apache/maven · error · IllegalArgumentException

versionRange cannot be empty

Error message

versionRange cannot be empty

What it means

RuntimeInformation.isMavenVersion(String versionRange) compares the running Maven version against a Maven version constraint such as "[3.0,)" or a plain version. The argument is mandatory: null is rejected by Objects.requireNonNull and the empty string by this IllegalArgumentException, because an empty constraint is meaningless and almost always indicates an unset property.

Solutions

1. Give the source property a concrete default, e.g. <properties><maven.min.version>[3.6.3,)</maven.min.version></properties>
2. Guard the call: skip the check or substitute a sane default when the configured value is blank
3. Pass a literal constraint such as "[3.0,)"

Example fix

// before
boolean ok = rtInfo.isMavenVersion(range); // range == "" when the property is unset

// after
String range = Optional.ofNullable(props.getProperty("maven.min.version"))
        .filter(s -> !s.isBlank())
        .orElse("[3.6.3,)");
boolean ok = rtInfo.isMavenVersion(range);

if (range == null || range.isBlank()) {
    range = "[3.6.3,)"; // or reject with a clear configuration error
}
boolean ok = rtInfo.isMavenVersion(range);

try {
    rtInfo.isMavenVersion(configuredRange);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    throw new MojoExecutionException("version range misconfigured: '" + configuredRange + "'", e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: rtInfo.isMavenVersion("") — most often a configurable value like ${maven.min.version} that resolved to empty because the property was never defined, or code that defaults missing config to the empty string.

Common situations: Prerequisite checks in mojos or extensions reading a version range from plugin configuration or a property that is absent; copy-pasted code where the range constant was deleted.

Related errors

• Unable to parse version constraint:
• Unable to parse version range:
• cannot be null
• Cannot find ArtifactRepositoryLayout instance for
• Couldn't find a version in " + versions + " to match range…

AI-assisted analysis of apache/maven@e4093d4e12 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/17b967f01708b4de. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at impl/maven-core/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/rtinfo/internal/DefaultRuntimeInformation.java:93

                logger.warn(msg, e);
            } else {
                logger.warn(msg);
            }
        }

        String version = props.getProperty("version", "").trim();

        if (!version.startsWith("${")) {
            return version;
        } else {
            return "";
        }
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isMavenVersion(String versionRange) {
        if (Objects.requireNonNull(versionRange, "versionRange cannot be null").isEmpty()) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("versionRange cannot be empty");
        }

        VersionConstraint constraint;
        try {
            constraint = versionScheme.parseVersionConstraint(versionRange);
        } catch (InvalidVersionSpecificationException e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(e.getMessage(), e);
        }

        Version current;
        try {
            String mavenVersion = getMavenVersion();
            if (mavenVersion.isEmpty()) {
                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Could not determine current Maven version");
            }

            current = versionScheme.parseVersion(mavenVersion);
        } catch (InvalidVersionSpecificationException e) {

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