quarkusio/quarkus · error · GradleException

Failed to create directories in %s

Error message

Failed to create directories in %s

What it means

QuarkusBuildDependencies.jarDependencies creates the lib/boot and lib/main directories of the dependency cache before copying Fast-Jar/legacy dependencies. If Files.createDirectories fails with IOException the task fails with this GradleException, including the target dependency directory in the message. It means the build cannot prepare its output layout, typically for environment reasons.

Source

Thrown at devtools/gradle/gradle-application-plugin/src/main/java/io/quarkus/gradle/tasks/QuarkusBuildDependencies.java:147

    private void jarDependencies(Path libBoot, Path libMain) {
        Path depDir = depBuildDir();

        if (nativeEnabled()) {
            if (nativeSourcesOnly()) {
                getLogger().info("Placing Quarkus application dependencies for native sources build in {}", depDir);
            } else {
                getLogger().info("Placing Quarkus application dependencies for native build in {}", depDir);
            }
        } else {
            getLogger().info("Placing Quarkus application dependencies for JAR type {} in {}", jarType(),
                    depDir);
        }

        try {
            Files.createDirectories(libBoot);
            Files.createDirectories(libMain);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new GradleException(String.format("Failed to create directories in %s", depDir), e);
        }

        ApplicationModel appModel = resolveAppModelForBuild();
        SmallRyeConfig config = effectiveProvider()
                .buildEffectiveConfiguration(appModel, new HashMap<>())
                .getConfig();

        // see https://quarkus.io/guides/class-loading-reference#configuring-class-loading
        Set<ArtifactKey> removedArtifacts = config.getOptionalValue(CLASS_LOADING_REMOVED_ARTIFACTS, String.class)
                .map(QuarkusBuildDependencies::dependenciesListToArtifactKeySet)
                .orElse(Collections.emptySet());
        getLogger().info("Removed artifacts: {}",
                config.getOptionalValue(CLASS_LOADING_REMOVED_ARTIFACTS, String.class).orElse("(none)"));

        String parentFirstArtifactsProp = config.getOptionalValue(CLASS_LOADING_PARENT_FIRST_ARTIFACTS, String.class)
                .orElse("");
        Set<ArtifactKey> parentFirstArtifacts = dependenciesListToArtifactKeySet(parentFirstArtifactsProp);
        getLogger().info("parent first artifacts: {}",

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

1. Inspect the depDir path from the message; if 'boot'/'main' exist as files, delete them and rebuild
2. Fix permissions: chown/chmod the build output directory so the current user can write
3. Check disk space and that the volume is writable
4. Run ./gradlew clean (or delete the dependency directory manually) and rebuild

Example fix

// before: depDir/lib/main exists as a leftover file
// after (shell):
rm -rf build/quarkus-build/dependencies # path from the error message
./gradlew quarkusBuild

File depDir = new File("build/quarkus-build/dependencies");
if (depDir.isFile()) throw new IllegalStateException(depDir + " is a file; delete it before building");
if (depDir.exists() && !depDir.canWrite()) throw new IllegalStateException(depDir + " not writable");

boolean isWritableDir(File f) {
    return !f.exists() || (f.isDirectory() && f.canWrite());
}

try {
    ./gradlew quarkusBuild
} catch (GradleException e) {
    if (e.message?.startsWith("Failed to create directories")) {
        fixPermissionsOrDelete(e.message.extractPath()); retry();
    } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Files.createDirectories(libBoot) or Files.createDirectories(libMain) throws IOException — the depDir path exists as a regular file, a parent is read-only, or the path is too long/invalid.

Common situations: A file named 'boot' or 'main' left over from a previous broken build inside the dependency dir; output directory on a read-only volume or full disk; permissions changed by running a previous build as root (CI cache).

Related errors

• Failed to load extension description + path
• Failed to copy %s to %s
• Failed to load + pomPropsPath + from the classpath
• Failed to collect project's classes in a temporary dir
• Failed to write Quarkus build configuration settings

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c577ed476af67ebd. Report an issue: GitHub.