apache/maven · warning · InvalidVersionSpecificationException

Range defies version ordering: {}

Error message

Range defies version ordering: {}

What it means

maven.repo.local was supplied as a JVM system property, typically MAVEN_OPTS='-Dmaven.repo.local=...' or JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS injection; Maven still reads it but warns that this route is deprecated. The supported route is a user property: -Dmaven.repo.local on the mvn command line or .mvn/maven-user.properties.

Source

Thrown at compat/maven-artifact/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/artifact/versioning/VersionRange.java:195

            restriction = new Restriction(version, lowerBoundInclusive, version, upperBoundInclusive);
        } else {
            String lowerBound = process.substring(0, index).trim();
            String upperBound = process.substring(index + 1).trim();

            ArtifactVersion lowerVersion = null;
            if (!lowerBound.isEmpty()) {
                lowerVersion = new DefaultArtifactVersion(lowerBound);
            }
            ArtifactVersion upperVersion = null;
            if (!upperBound.isEmpty()) {
                upperVersion = new DefaultArtifactVersion(upperBound);
            }

            if (upperVersion != null && lowerVersion != null) {
                int result = upperVersion.compareTo(lowerVersion);
                if (result < 0 || (result == 0 && (!lowerBoundInclusive || !upperBoundInclusive))) {
                    throw new InvalidVersionSpecificationException("Range defies version ordering: " + spec);
                }
            }

            restriction = new Restriction(lowerVersion, lowerBoundInclusive, upperVersion, upperBoundInclusive);
        }

        return restriction;
    }

    public static VersionRange createFromVersion(String version) {
        if (DefaultArtifact.empty(version)) {
            return null;
        }
        VersionRange cached = CACHE_VERSION.get(version);
        if (cached == null) {
            List<Restriction> restrictions = Collections.emptyList();
            cached = new VersionRange(new DefaultArtifactVersion(version), restrictions);
            CACHE_VERSION.put(version, cached);

View on GitHub (pinned to e4093d4e12)

Solutions

1. Pass it as a Maven argument: mvn -Dmaven.repo.local=/data/m2repo clean install
2. Or persist it in .mvn/maven-user.properties at the project root
3. Remove the -D from MAVEN_OPTS/JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS so the warning stops appearing

Example fix

# before
export MAVEN_OPTS=-Dmaven.repo.local=/data/m2repo
mvn clean install
# after: Maven user property
mvn -Dmaven.repo.local=/data/m2repo clean install

case $MAVEN_OPTS$JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS in
  *maven.repo.local*)
    echo 'use mvn -Dmaven.repo.local=... or .mvn/maven-user.properties instead'
    exit 1 ;;
esac

When it happens

Trigger: Setting the local repository path through JVM system properties instead of a Maven user property; common in container images that export MAVEN_OPTS with the repository location.

Common situations: CI builders pinning the cache location via environment; Docker images with MAVEN_OPTS=-Dmaven.repo.local baked in; migration from older Maven versions where this was tolerated silently.

Related errors

• Ranges overlap: {}
• Unbounded range: {}
• -D%s system property is not set.
• Cannot read metadata from '{}': {}
• Error installing metadata: {}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/maven@e4093d4e12 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a70c09ae54d73afc. Report an issue: GitHub.