flowable/flowable-engine · error · IllegalStateException

Provided decision definition must have its resource name set

Error message

Provided decision definition must have its resource name set.

What it means

ResourceNameUtil.getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceNameFromDeployment derives a diagram resource name by stripping the DMN file suffix from the decision's resourceName; without a resource name it cannot form the base name and throws IllegalStateException. Like error 1333 this is an internal invariant enforced before diagram-resource lookup.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-dmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/dmn/engine/impl/deployer/ResourceNameUtil.java:52

        }
        return dmnFileResource;
    }

    public static String getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceName(String dmnFileResource, String decisionKey, String diagramSuffix) {
        String dmnFileResourceBase = stripDmnFileSuffix(dmnFileResource);
        return dmnFileResourceBase + decisionKey + "." + diagramSuffix;
    }

    /**
     * Finds the name of a resource for the diagram for a decision definition. Assumes that the decision definition's key and (DMN) resource name are already set.
     *
     * @return name of an existing resource, or null if no matching image resource is found in the resources.
     */
    public static String getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceNameFromDeployment(
            DecisionEntity decisionDefinition, Map<String, EngineResource> resources) {

        if (StringUtils.isEmpty(decisionDefinition.getResourceName())) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Provided decision definition must have its resource name set.");
        }

        String dmnResourceBase = stripDmnFileSuffix(decisionDefinition.getResourceName());
        String key = decisionDefinition.getKey();

        for (String diagramSuffix : DIAGRAM_SUFFIXES) {
            String possibleName = dmnResourceBase + key + "." + diagramSuffix;
            if (resources.containsKey(possibleName)) {
                return possibleName;
            }

            possibleName = dmnResourceBase + diagramSuffix;
            if (resources.containsKey(possibleName)) {
                return possibleName;
            }
        }

        return null;

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Ensure each decision's resourceName is set to its source .dmn resource during parsing/deployment.
2. Fix the DMN XML/resource wiring so decisions map to a real deployed resource.
3. Guard custom code with StringUtils.isNotEmpty(decision.getResourceName()) before calling diagram helpers.
4. Disable diagram generation (DMN create diagram setting) if diagrams are not needed and resources are incomplete.

Example fix

// before
String diagramResource = ResourceNameUtil.getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceNameFromDeployment(decision, resources);
// after
if (StringUtils.isNotEmpty(decision.getResourceName())) {
    String diagramResource = ResourceNameUtil.getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceNameFromDeployment(decision, resources);
}

if (StringUtils.isEmpty(decisionDefinition.getResourceName())) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Decision resource name missing; cannot resolve diagram resource");
}

try {
    String name = ResourceNameUtil.getDecisionRequirementsDiagramResourceNameFromDeployment(decision, resources);
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
    name = null; // no diagram resolution possible
}

When it happens

Trigger: Diagram-resource lookup during deployment when the DecisionEntity's resourceName is empty — usually the same root cause as missing key: malformed DMN XML or a custom parse handler that never set resourceName.

Common situations: Custom deployers interfering with resource assignment; decisions built programmatically; DMN resources deployed through a nonstandard path that bypasses resource-name population.

Understand the failure class

Background: "This is a bug, please report it": internal invariant violations, unreachable panics, and SNH errors explained — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

• Provided decision definition must have both key and resource
• Cannot find case definition for id:
• DMN repository service is not available
• resourceName is null
• Dmn engine is not configured

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/47f02c06d3eb1506. Report an issue: GitHub.