quarkusio/quarkus · error · DefinitionException

Disposer method must not be annotated @Inject (alternatively

Error message

Disposer method must not be annotated @Inject (alternatively, initializer method must not have a @Disposes parameter):

What it means

Build-time CDI definition error from Injection.forDisposer: the method recognized as a disposer (it has a @Disposes parameter) is itself annotated @Inject, i.e. the same method is both an initializer and a disposer. The CDI spec forbids this combination; the offending method is appended to the message.

Source

Thrown at independent-projects/arc/processor/src/main/java/io/quarkus/arc/processor/Injection.java:404

        if (!classInfo.superName().equals(DotNames.OBJECT)) {
            ClassInfo info = getClassByName(beanDeployment.getBeanArchiveIndex(), classInfo.superName());
            if (info != null) {
                List<Injection> superInjections = forClassBean(beanClass, info, beanDeployment, transformer, true, seenMethods);

                // injections are discovered bottom-up to easily skip overriden methods,
                // but they need to be performed top-down per the AtInject specification
                superInjections.addAll(injections);
                injections = superInjections;
            }
        }

        return injections;
    }

    static Injection forDisposer(MethodInfo disposerMethod, ClassInfo beanClass, BeanDeployment beanDeployment,
            InjectionPointModifier transformer) {
        if (beanDeployment.hasAnnotation(disposerMethod, DotNames.INJECT)) {
            throw new DefinitionException("Disposer method must not be annotated @Inject "
                    + "(alternatively, initializer method must not have a @Disposes parameter): "
                    + disposerMethod);
        }
        if (beanDeployment.hasAnnotation(disposerMethod, DotNames.PRODUCES)) {
            throw new DefinitionException("Disposer method must not be annotated @Produces "
                    + "(alternatively, producer method must not have a @Disposes parameter): "
                    + disposerMethod);
        }
        if (Annotations.hasParameterAnnotation(beanDeployment, disposerMethod, DotNames.OBSERVES)) {
            throw new DefinitionException("Disposer method must not have an @Observes parameter "
                    + "(alternatively, observer method must not have a @Disposes parameter): "
                    + disposerMethod);
        }
        if (Annotations.hasParameterAnnotation(beanDeployment, disposerMethod, DotNames.OBSERVES_ASYNC)) {
            throw new DefinitionException("Disposer method must not have an @ObservesAsync parameter "
                    + "(alternatively, async observer method must not have a @Disposes parameter): "
                    + disposerMethod);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

Remove @Inject from the disposer method; its non-@Disposes parameters are resolved as injection points automatically
Move initialization logic into a separate @Inject initializer method
Drop the @Disposes parameter if the method was meant to be a plain initializer

Example fix

// before
@Inject
void dispose(@Disposes Widget w) {}
// after
void dispose(@Disposes Widget w) {}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

for (Method m : MyClass.class.getDeclaredMethods()) {
    boolean hasDisposes = java.util.Arrays.stream(m.getParameterAnnotations())
        .flatMap(java.util.Arrays::stream).anyMatch(a -> a.annotationType().getSimpleName().equals("Disposes"));
    if (hasDisposes && m.isAnnotationPresent(Inject.class)) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("@Inject disposer: " + m);
    }
}

Prevention

Never combine @Inject with a @Disposes parameter
Give each lifecycle role (inject/produce/dispose/observe) its own method

When it happens

Trigger: Annotating a @Disposes-parameter method with @Inject; detected in Injection.forDisposer at build time.

Common situations: Adding @Inject to a disposer thinking it enables injection into its other parameters; combining producer/disposer/injector roles on one method after refactoring.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ec241f244c77e3ee. Report an issue: GitHub.