flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableException

exception during timer execution for " + job

Error message

exception during timer execution for " + job

What it means

Wrapper thrown by TimerStartEventJobHandler.execute when a checked Exception occurs during timer start-event execution. RuntimeExceptions are logged and rethrown as-is; checked exceptions are wrapped in this FlowableException for the job executor.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/engine/impl/jobexecutor/TimerStartEventJobHandler.java:85

                    if (flowElement == null) {
                        throw new FlowableException("Could not find matching FlowElement for activityId " + activityId + " in " + processDefinitionEntity);
                    }
                    ProcessInstanceHelper processInstanceHelper = processEngineConfiguration.getProcessInstanceHelper();
                    processInstanceHelper.createAndStartProcessInstanceWithInitialFlowElement(processDefinitionEntity, null, null, null, flowElement, process
                            , null, null, null, null, true);
                } else {
                    new StartProcessInstanceCmd(processDefinitionEntity.getKey(), null, null, null, job.getTenantId()).execute(commandContext);
                }

            } else {
                LOGGER.debug("ignoring timer of suspended process definition {}", processDefinitionEntity.getId());
            }
        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
            LOGGER.error("exception during timer execution for {}", job, e);
            throw e;
        } catch (Exception e) {
            LOGGER.error("exception during timer execution for {}", job, e);
            throw new FlowableException("exception during timer execution for " + job, e);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Inspect the logged stack trace (LOGGER.error includes the cause) for the real exception
2. Fix the underlying cause (e.g. failing event listener or command)
3. If the cause is transient (e.g. DB contention), rely on the async executor's retry policy

try { /* timer fires */ } catch (FlowableException e) { if (e.getMessage().startsWith("exception during timer execution")) { /* handle e.getCause() */ } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Any checked exception inside the timer execution path — e.g. starting the process instance or dispatching events throws a checked Exception.

Common situations: Event dispatcher listener failures, command execution throwing checked exceptions, or underlying IO/serialization issues during process instance start.

Related errors

• Error reading json value " + configuration + " for job " + j
• Timer '{activityId}' in {variableScope} was not configured w
• Unexpected activity type found for " + job + " at " + execut
• Unexpected activity behavior (" + behavior.getClass() + ") f
• Could not find process definition needed for timer start eve

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c66e37abe1293f2c. Report an issue: GitHub.