() == workflowTaskRelationLogList.size()) {
                Set<WorkflowTaskRelationLog> taskRelationSet = new HashSet<>(taskRelationList);
                Set<WorkflowTaskRelationLog> workflowTaskRelationLogSet = new HashSet<>(workflowTaskRelationLogList);
                if (taskRelationSet.size() == workflowTaskRelationLogSet.size()) {
                    taskRelationSet.removeAll(workflowTaskRelationLogSet);
                    if (!taskRelationSet.isEmpty()) {
                        isChange = true;
                    }
                } else {
                    isChange = true;
                }
            } else {
                isChange = true;

View on GitHub (pinned to 02eac45a1b)

Solutions

1. Validate taskDefinitionJson structure and task types before the call
2. Regenerate the JSON from the current workflow via the export API
3. Ensure each task's code/version matches existing task definition logs
4. Check server logs for the underlying saveTaskDefineList failure cause

Example fix

// before
taskDefinitionJson = "[{...hand-written...}]"
// after
// fetch canonical definitions from an existing/exported workflow
String taskDefinitionJson = exportWorkflow(user, projectCode, code).getTaskDefinitionJson();

// ensure every task code referenced exists and types are valid
boolean allTasksValid = taskDefs.stream().allMatch(t -> t.getCode() > 0 && t.getVersion() > 0);

try { ... } catch (ServiceException e) { if (e.getCode() == 50038) { /* inspect taskDefinitionJson and server logs */ } }

When it happens

Trigger: updateWorkflowDefinition or doBatchOperateWorkflowDefinition supplying taskDefinitionJson that fails validation/persistence inside saveTaskDefineList (invalid task type, bad task code/version, relation referencing missing task).

Common situations: Hand-edited taskDefinitionJson, importing workflows across versions where task types changed, task relation referencing a deleted task definition.

Related errors

• 10107
• 50061
• Recover workflow instance failed: %s
• The workflow instance: %s status is %s, cannot repeat runnin
• Repeat running workflow instance failed: %s

AI-assisted analysis of apache/dolphinscheduler@02eac45a1b (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7603ac00d0ec54eb. Report an issue: GitHub.