apache/maven · error · IllegalArgumentException

Bad artifact coordinates {coords}, expected format is <group

Error message

Bad artifact coordinates {coords}, expected format is <groupId>:<artifactId>[:<extension>[:<classifier>]]:<version>

What it means

Error "Bad artifact coordinates {coords}, expected format is <groupId>:<artifactId>[:<extension>[:<classifier>]]:<version>" thrown in apache/maven.

Source

Thrown at impl/maven-impl/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/impl/resolver/relocation/UserPropertiesArtifactRelocationSource.java:202

                            t = SENTINEL;
                        }
                        return new Relocation(global, s, t);
                    })
                    .collect(Collectors.toList());
            LOGGER.info("Parsed {} user relocations", relocationList.size());
            return new Relocations(relocationList);
        }
    }

    private static Artifact parseArtifact(String coords) {
        Artifact s;
        String[] parts = coords.split(":");
        s = switch (parts.length) {
            case 3 -> new DefaultArtifact(parts[0], parts[1], "*", "*", parts[2]);
            case 4 -> new DefaultArtifact(parts[0], parts[1], "*", parts[2], parts[3]);
            case 5 -> new DefaultArtifact(parts[0], parts[1], parts[2], parts[3], parts[4]);
            default ->
                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Bad artifact coordinates " + coords
                        + ", expected format is <groupId>:<artifactId>[:<extension>[:<classifier>]]:<version>");
        };
        return s;
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e4093d4e12)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at impl/maven-impl/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/impl/resolver/relocation/UserPropertiesArtifactRelocationSource.java:202 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/maven@e4093d4e12 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bc8fa385e1149d6c. Report an issue: GitHub.