flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException
App definition id is null
Error message
App definition id is null
What it means
Null-argument guard at the start of SetAppDefinitionCategoryCmd.execute: appDefinitionId is null, so updating an app definition's category is refused before any entity manager lookup. The category value itself may legitimately be null; the id may not.
Solutions
- Supply the app definition id whose category should change
- Null-check the argument in the calling service
Defensive patterns
Strategy: validation
When it happens
Trigger: Thrown at modules/flowable-app-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/app/engine/impl/cmd/SetAppDefinitionCategoryCmd.java:42 when the library encounters an invalid state.
Common situations: See trigger scenarios.
AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11).
Data as JSON: /api/errors/d33b5067771af973.
Report an issue: GitHub.
Appendix: source
Thrown at modules/flowable-app-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/app/engine/impl/cmd/SetAppDefinitionCategoryCmd.java:42
/**
* @author Tijs Rademakers
*/
public class SetAppDefinitionCategoryCmd implements Command<Void> {
protected String appDefinitionId;
protected String category;
public SetAppDefinitionCategoryCmd(String appDefinitionId, String category) {
this.appDefinitionId = appDefinitionId;
this.category = category;
}
@Override
public Void execute(CommandContext commandContext) {
if (appDefinitionId == null) {
throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("App definition id is null");
}
AppDefinitionEntity appDefinition = CommandContextUtil.getAppDefinitionEntityManager(commandContext).findById(appDefinitionId);
if (appDefinition == null) {
throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No app definition found for id = '" + appDefinitionId + "'", AppDefinition.class);
}
// Update category
appDefinition.setCategory(category);
// Remove app definition from cache, it will be refetch later
DeploymentCache<AppDefinitionCacheEntry> appDefinitionCache = CommandContextUtil.getAppEngineConfiguration(commandContext).getAppDefinitionCache();
if (appDefinitionCache != null) {
appDefinitionCache.remove(appDefinitionId);
}
return null;View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)