flowable/flowable-engine · error · org.flowable.common.engine.api.FlowableException

can't clear configuration beans

Error message

can't clear configuration beans

What it means

clear() is unsupported on SpringBeanFactoryProxyMap because the map is a live view over the Spring BeanFactory; beans are managed by Spring and cannot be removed through this facade. The method throws unconditionally.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-engine-common/src/main/java/org/flowable/common/engine/impl/cfg/SpringBeanFactoryProxyMap.java:60

    @Override
    public boolean containsKey(Object key) {
        if ((key == null) || !String.class.isAssignableFrom(key.getClass())) {
            return false;
        }
        return beanFactory.containsBean((String) key);
    }

    @Override
    public Set<Object> keySet() {
        throw new FlowableException("unsupported operation on configuration beans");
        // List<String> beanNames =
        // Arrays.asList(beanFactory.getBeanDefinitionNames());
        // return new HashSet<Object>(beanNames);
    }

    @Override
    public void clear() {
        throw new FlowableException("can't clear configuration beans");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean containsValue(Object value) {
        throw new FlowableException("can't search values in configuration beans");
    }

    @Override
    public Set<Map.Entry<Object, Object>> entrySet() {
        throw new FlowableException("unsupported operation on configuration beans");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isEmpty() {
        throw new FlowableException("unsupported operation on configuration beans");
    }

    @Override

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Do not call clear() on this map; it is backed by the Spring context and cleared by closing the ApplicationContext
2. Remove only application-level beans via Spring lifecycle (destroy beans or refresh the context), not via this Map API
3. If mutable behavior is required, wrap or replace the map with a plain HashMap populated with the beans you control

Example fix

// before
configBeans.clear();
// after
// let Spring manage lifecycle:
applicationContext.close(); // or context.refresh()

if (map instanceof SpringBeanFactoryProxyMap) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("use ApplicationContext lifecycle to clear beans");
}

boolean isMutableMap(Map<?,?> m) { return !(m instanceof SpringBeanFactoryProxyMap); }

try {
    map.clear();
} catch (FlowableException e) {
    // fall back to Spring lifecycle
    applicationContext.close();
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling clear() directly on the map, or indirectly via Map.clear() invoked by framework cleanup code (e.g. context shutdown helpers, cache eviction, or code treating the map as a mutable cache).

Common situations: Code that clears shared configuration maps on restart/reload, generic map-reset logic in tests, or libraries that accept a Map and clear it before repopulating.

Understand the failure class

Background: UnsupportedOperationException and "is not supported" errors: when a library deliberately refuses a call — this error's family across 30 libraries.

Related errors

• unsupported operation on configuration beans
• can't search values in configuration beans
• unsupported operation on configuration beans
• can't clear configuration beans
• can't search values in configuration beans

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/831e2d8b8a203585. Report an issue: GitHub.