flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

Task descriptionlike is null

Error message

Task descriptionlike is null

What it means

TaskQuery.taskDescriptionLike() throws FlowableIllegalArgumentException when the like-pattern argument is null. Like filters require a pattern string (may contain % wildcards); null is rejected immediately so the generated SQL stays valid. Note the message uses the internal lowercase spelling 'descriptionlike'.

Solutions

1. Guard the call: only invoke taskDescriptionLike when the pattern is non-null.
2. Build the pattern defensively: String p = input == null ? null : "%" + input + "%"; and skip if p == null.
3. Default the input to "%" to match all descriptions if that behavior is desired.
4. Catch FlowableIllegalArgumentException and return a client-side validation error.

Example fix

// before
query.taskDescriptionLike("%" + input + "%"); // throws when input is null
// after
if (input != null) {
    query.taskDescriptionLike("%" + input + "%");
}

if (descriptionLike != null) {
    query.taskDescriptionLike(descriptionLike);
}

boolean isLikePattern(String s) { return s != null && !s.isEmpty(); }

try {
    query.taskDescriptionLike(pattern);
} catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) {
    throw new BadRequestException("descriptionLike pattern required", e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling taskDescriptionLike(null), typically when the pattern is built from user input or a concatenated wildcard string whose base value was null.

Common situations: Building patterns like "%" + userInput + "%" where userInput is null; optional search fields forwarded unchecked; API clients omitting the descriptionLike query parameter.

Related errors

• Candidate user is null
• Description is null
• Involved groups are null
• Involved user is null
• Max Priority is null

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a7fdd868fff10cf1. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/flowable-task-service/src/main/java/org/flowable/task/service/impl/TaskQueryImpl.java:365

    @Override
    public TaskQueryImpl taskDescription(String description) {
        if (description == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("Description is null");
        }

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

    @Override
    public TaskQuery taskDescriptionLike(String descriptionLike) {
        if (descriptionLike == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("Task descriptionlike is null");
        }
        if (orActive) {
            currentOrQueryObject.descriptionLike = descriptionLike;
        } else {
            this.descriptionLike = descriptionLike;
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public TaskQuery taskDescriptionLikeIgnoreCase(String descriptionLikeIgnoreCase) {
        if (descriptionLikeIgnoreCase == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("Task descriptionLikeIgnoreCase is null");
        }
        if (orActive) {
            currentOrQueryObject.descriptionLikeIgnoreCase = descriptionLikeIgnoreCase.toLowerCase();
        } else {
            this.descriptionLikeIgnoreCase = descriptionLikeIgnoreCase.toLowerCase();

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