quarkusio/quarkus · error · DefinitionException

A decorator must be @Dependent but ${decoratorClass} declare

Error message

A decorator must be @Dependent but ${decoratorClass} declares ${scopeAnnotation.getDotName()}

What it means

Per CDI, a decorator must be a @Dependent-scoped bean. During Decorators.createDecorator, Arc scans the decorator class annotations; if it finds a scope annotation other than @Dependent (e.g. @ApplicationScoped), it throws this DefinitionException.

Source

Thrown at independent-projects/arc/processor/src/main/java/io/quarkus/arc/processor/Decorators.java:67

            }
        }
        if (delegateInjectionPoints.isEmpty()) {
            throw new DefinitionException("The decorator " + decoratorClass + " has no @Delegate injection point");
        } else if (delegateInjectionPoints.size() > 1) {
            throw new DefinitionException(
                    "The decorator " + decoratorClass + " has multiple @Delegate injection points: " + delegateInjectionPoints);
        }

        InjectionPointInfo delegateInjectionPoint = delegateInjectionPoints.get(0);

        Integer priority = null;
        for (AnnotationInstance annotation : beanDeployment.getAnnotations(decoratorClass)) {
            if (annotation.name().equals(DotNames.PRIORITY)) {
                priority = annotation.value().asInt();
            }
            ScopeInfo scopeAnnotation = beanDeployment.getScope(annotation.name());
            if (scopeAnnotation != null && !BuiltinScope.DEPENDENT.is(scopeAnnotation)) {
                throw new DefinitionException(
                        "A decorator must be @Dependent but " + decoratorClass + " declares " + scopeAnnotation.getDotName());
            }
        }

        //  The set includes all bean types which are Java interfaces, except for java.io.Serializable
        TypeClosure typeClosure = Types.getClassBeanTypeClosure(decoratorClass, beanDeployment);
        Set<Type> types = typeClosure.types();
        Set<Type> decoratedTypes = new HashSet<>();
        for (Type type : types) {
            if (type.name().equals(DotNames.SERIALIZABLE)) {
                continue;
            }
            ClassInfo clazz = beanDeployment.getBeanArchiveIndex().getClassByName(type.name());
            if (Modifier.isInterface(clazz.flags())) {
                decoratedTypes.add(type);
            }
        }
        if (decoratedTypes.isEmpty()) {

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

1. Remove the scope annotation so the decorator defaults to @Dependent, or explicitly annotate @Dependent
2. If scoped behavior is required, move state into the decorated bean or a separate bean the decorator delegates through

Example fix

// before
@Decorator
@ApplicationScoped
public class MyDecorator implements MyIface { ... }
// after
@Decorator
@Dependent
public class MyDecorator implements MyIface { ... }

static void requireDependentScope(Class<?> decorator) {
  for (var a : decorator.getAnnotations()) {
    if (a.annotationType().isAnnotationPresent(jakarta.enterprise.context.NormalScope.class)
        || a.annotationType().isAnnotationPresent(jakarta.inject.Scope.class)) {
      if (a.annotationType() != jakarta.enterprise.context.Dependent.class)
        throw new IllegalStateException("Decorator must be @Dependent: " + a);
    }
  }
}

static boolean isDependentScoped(Class<?> decorator) {
  return decorator.isAnnotationPresent(jakarta.enterprise.context.Dependent.class)
      || java.util.Arrays.stream(decorator.getAnnotations()).noneMatch(a ->
          a.annotationType().isAnnotationPresent(jakarta.enterprise.context.NormalScope.class)
          || a.annotationType().isAnnotationPresent(jakarta.inject.Scope.class));
}

When it happens

Trigger: Annotating a @Decorator class with @ApplicationScoped, @RequestScoped, @Singleton or any other normal/psuedo scope instead of @Dependent.

Common situations: IDE auto-adding a scope annotation; copying a regular bean class and adding @Decorator without removing @ApplicationScoped; misunderstanding that decorators inherit scope.

Related errors

• Unable to construct type for ${decorator}: ${e.getMessage()}
• Decorated type not found in the bean archive index: ${decora
• The decorator ${decoratorClass} has no @Delegate injection p
• The decorator ${decoratorClass} has multiple @Delegate injec
• Interceptor declares scope other than @Dependent:

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ef1ac65fcaf391fa. Report an issue: GitHub.