json-path/JsonPath · error · InvalidPathException

Character '.' on position is not valid.

Error message

Character '.' on position  is not valid.

What it means

After consuming a dot token, readDotToken checks whether the current character is another '.': a second consecutive dot where a property is expected (not part of the two-character '..' scan operator) is invalid, so compilation throws InvalidPathException reporting the offending position.

Source

Thrown at json-path/src/main/java/com/jayway/jsonpath/internal/path/PathCompiler.java:173

                }
                return true;
        }
    }

    //
    // . and ..
    //
    private boolean readDotToken(PathTokenAppender appender) {
        if (path.currentCharIs(PERIOD) && path.nextCharIs(PERIOD)) {
            appender.appendPathToken(PathTokenFactory.crateScanToken());
            path.incrementPosition(2);
        } else if (!path.hasMoreCharacters()) {
            throw new InvalidPathException("Path must not end with a '.");
        } else {
            path.incrementPosition(1);
        }
        if(path.currentCharIs(PERIOD)){
            throw new InvalidPathException("Character '.' on position " + path.position() + " is not valid.");
        }
        return readNextToken(appender);
    }

    //
    // fooBar or fooBar()
    //
    private boolean readPropertyOrFunctionToken(PathTokenAppender appender) {
        if (path.currentCharIs(OPEN_SQUARE_BRACKET) || path.currentCharIs(WILDCARD) || path.currentCharIs(PERIOD) || path.currentCharIs(SPACE)) {
            return false;
        }
        int startPosition = path.position();
        int readPosition = startPosition;
        int endPosition = 0;

        boolean isFunction = false;

        while (path.inBounds(readPosition)) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 62a4c9f0f6)

Solutions

1. Fix the extra '.' in the path — use exactly two dots for a scan (`$..price`) and one for property access (`$.price`).
2. Sanitize programmatically built paths by collapsing runs of 3+ dots: `path.replace("...", "..")` only if a scan was intended; otherwise remove extras.
3. Compile paths in a try-catch during development to catch bad separators early.

Example fix

// before
JsonPath.read(json, "$..store...price"); // triple dot
// after
JsonPath.read(json, "$..store..price"); // or $.store.price

String normalizeDots(String p) {
    return p == null ? null : p.replaceAll("\\.{3,}", ".."); // keep at most scan '..'
}

try {
    return JsonPath.read(json, path);
} catch (InvalidPathException e) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid dot usage in path: " + path, e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Paths like `$.a..b` are valid (scan), but `$.a...b`, `$..b.` followed by another dot, or `$.a..` (dot after scan at end via different branch) produce a lone '.' in property position.

Common situations: Typos with too many dots; template string concatenation adding an extra separator before a dynamic segment; confusion between scan `..` and deep-property attempts.

Related errors

• Path must start with '$' or '@'
• Path must not end with a '.
• Failed to parse ArrayIndexOperation:
• Failed to parse token in ArrayIndexOperation:
• Use bracket notion ['my prop'] if your property contains bla

AI-assisted analysis of json-path/JsonPath@62a4c9f0f6 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bc6f5577cfca932b. Report an issue: GitHub.