hashicorp/nomad · error

can't force launch non-periodic job

Error message

can't force launch non-periodic job

What it means

Periodic.Force found the job but it has no periodic spec (`period`/cron), so it cannot be force-launched; force-run only applies to periodic jobs.

Source

Thrown at nomad/periodic_endpoint.go:74

	}

	// Lookup the job
	snap, err := p.srv.fsm.State().Snapshot()
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	ws := memdb.NewWatchSet()
	job, err := snap.JobByID(ws, args.RequestNamespace(), args.JobID)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if job == nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("job not found")
	}

	if !job.IsPeriodic() {
		return fmt.Errorf("can't force launch non-periodic job")
	}

	// Force run the job.
	eval, err := p.srv.periodicDispatcher.ForceEval(args.RequestNamespace(), job.ID)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("force launch for job %q failed: %v", job.ID, err)
	}

	reply.EvalID = eval.ID
	reply.EvalCreateIndex = eval.CreateIndex
	reply.Index = eval.CreateIndex
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 482b49bf1a)

Solutions

1. Add a `period` or `cron` stanza to the job and register it
2. Use `nomad job run`/dispatch for non-periodic jobs instead of force

Example fix

// before
client.Jobs().PeriodicForce("batch-job", nil) // non-periodic
// after
job, _, _ := client.Jobs().Info("batch-job", nil)
if job != nil && job.IsPeriodic() { // pseudo; check Periodic != nil
    client.Jobs().PeriodicForce("batch-job", nil)
} else {
    // use regular job dispatch instead
}

// Go: only force periodic jobs
job, _, err := client.Jobs().Info(jobID, nil)
if err == nil && job != nil && job.Periodic != nil {
    // safe to PeriodicForce
}

// Go
func isPeriodic(j *api.Job) bool {
    return j != nil && j.Periodic != nil && j.Periodic.Enabled != nil && *j.Periodic.Enabled
}

// Go
if _, err := client.Jobs().PeriodicForce(jobID, nil); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "non-periodic") {
        return fmt.Errorf("%s is not periodic; use job dispatch/run instead", jobID)
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Force / nomad job periodic force on a job registered with type service/batch/system instead of a job with a Periodic block.

Common situations: Copy-pasting a job ID of the wrong job; job spec lost its periodic block in a recent update; confusing 'periodic' dispatch with Cron in another system.

Related errors

• missing secret ID
• namespace cannot contain template delimiters or parenthesis
• wait config is nil or empty
• CSI.ControllerAttachVolume: VolumeID is required
• CSI.ControllerAttachVolume: ClientCSINodeID is required

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/nomad@482b49bf1a (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/99a4362c908a5d8e. Report an issue: GitHub.