quarkusio/quarkus · error · IllegalStateException

AnnotationInstance <annotationInstance> is an invalid target

Error message

AnnotationInstance <annotationInstance> is an invalid target. Only Method targets are supported

What it means

The Spring DI extension derives bean names from @Bean methods in configuration classes. This method expects the @Bean annotation instance to target a method; when the target is not a method, the build fails with this IllegalStateException. @Bean is only meaningful on methods producing beans.

Source

Thrown at extensions/spring-di/deployment/src/main/java/io/quarkus/spring/di/deployment/SpringDIProcessor.java:518

    private String getBeanNameFromStereotypeInstance(AnnotationInstance annotationInstance) {
        if (annotationInstance.target().kind() != AnnotationTarget.Kind.CLASS) {
            throw new IllegalStateException(
                    "AnnotationInstance " + annotationInstance + " is an invalid target. Only Class targets are supported");
        }
        final AnnotationValue value = annotationInstance.value();
        if ((value == null) || value.asString().isEmpty()) {
            return getDefaultBeanNameFromClass(annotationInstance.target().asClass().name().toString());
        } else {
            return value.asString();
        }
    }

    /**
     * Meant to be called with instances of @Bean
     */
    private String getBeanNameFromBeanInstance(AnnotationInstance annotationInstance) {
        if (annotationInstance.target().kind() != AnnotationTarget.Kind.METHOD) {
            throw new IllegalStateException(
                    "AnnotationInstance " + annotationInstance + " is an invalid target. Only Method targets are supported");
        }

        String beanName = null;
        final AnnotationValue beanNameAnnotationValue = annotationInstance.value("name");
        if (beanNameAnnotationValue != null) {
            beanName = determineName(beanNameAnnotationValue);
        }
        if (beanName == null || beanName.isEmpty()) {
            final AnnotationValue beanValueAnnotationValue = annotationInstance.value();
            if (beanValueAnnotationValue != null) {
                beanName = determineName(beanValueAnnotationValue);
            }
        }
        if (beanName == null || beanName.isEmpty()) {
            beanName = annotationInstance.target().asMethod().name();
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

Move @Bean to a public method inside a @Configuration class that returns the bean
Remove @Bean from classes/fields; annotate those with @Component or inject via constructor
If a custom annotation composes @Bean, restrict it to @Target(METHOD)
Re-index and confirm no stray @Bean annotation instances exist on non-method targets

Example fix

// before
@Bean
public class MyConfig { }

// after
@Configuration
public class MyConfig {
    @Bean
    public MyService myService() { return new MyService(); }
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Place @Bean only on methods:
@Configuration
public class MyConfig {
    @Bean // method target only
    public MyService myService() { return new MyService(); }
}
// Composed annotations: @Target(ElementType.METHOD)

Prevention

Annotate @Bean only on @Configuration class methods
Never put @Bean on classes or fields
Constrain composed annotations with @Target(ElementType.METHOD)
Review annotation placement after using migration tooling

When it happens

Trigger: @Bean found on a non-method target (class, field, parameter) — typically via misuse, a typo, or a meta-annotation that drags @Bean onto a class/field during index scanning.

Common situations: Copy-paste of @Bean onto a configuration class; applying @Bean to fields intending field injection; custom annotations annotated with @Bean; migration tooling misplacing annotations.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6386cd7e017db8d6. Report an issue: GitHub.