flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

keyLike is null

Error message

keyLike is null

What it means

FlowableIllegalArgumentException thrown by CaseDefinitionQueryImpl.caseDefinitionKeyLike(String) when the key like-pattern is null. Like filters require an actual pattern with optional SQL wildcards; null is rejected eagerly. Omit the setter to match all case definitions.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-cmmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/cmmn/engine/impl/repository/CaseDefinitionQueryImpl.java:188

            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("parentDeploymentId is null");
        }
        this.parentDeploymentId = parentDeploymentId;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseDefinitionQueryImpl caseDefinitionKey(String key) {
        if (key == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("key is null");
        }
        this.key = key;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseDefinitionQueryImpl caseDefinitionKeyLike(String keyLike) {
        if (keyLike == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("keyLike is null");
        }
        this.keyLike = keyLike;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseDefinitionQueryImpl caseDefinitionResourceName(String resourceName) {
        if (resourceName == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("resourceName is null");
        }
        this.resourceName = resourceName;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseDefinitionQueryImpl caseDefinitionResourceNameLike(String resourceNameLike) {
        if (resourceNameLike == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("resourceNameLike is null");

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

  1. Pass a non-null pattern, e.g. caseDefinitionKeyLike("invoice-%").
  2. Guard: only call caseDefinitionKeyLike when the pattern is non-null (and non-empty if desired).
  3. Default the pattern upstream if a wildcard match-all is actually intended.

Example fix

// before
query.caseDefinitionKeyLike(keyPattern); // may be null

// after
if (keyPattern != null && !keyPattern.isEmpty()) {
    query.caseDefinitionKeyLike(keyPattern);
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (keyLike != null && !keyLike.isEmpty()) {
    query.caseDefinitionKeyLike(keyLike);
}

Type guard

boolean hasPattern = keyLike != null && !keyLike.isEmpty();

Try / catch

try {
    query.caseDefinitionKeyLike(keyLike);
} catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) {
    // null pattern — fall back to unfiltered query
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling caseDefinitionQuery.caseDefinitionKeyLike(null) from an uninitialized pattern variable or an absent search input.

Common situations: Search screens and batch selectors that build key patterns dynamically; the pattern variable stayed null when the input was empty or the config value missing.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/46ac8b9cf317b9d5. Report an issue: GitHub.