mybatis/mybatis-3 · error · BuilderException

The properties element cannot specify both a URL and a resou

Error message

The properties element cannot specify both a URL and a resource based property file reference.  Please specify one or the other.

What it means

Error "The properties element cannot specify both a URL and a resource based property file reference. Please specify one or the other." thrown in mybatis/mybatis-3.

Source

Thrown at src/main/java/org/apache/ibatis/builder/xml/XMLConfigBuilder.java:245

  }

  private void reflectorFactoryElement(XNode context) throws Exception {
    if (context != null) {
      String type = context.getStringAttribute("type");
      ReflectorFactory factory = (ReflectorFactory) resolveClass(type).getDeclaredConstructor().newInstance();
      configuration.setReflectorFactory(factory);
    }
  }

  private void propertiesElement(XNode context) throws Exception {
    if (context == null) {
      return;
    }
    Properties defaults = context.getChildrenAsProperties();
    String resource = context.getStringAttribute("resource");
    String url = context.getStringAttribute("url");
    if (resource != null && url != null) {
      throw new BuilderException(
          "The properties element cannot specify both a URL and a resource based property file reference.  Please specify one or the other.");
    }
    if (resource != null) {
      defaults.putAll(Resources.getResourceAsProperties(resource));
    } else if (url != null) {
      defaults.putAll(Resources.getUrlAsProperties(url));
    }
    Properties vars = configuration.getVariables();
    if (vars != null) {
      defaults.putAll(vars);
    }
    parser.setVariables(defaults);
    configuration.setVariables(defaults);
  }

  private void settingsElement(Properties props) {
    configuration
        .setAutoMappingBehavior(AutoMappingBehavior.valueOf(props.getProperty("autoMappingBehavior", "PARTIAL")));

View on GitHub (pinned to 008069adb1)

Solutions

1. Keep only one of the url or resource attributes on the <properties> element and remove the other.
2. Move external properties into a single file referenced by either resource (classpath) or url (file system/URL).

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/main/java/org/apache/ibatis/builder/xml/XMLConfigBuilder.java:245 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of mybatis/mybatis-3@008069adb1 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e8889c98d0fb40c0. Report an issue: GitHub.