What causes "architecture not specified for jdk [${name}]" in elastic/elasticsearch?

Add architecture = ' ' to the named jdk block.

elastic/elasticsearch · error · IllegalArgumentException

architecture not specified for jdk [${name}]

Error message

architecture not specified for jdk [${name}]

What it means

Thrown by Jdk.finalizeValues() when the architecture Property is unset (architecture.isPresent() == false). It is the fourth and final presence guard in finalizeValues(). Without an architecture the dependency classifier cannot be formed.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/Jdk.java:203

    private String getHomeRoot() {
        boolean isOSX = "mac".equals(getPlatform()) || "darwin".equals(getPlatform());
        return getPath() + (isOSX ? "/Contents/Home" : "");
    }

    // internal, make this jdks configuration unmodifiable
    void finalizeValues() {
        if (version.isPresent() == false) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("version not specified for jdk [" + name + "]");
        }
        if (platform.isPresent() == false) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("platform not specified for jdk [" + name + "]");
        }
        if (vendor.isPresent() == false) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("vendor not specified for jdk [" + name + "]");
        }
        if (architecture.isPresent() == false) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("architecture not specified for jdk [" + name + "]");
        }
        version.finalizeValue();
        platform.finalizeValue();
        vendor.finalizeValue();
        architecture.finalizeValue();
        distributionVersion.finalizeValue();
    }

    @Override
    public Iterator<File> iterator() {
        return configuration.iterator();
    }

    private void parseVersion(String version) {
        // decompose the bundled jdk version, broken into elements as: [feature, interim, update, build]
        // Note the "patch" version is not yet handled here, as it has not yet been used by java.
        Matcher jdkVersionMatcher = VERSION_PATTERN.matcher(version);
        if (jdkVersionMatcher.matches() == false) {

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

Add architecture = '<aarch64|x64>' to the named jdk block.
Remove the partially-configured jdk declaration if it is unused.

Example fix

// before
jdks { j { version='21.0.3+9'; platform='linux'; vendor='adoptium'; } }
// after
jdks { j { version='21.0.3+9'; platform='linux'; vendor='adoptium'; architecture='x64'; } }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Ensure the architecture property is set before resolution:
jdks {
  my_jdk {
    version = '21.0.3+9'
    platform = 'linux'
    vendor = 'adoptium'
    architecture = 'x64'   // <-- required, no default
  }
}

Prevention

architecture has no default — always set it explicitly.
Set all four properties in one block.
Detect the host arch once and reuse it for every jdk block to avoid forgetting it.

When it happens

Trigger: A Jdk is declared with version, platform, and vendor but setArchitecture(...) is never called, then the configuration is resolved.

Common situations: Forgetting the architecture line; assuming 'x64' is implicit (it is not).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01d523e887141dce. Report an issue: GitHub.