flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableObjectNotFoundException

execution ${executionId} doesn't exist

Error message

execution ${executionId} doesn't exist

What it means

After passing argument validation, GetDataObjectCmd loads the ExecutionEntity by id; if no execution with that id exists it throws FlowableObjectNotFoundException with the message 'execution <id> doesn't exist'. The execution was deleted, never existed, or the id is wrong (or from a different engine/history level).

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/engine/impl/cmd/GetDataObjectCmd.java:74

        this.dataObjectName = dataObjectName;
        this.isLocal = isLocal;
        this.locale = locale;
        this.withLocalizationFallback = withLocalizationFallback;
    }

    @Override
    public DataObject execute(CommandContext commandContext) {
        if (executionId == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("executionId is null");
        }
        if (dataObjectName == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("dataObjectName is null");
        }

        ExecutionEntity execution = CommandContextUtil.getExecutionEntityManager(commandContext).findById(executionId);

        if (execution == null) {
            throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("execution " + executionId + " doesn't exist", Execution.class);
        }

        DataObject dataObject = null;

        VariableInstance variableEntity = null;
        if (Flowable5Util.isFlowable5ProcessDefinitionId(commandContext, execution.getProcessDefinitionId())) {
            Flowable5CompatibilityHandler compatibilityHandler = Flowable5Util.getFlowable5CompatibilityHandler();
            variableEntity = compatibilityHandler.getExecutionVariableInstance(executionId, dataObjectName, isLocal);

        } else {
            if (isLocal) {
                variableEntity = execution.getVariableInstanceLocal(dataObjectName, false);
            } else {
                variableEntity = execution.getVariableInstance(dataObjectName, false);
            }
        }

        String localizedName = null;

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Re-fetch the execution first (runtimeService.createExecutionQuery().executionId(id).singleResult()) and only call getDataObject when it exists
2. Use the current process instance id and derive the execution via a query instead of storing long-lived execution ids
3. Check for completion before accessing data objects; read data objects during the process lifecycle or via history APIs when ended
4. Verify the id targets the correct Flowable engine/database

Example fix

// before
DataObject d = runtimeService.getDataObject(staleExecutionId, "name");
// after
ExecutionEntity exec = (ExecutionEntity) runtimeService.createExecutionQuery().executionId(staleExecutionId).singleResult();
if (exec != null) {
    DataObject d = runtimeService.getDataObject(staleExecutionId, "name");
}

Execution e = runtimeService.createExecutionQuery().executionId(executionId).singleResult();
if (e == null) return null; // execution gone

try {
    DataObject d = runtimeService.getDataObject(executionId, name);
} catch (FlowableObjectNotFoundException e) {
    // execution no longer exists; fall back to history
}

When it happens

Trigger: runtimeService.getDataObject(executionId, name) with an id of a completed/removed process instance; typo'd or stale execution ids; using a process-instance id where an execution id is required when they differ.

Common situations: Long-running jobs holding an execution id captured before the process ended; multi-tenant setups querying an id that belongs to another engine's datasource; calling data-object APIs from external systems after instance cleanup.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Not found" and "does not exist" errors: why "Task not found", "No such folder", and "Can't find" fire when a lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 14 libraries.

Related errors

• Cannot associate execution by id: no execution with id '
• Cannot find process instance with id
• No execution found for id ''
• Cannot find process instance with id ${processInstanceId}
• execution ${executionId} doesn't exist

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/323ed34cadbd204c. Report an issue: GitHub.