apache/dolphinscheduler · error · ServiceException

USED_WORKER_GROUP_EXISTS

USED_WORKER_GROUP_EXISTS

Error message

Used worker group exists: ${usedInProject}

What it means

Thrown in assignWorkerGroupsToProject when trying to (re)assign worker groups to a project while some of the groups to be assigned are still in use by workflows/process definitions in that project (intersection of used groups and already-assigned names is non-empty).

Source

Thrown at dolphinscheduler-api/src/main/java/org/apache/dolphinscheduler/api/service/impl/ProjectWorkerGroupRelationServiceImpl.java:113

        if (Objects.isNull(project)) {
            putMsg(result, Status.PROJECT_NOT_EXIST);
            return result;
        }

        /*
         * Todo : For modification operations on projects, we should acquire project row locks. All project-related
         * operations and modification/creation actions for workflows/task definitions within the project require
         * acquiring row locks first
         */
        if (CollectionUtils.isEmpty(workerGroups)) {
            Set<String> projectWorkerGroupNames =
                    projectWorkerGroupDao.queryAssignedWorkerGroupNamesByProjectCode(projectCode);
            if (CollectionUtils.isNotEmpty(projectWorkerGroupNames)) {
                Set<String> usedWorkerGroups = getAllUsedWorkerGroups(project);
                if (CollectionUtils.isNotEmpty(usedWorkerGroups)) {
                    Set<String> usedInProject = SetUtils.intersection(usedWorkerGroups, projectWorkerGroupNames);
                    if (!usedInProject.isEmpty()) {
                        throw new ServiceException(Status.USED_WORKER_GROUP_EXISTS, usedInProject);
                    }
                }
            }

            boolean deleted = projectWorkerGroupDao.deleteByProjectCode(projectCode);
            if (deleted) {
                putMsg(result, Status.SUCCESS);
            } else {
                putMsg(result, Status.ASSIGN_WORKER_GROUP_TO_PROJECT_ERROR);
            }
            return result;
        }

        Set<String> allWorkerGroupNames = new HashSet<>(workerGroupDao.queryAllWorkerGroupNames());
        workerGroupService.getConfigWorkerGroupPageDetail().forEach(
                workerGroupPageDetail -> allWorkerGroupNames.add(workerGroupPageDetail.getName()));
        Set<String> unauthorizedWorkerGroupNames = new HashSet<>(workerGroups);

View on GitHub (pinned to 02eac45a1b)

Solutions

  1. Remove usage of the listed worker groups from the project's workflows first, then retry the assignment
  2. Exclude the used worker groups from the assign request
  3. Force-assign via updating workflow definitions to use the new group, then call the API

Example fix

// before
projectWorkerGroupService.assignWorkerGroupsToProject(loginUser, projectCode, allGroups); // includes in-use groups
// after
Set<String> used = getUsedWorkerGroups(projectCode);
Set<String> safe = allGroups.stream().filter(g -> !used.contains(g)).collect(Collectors.toSet());
projectWorkerGroupService.assignWorkerGroupsToProject(loginUser, projectCode, safe);
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

Set<String> used = getAllUsedWorkerGroups(project);
Set<String> assigned = new HashSet<>(projectWorkerGroupDao.queryAssignedWorkerGroupNamesByProjectCode(projectCode));
Set<String> clash = Sets.intersection(used, requested);
if (!clash.isEmpty()) { throw new IllegalStateException("in use: " + clash); }

Try / catch

try {
    service.assignWorkerGroupsToProject(loginUser, projectCode, groups);
} catch (ServiceException e) {
    if (e.getCode() == Status.USED_WORKER_GROUP_EXISTS) {
        log.warn("Worker groups still in use: {}", e.getMessage());
        return result;
    }
    throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Assigning a set of worker groups that includes a group currently referenced by a process definition of the same project — the service refuses the assignment/removal because it would orphan running definitions.

Common situations: Bulk re-assignment including groups still tagged in workflow definitions; cleaning up project worker-group relations without first editing workflows; automation scripts assigning the full group list.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of apache/dolphinscheduler@02eac45a1b (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aa41cf05df6c40c3. Report an issue: GitHub.