flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

Name like ignore case is null

Error message

Name like ignore case is null

What it means

Flowable throws FlowableIllegalArgumentException from CaseInstanceQueryImpl.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(String) when the case-insensitive pattern is null. The method rejects null eagerly at query construction so it never reaches the database. Omit the criterion when no pattern is supplied.

Solutions

1. Conditionally apply: if (pattern != null) query.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(pattern)
2. Normalize input handling so 'not provided' results in skipping the criterion, not passing null
3. Use caseInstanceNameIgnoreCase for exact case-insensitive matching when appropriate
4. Catch FlowableIllegalArgumentException to convert it into a validation error response

Example fix

// before
query.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(term); // term may be null
// after
if (term != null) {
    query.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(term);
}

if (pattern != null) { query.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(pattern); }

boolean hasPattern = (p instanceof String s) && s.length() > 0;

try { query.caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(pattern); } catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) { throw new BadRequestException("nameLikeIgnoreCase must not be null"); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling createCaseInstanceQuery().caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(null) because an optional case-insensitive search term was null (absent query param, missing JSON field, unset variable).

Common situations: Case-insensitive case-instance search features; API gateways forwarding null for missing parameters; refactors normalizing empty strings to null before query building.

Related errors

• activatedBefore is null
• assignee is null
• availableAfter is null
• availableBefore is null
• before time is null

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/95e30bcc22b5057b. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/flowable-cmmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/cmmn/engine/impl/runtime/CaseInstanceQueryImpl.java:360

    }

    @Override
    public CaseInstanceQuery caseInstanceNameLike(String nameLike) {
        if (nameLike == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("Name like is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.nameLike = nameLike;
        } else {
            this.nameLike = nameLike;
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseInstanceQuery caseInstanceNameLikeIgnoreCase(String nameLikeIgnoreCase) {
        if (nameLikeIgnoreCase == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("Name like ignore case is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.nameLikeIgnoreCase = nameLikeIgnoreCase;
        } else {
            this.nameLikeIgnoreCase = nameLikeIgnoreCase;
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public CaseInstanceQuery caseInstanceRootScopeId(String rootScopeId) {
        if (rootScopeId == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("rootScopeId is null");
        }
        if (inOrStatement) {
            this.currentOrQueryObject.rootScopeId = rootScopeId;
        } else {
            this.rootScopeId = rootScopeId;

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