flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

caseDefinitionId is null

Error message

caseDefinitionId is null

What it means

AddIdentityLinkForCaseDefinitionCmd attaches identity links (candidate starter users/groups) to a case definition, and validateParams requires a non-null caseDefinitionId. Without it there is no definition to attach to, so FlowableIllegalArgumentException is thrown.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-cmmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/cmmn/engine/impl/cmd/AddIdentityLinkForCaseDefinitionCmd.java:54

    protected String caseDefinitionId;

    protected String userId;

    protected String groupId;

    public AddIdentityLinkForCaseDefinitionCmd(String caseDefinitionId, String userId, String groupId,
            CmmnEngineConfiguration cmmnEngineConfiguration) {
        
        validateParams(userId, groupId, caseDefinitionId);
        this.caseDefinitionId = caseDefinitionId;
        this.userId = userId;
        this.groupId = groupId;
        this.cmmnEngineConfiguration = cmmnEngineConfiguration;
    }

    protected void validateParams(String userId, String groupId, String caseDefinitionId) {
        if (caseDefinitionId == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("caseDefinitionId is null");
        }

        if (userId == null && groupId == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("userId and groupId cannot both be null");
        }
    }

    @Override
    public Void execute(CommandContext commandContext) {
        CaseDefinitionEntity caseDefinition = cmmnEngineConfiguration.getCaseDefinitionEntityManager().findById(caseDefinitionId);

        if (caseDefinition == null) {
            throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("Cannot find case definition with id " + caseDefinitionId, CaseDefinition.class);
        }

        IdentityLinkEntity identityLinkEntity = cmmnEngineConfiguration.getIdentityLinkServiceConfiguration().getIdentityLinkService()
                .createScopeDefinitionIdentityLink(caseDefinition.getId(), ScopeTypes.CMMN, userId, groupId);
        caseDefinition.getIdentityLinks().add(identityLinkEntity);

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Obtain the id via cmmnRepositoryService.createCaseDefinitionQuery().caseDefinitionKey(key).latestVersion().singleResult() and null-check it before linking
2. Validate inputs at the caller and return a 4xx-style message when the definition id is absent
3. Pass the latest deployed definition id explicitly after deployment

Example fix

// before
repositoryService.addIdentityLink(caseDefinitionId, userId, null, IdentityLinkType.CANDIDATE_STARTER);
// after
if (caseDefinitionId == null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("caseDefinitionId is required");
repositoryService.addIdentityLink(caseDefinitionId, userId, null, IdentityLinkType.CANDIDATE_STARTER);

if (caseDefinitionId == null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("caseDefinitionId is required");
repositoryService.addIdentityLink(caseDefinitionId, userId, groupId, type);

boolean hasDefinitionId(String id) { return id != null && !id.isBlank(); }

try {
    repositoryService.addIdentityLink(defId, userId, groupId, type);
} catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) {
    throw new BadRequestException("caseDefinitionId missing: " + e.getMessage());
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling cmmnRepositoryService.addIdentityLink(caseDefinitionId, userId, groupId, type) with a null caseDefinitionId, e.g. when the id came from a failed deployment lookup or an unset request parameter.

Common situations: Case definition lookup by key returning null and the null being passed on, REST payloads missing the definition id, or code assuming a default definition exists.

Related errors

• taskId is null
• identityId is null
• caseInstanceId is null
• Case definition keys is null
• The case instance with id '${caseInstanceId}' could not be f

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ea78ad564cfa1af6. Report an issue: GitHub.