hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · ConfigurationException

Could not locate cfg.xml resource [%s]

Error message

Could not locate cfg.xml resource [%s]

What it means

Error "Could not locate cfg.xml resource [%s]" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/boot/cfgxml/internal/ConfigLoader.java:56

				public JaxbCfgProcessor initialize() {
					return new JaxbCfgProcessor( bootstrapServiceRegistry.getService( ClassLoaderService.class ) );
				}
			}
	);

	public ConfigLoader(BootstrapServiceRegistry bootstrapServiceRegistry) {
		this.bootstrapServiceRegistry = bootstrapServiceRegistry;
	}

	private InputStream locateStream(String cfgXmlResourceName) {
		return bootstrapServiceRegistry.requireService( ClassLoaderService.class )
				.locateResourceStream( cfgXmlResourceName );
	}

	public LoadedConfig loadConfigXmlResource(String cfgXmlResourceName) {
		final var stream = locateStream( cfgXmlResourceName );
		if ( stream == null ) {
			throw new ConfigurationException( "Could not locate cfg.xml resource [" + cfgXmlResourceName + "]" );
		}

		try {
			return LoadedConfig.consume( jaxbProcessorHolder.getValue()
					.unmarshal( stream, new Origin( RESOURCE, cfgXmlResourceName ) ) );
		}
		finally {
			try {
				stream.close();
			}
			catch (IOException e) {
				BOOT_LOGGER.unableToCloseCfgXmlResourceStream( e );
			}
		}
	}

	public LoadedConfig loadConfigXmlFile(File cfgXmlFile) {
		try ( FileInputStream cfgFileStream = new FileInputStream( cfgXmlFile ) ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Place hibernate.cfg.xml (or the named cfg.xml resource) on the classpath root, e.g. src/main/resources.
2. Check the resource path passed to configure()/Configuration for typos, including case sensitivity.
3. Ensure the build tool copies resource files into the output artifact (target/classes or the jar).

When it happens

Trigger: A hibernate.cfg.xml resource named in the configuration cannot be found.

Common situations: Referencing cfg.xml by a wrong classpath path or file path, or the file not being packaged into the deployment.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b30c443a343258a5. Report an issue: GitHub.