hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · AnnotationException

Association '<role>' targets the type '<typeName>' which is

Error message

Association '<role>' targets the type '<typeName>' which is not an '@Entity' type

What it means

Error "Association '<role>' targets the type '<typeName>' which is not an '@Entity' type" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/boot/model/internal/CollectionBinder.java:2579

			Class<T> annotationClass, MemberDetails property, MetadataBuildingContext context) {
		final var fromProperty = property.getDirectAnnotationUsage( annotationClass );
		if ( fromProperty != null ) {
			return fromProperty;
		}
		// Check the owning entity class hierarchy (class-level annotation propagates to collections)
		final var modelsContext = context.getBootstrapContext().getModelsContext();
		final var fromClass = property.getDeclaringType().getAnnotationUsage( annotationClass, modelsContext );
		return fromClass == null ?
				extractFromPackage( annotationClass, property.getDeclaringType(), context ) :
				fromClass;
	}

	private void handleUnownedManyToMany(
			TypeDetails elementType,
			PersistentClass collectionEntity,
			boolean isCollectionOfEntities) {
		if ( !isCollectionOfEntities ) {
			throw new AnnotationException( "Association '" + safeCollectionRole() + "'"
					+ targetEntityMessage( elementType ) );
		}

		joinColumns.setManyToManyOwnerSideEntityName( collectionEntity.getEntityName() );
		final var mappedByPropertyValue =
				getMappedByProperty( elementType, collectionEntity )
						.getValue();
		final var table =
				mappedByPropertyValue instanceof Collection collectionProperty
						// this is a collection on the other side
						? collectionProperty.getCollectionTable()
						// this is a ToOne with a @JoinTable or a regular property
						: mappedByPropertyValue.getTable();
		collection.setCollectionTable( table );

		processSoftDeletes();
		processTemporal();
		processAudited();

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Annotate the target type with @Entity, or change the association to target an entity type.

When it happens

Trigger: An association or reference targets a type that Hibernate has not mapped as an entity.

Common situations: Missing @Entity on the target class, the class not being scanned into the persistence unit, or a typo in the entity name.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bc9941f6a9335b4c. Report an issue: GitHub.