jenkinsci/jenkins · error · IllegalArgumentException

No such item '%s' exists. Perhaps you meant '%s'?

Error message

No such item '%s' exists. Perhaps you meant '%s'?

What it means

Same reload-job null-job path, but Items.findNearest found a near AbstractItem, so the message (String.format with Unicode curly quotes) suggests it. Fires when the looked-up item is absent/not an AbstractItem and a plausible AbstractItem exists.

Source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/hudson/cli/ReloadJobCommand.java:79

        boolean errorOccurred = false;
        final Jenkins jenkins = Jenkins.get();

        final HashSet<String> hs = new HashSet<>(jobs);

        for (String job_s : hs) {
            AbstractItem job = null;

            try {
                Item item = jenkins.getItemByFullName(job_s);
                if (item instanceof AbstractItem) {
                    job = (AbstractItem) item;
                } else if (item != null) {
                    LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Unsupported item type: {0}", item.getClass().getName());
                }

                if (job == null) {
                    AbstractItem project = Items.findNearest(AbstractItem.class, job_s, jenkins);
                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(project == null ?
                        "No such item \u2018" + job_s + "\u2019 exists." :
                        String.format("No such item \u2018%s\u2019 exists. Perhaps you meant \u2018%s\u2019?",
                                job_s, project.getFullName()));
                }

                job.checkPermission(Item.CONFIGURE);
                job.doReload();
            } catch (Exception e) {
                if (hs.size() == 1) {
                    throw e;
                }

                final String errorMsg = job_s + ": " + e.getMessage();
                stderr.println(errorMsg);
                errorOccurred = true;
                continue;
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e228ff40b)

Solutions

1. Use the suggested full name.
2. Verify with `Jenkins.get().getItemByFullName(name)` and re-run.

AbstractItem near = Items.findNearest(AbstractItem.class, name, Jenkins.get());
if (near != null) { /* offer near.getFullName() */ }

catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { /* suggestion in message */ }

When it happens

Trigger: `reload-job <name>` with a typo close to a real job's full name.

Common situations: Typo; job moved into a folder so the bare name no longer resolves; case mismatch.

Related errors

• No such item '{job_s}' exists.
• Cannot build {0} because it is disabled.
• No such job '
• No such agent "{node_s}" exists.
• No such agent "{node_s}" exists. Did you mean "{adv}"?

AI-assisted analysis of jenkinsci/jenkins@2e228ff40b (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cb33570e38248b96. Report an issue: GitHub.