apache/maven · error · ProjectBuilderException

Unable to verify file existence for '${glob}' inside '${fixe

Error message

Unable to verify file existence for '${glob}' inside '${fixedPath}'

What it means

When a profile activation file check uses a wildcard (e.g. exists('src/**/*.java') or a <file exists="dir/*.xml"/> tag), DefaultProfileActivationContext splits the pattern into a fixed directory plus a glob and walks the tree with Files.walkFileTree. Any IOException during the walk (permission denied, unreadable entry, IO error) is wrapped in ProjectBuilderException with this message.

Source

Thrown at impl/maven-impl/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/impl/model/DefaultProfileActivationContext.java:454

            return false;
        }
        if (glob != null && !glob.isEmpty()) {
            try {
                PathMatcher matcher = fixedPath.getFileSystem().getPathMatcher("glob:" + glob);
                AtomicBoolean found = new AtomicBoolean(false);
                Files.walkFileTree(fixedPath, new SimpleFileVisitor<>() {
                    @Override
                    public FileVisitResult visitFile(Path file, BasicFileAttributes attrs) {
                        if (found.get() || matcher.matches(fixedPath.relativize(file))) {
                            found.set(true);
                            return FileVisitResult.TERMINATE;
                        }
                        return FileVisitResult.CONTINUE;
                    }
                });
                return found.get();
            } catch (IOException e) {
                throw new ProjectBuilderException(
                        "Unable to verify file existence for '" + glob + "' inside '" + fixedPath + "'", e);
            }
        }
        return true;
    }

    private static Map<String, String> unmodifiable(Map<String, String> map) {
        return map != null ? Collections.unmodifiableMap(map) : Collections.emptyMap();
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e4093d4e12)

Solutions

1. Check permissions on the directory named in the message (ls -ld) and fix ownership/permission bits so the build user can traverse it
2. Narrow the glob so it walks a small, readable subtree instead of the whole project
3. Replace wildcard checks with a plain file path when a single well-known file is enough
4. If the read-only environment is intentional, deactivate the profile (-P!profile) so activation never probes the tree

Example fix

<!-- before: walks the whole project tree -->
<condition>exists('${project.basedir}/**/Dockerfile')</condition>

<!-- after: single readable path (or a tight subtree) -->
<condition>exists('${project.basedir}/Dockerfile')</condition>

static boolean canWalk(Path dir) {
    return Files.isDirectory(dir) && Files.isReadable(dir);
}
// before evaluating a glob condition
Path fixed = Path.of(pattern.substring(0, pattern.indexOf('*'))).getParent();
if (fixed != null && !canWalk(fixed)) {
    // treat the profile as not activatable instead of letting the walk fail
}

try {
    boolean active = profileActivationContext.exists(globPath, true);
} catch (ProjectBuilderException e) {
    // underlying IOException: unreadable/locked tree; decide activation policy explicitly
}

When it happens

Trigger: An activation condition whose fixed prefix directory exists but cannot be traversed: missing read/execute permission, restrictive ACL, read-only or corrupted mount, broken symlinks, or entries deleted while the walk is in progress.

Common situations: Hardened CI containers running as non-root; Docker volumes with unexpected ownership; NFS/SMB mounts; huge trees walked in parallel with cleanup jobs removing files.

Related errors

• Repository list contains duplicate entries. Each repository
• Error while deploying metadata: {}
• Error reading config file: ${atFile}
• Error reading config file: ${configFile}
• Could not create local repository at {}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/maven@e4093d4e12 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ef4e15ce62e5a2b6. Report an issue: GitHub.