flowable/flowable-engine · error · ActivitiIllegalArgumentException

Invalid query usage: cannot set both taskNameInIgnoreCase…

Error message

Invalid query usage: cannot set both taskNameInIgnoreCase and nameLike

What it means

A task query cannot combine a name-like pattern with an exact-in-list name filter. taskNameLike(String) sets `nameLike`; calling taskNameInIgnoreCase afterwards detects the conflicting criterion and throws ActivitiIllegalArgumentException immediately.

Solutions

Keep only one of the two filters; remove taskNameLike(...) if the in-list filter is intended
Validate the search input so only one name-matching mode is accepted
Use an or() block only if OR semantics between the two name conditions are genuinely desired

Example fix

// before
taskQuery.taskNameLike("%review%").taskNameInIgnoreCase(names);
// after
taskQuery.taskNameInIgnoreCase(names);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (nameLike != null && namesIn != null) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("taskNameLike and taskNameInIgnoreCase are mutually exclusive");
}

Try / catch

try {
    query.taskNameInIgnoreCase(names);
} catch (org.activiti.engine.ActivitiIllegalArgumentException e) {
    // rebuild query with only one name filter
}

Prevention

Pick a single name-matching mode per query
Never apply every non-empty field of a search form blindly
Document filter exclusivity in your query-builder helper

When it happens

Trigger: Chaining taskQuery.taskNameLike("%review%").taskNameInIgnoreCase(list), or calling taskNameInIgnoreCase on a query where the nameLike field was already populated (including via an OR query object).

Common situations: Dynamic search builders that apply every non-empty field of a search form, so both nameLike and a names list end up set; migrating queries that previously used only one filter.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8828c6639bcfec6a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/flowable5-engine/src/main/java/org/activiti/engine/impl/TaskQueryImpl.java:209

    @Override
    public TaskQuery taskNameInIgnoreCase(List<String> nameList) {
        if (nameList == null) {
            throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("Task name list is null");
        }
        if (nameList.isEmpty()) {
            throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("Task name list is empty");
        }
        for (String name : nameList) {
            if (name == null) {
                throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("None of the given task names can be null");
            }
        }

        if (name != null) {
            throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("Invalid query usage: cannot set both taskNameInIgnoreCase and name");
        }
        if (nameLike != null) {
            throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("Invalid query usage: cannot set both taskNameInIgnoreCase and nameLike");
        }
        if (nameLikeIgnoreCase != null) {
            throw new ActivitiIllegalArgumentException("Invalid query usage: cannot set both taskNameInIgnoreCase and nameLikeIgnoreCase");
        }

        final int nameListSize = nameList.size();
        final List<String> caseIgnoredNameList = new ArrayList<>(nameListSize);
        for (String name : nameList) {
            caseIgnoredNameList.add(name.toLowerCase());
        }

        if (orActive) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.nameListIgnoreCase = caseIgnoredNameList;
        } else {
            this.nameListIgnoreCase = caseIgnoredNameList;
        }
        return this;
    }

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