flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

availableAfter is null

Error message

availableAfter is null

What it means

Thrown by PlanItemInstanceQueryImpl.planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter when the availableAfter Date is null. Like other date filters, a null lower bound is rejected at query-construction time to keep the generated SQL well-defined.

Solutions

1. Pass a valid java.util.Date for the bound.
2. Guard with a null check and omit the filter when absent.
3. Ensure the date deserializer/parser returns an error instead of null for malformed input.

Example fix

// before
query.planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(from); // from may be null
// after
if (from != null) {
    query.planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(from);
}

if (availableAfter != null) {
    planItemInstanceQuery.planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(availableAfter);
}

boolean isPresent(Date d) {
    return d != null;
}

try {
    query.planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(availableAfter);
} catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("availableAfter is null")) {
        // rebuild the query without this bound
    } else {
        throw e;
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(null), usually from an absent 'from' timestamp or a failed date parse.

Common situations: Reporting windows with optional start dates; deserialization of a missing JSON date field into null.

Related errors

• availableBefore is null
• createdAfter is null
• createdBefore is null
• unavailableBefore is null
• activatedBefore is null

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fda57b0da620de93. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/flowable-cmmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/cmmn/engine/impl/runtime/PlanItemInstanceQueryImpl.java:376

    }

    @Override
    public PlanItemInstanceQuery planItemInstanceLastAvailableBefore(Date availableBefore) {
        if (availableBefore == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("availableBefore is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.lastAvailableBefore = availableBefore;
        } else {
            this.lastAvailableBefore = availableBefore;
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public PlanItemInstanceQuery planItemInstanceLastAvailableAfter(Date availableAfter) {
        if (availableAfter == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("availableAfter is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.lastAvailableAfter = availableAfter;
        } else {
            this.lastAvailableAfter = availableAfter;
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public PlanItemInstanceQuery planItemInstanceLastUnavailableBefore(Date unavailableBefore) {
        if (unavailableBefore == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("unavailableBefore is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.lastUnavailableBefore = unavailableBefore;
        } else {
            this.lastUnavailableBefore = unavailableBefore;

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)