flowable/flowable-engine · error · FlowableIllegalArgumentException

version is null

Error message

version is null

What it means

DecisionQueryImpl.checkVersion(Integer) throws FlowableIllegalArgumentException("version is null") when a version filter method (decisionVersion, decisionVersionGreaterThan, decisionVersionGreaterThanOrEquals, decisionVersionLowerThan, decisionVersionLowerThanOrEquals) is given a null Integer. Version comparisons require a concrete number for the generated SQL; a null version is a programming error, so it is rejected before any query runs.

Source

Thrown at modules/flowable-dmn-engine/src/main/java/org/flowable/dmn/engine/impl/DecisionQueryImpl.java:230

    }

    @Override
    public DmnDecisionQuery decisionVersionLowerThan(Integer decisionVersion) {
        checkVersion(decisionVersion);
        this.versionLt = decisionVersion;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public DmnDecisionQuery decisionVersionLowerThanOrEquals(Integer decisionVersion) {
        checkVersion(decisionVersion);
        this.versionLte = decisionVersion;
        return this;
    }

    protected void checkVersion(Integer version) {
        if (version == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("version is null");
        } else if (version <= 0) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("version must be positive");
        }
    }

    @Override
    public DecisionQueryImpl latestVersion() {
        this.latest = true;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public DmnDecisionQuery decisionTenantId(String tenantId) {
        if (tenantId == null) {
            throw new FlowableIllegalArgumentException("decision tenantId is null");
        }
        this.tenantId = tenantId;
        return this;

View on GitHub (pinned to d6d39ce1c6)

Solutions

1. Resolve a concrete version number (>= 1) before applying any version filter.
2. Only call the version method when the Integer is non-null; otherwise omit the filter (e.g. use latestVersion()).
3. Validate/parse the version parameter at the entry point and fail fast with a clear message.

Example fix

// before
query.decisionVersion(versionParam); // Integer, may be null
// after
if (versionParam != null) {
    query.decisionVersion(versionParam);
} else {
    query.latestVersion();
}

if (version != null) {
    if (version < 1) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("version must be >= 1, got: " + version);
    }
    query.decisionVersion(version);
}

boolean isValidVersion(Integer v) { return v != null && v > 0; }

try {
    query.decisionVersion(version);
} catch (FlowableIllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().contains("version")) {
        query.latestVersion(); // sensible fallback
    } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling decisionVersion(null) or decisionVersionGreaterThan(null) etc., typically with an Integer variable parsed from user input/config that failed to parse or was never set; also when autoboxing a null Integer returned by a lookup.

Common situations: REST endpoints where the version query parameter is absent and Integer.valueOf is not reached; config maps whose key is missing so Map.get returns null; migration code between decision versions where the version field is optional upstream.

Related errors

• key is null
• keyLike is null
• resourceName is null
• resourceNameLike is null
• version must be positive

AI-assisted analysis of flowable/flowable-engine@d6d39ce1c6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/34d7fba6da22301a. Report an issue: GitHub.