gradle/gradle · error · MetaDataParseException

Could not parse %s %s

Error message

Could not parse %s %s

What it means

AbstractModuleDescriptorParser.parseDescriptor wraps any non-MetaDataParseException thrown by a concrete parser (ivy.xml, POM-derived, or module-metadata parsers) into MetaDataParseException, formatted as 'Could not parse <typeName> <resource>' with the descriptor kind and the resource location, chaining the underlying exception. It marks the point where a downloaded/cached descriptor file turned out to be unparseable.

Source

Thrown at platforms/software/dependency-management/src/main/java/org/gradle/api/internal/artifacts/ivyservice/ivyresolve/parser/AbstractModuleDescriptorParser.java:54

    }

    @Override
    public ParseResult<T> parseMetaData(DescriptorParseContext ivySettings, File descriptorFile) throws MetaDataParseException {
        return parseMetaData(ivySettings, descriptorFile, false);
    }

    @Override
    public ParseResult<T> parseMetaData(DescriptorParseContext ivySettings, LocallyAvailableExternalResource resource) throws MetaDataParseException {
        return parseDescriptor(ivySettings, resource, false);
    }

    protected ParseResult<T> parseDescriptor(DescriptorParseContext ivySettings, LocallyAvailableExternalResource resource, boolean validate) throws MetaDataParseException {
        try {
            return doParseDescriptor(ivySettings, resource, validate);
        } catch (MetaDataParseException e) {
            throw e;
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new MetaDataParseException(getTypeName(), resource, e);
        }
    }

    protected abstract String getTypeName();

    protected abstract ParseResult<T> doParseDescriptor(DescriptorParseContext ivySettings, LocallyAvailableExternalResource resource, boolean validate) throws Exception;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 534f27719b)

Solutions

1. Open the resource path printed in the message - it usually shows an HTML error page or broken XML, telling you the real problem (auth, proxy, 404)
2. Refresh the poisoned cache: ./gradlew --refresh-dependencies or delete the module's directory under ~/.gradle/caches/modules-2
3. If the artifact itself is broken, pin an unaffected version, or exclude the dependency and replace it (resolutionStrategy.dependencySubstitution)
4. Fix the repository URL or credentials so the repository returns real metadata

Example fix

# before
repositories { maven { url 'https://repo.example.com/libs' } } # returns 403 HTML page
./gradlew build   # Could not parse ivy module descriptor ...
# after
repositories { maven { url 'https://repo.example.com/libs'; credentials { ... } } }
./gradlew build --refresh-dependencies

// Sanity-check a repository before relying on its metadata
repositories {
    maven {
        url 'https://repo.example.com/libs'
        content { includeGroupByRegex 'org\\.example\\..*' }
    }
}
// content filtering prevents grabbing HTML error pages from the wrong repo

try {
    configurations.compileClasspath.resolve()
} catch (org.gradle.api.internal.artifacts.ivyservice.ivyresolve.parser.MetaDataParseException e) {
    def loc = e.message.substring(e.message.indexOf('file:') >= 0 ? e.message.indexOf('file:') : 0)
    throw new GradleException("Unparseable descriptor at ${loc} - open it to check for an HTML error page or broken XML", e)
}

When it happens

Trigger: A repository serves a 404/403 HTML page cached under the ivy.xml or pom name; truncated or half-written XML from an interrupted download; an ivy.xml using entities/features the parser rejects; module metadata with an unsupported format version.

Common situations: Misconfigured repository URLs (proxy error pages, Nexus/Artifactory auth pages) served instead of descriptors; flaky networks leaving corrupt cached files; SNAPSHOT metadata rewritten mid-download; third-party modules with hand-crafted ivy.xml.

Related errors

• Unable to load Maven meta-data from %s.
• Could not generate worker process bootstrap classes.
• Cannot load transformed entry {transformedPath.getAbsolutePa
• Unexpected marker file: {markerFile} in instrumented buildsc
• Failed to create receipt for instrumented classpath file '%s

AI-assisted analysis of gradle/gradle@534f27719b (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/870ee2cb16e0cc81. Report an issue: GitHub.