quarkusio/quarkus · error · IllegalArgumentException

of Repository is meant to be a insert/update/delete query…

Error message

${method.name()} of Repository ${repositoryClassInfo} is meant to be a insert/update/delete query and therefore doesn't support Pageable and Sort method parameters

What it means

Methods annotated with @Modifying (insert/update/delete queries) cannot use Pageable or Sort parameters, since pagination and ordering are meaningless for bulk modification statements. Quarkus enforces this at build time with this IllegalArgumentException.

Solutions

Remove the Pageable/PageRequest and Sort parameters from the modifying method
Restrict the affected rows in the WHERE clause instead of using pagination (e.g. by date range or id list)
If paginated deletion is truly required, select the ids with a paginated read method and then delete with an IN clause
Verify @Modifying is actually intended — if the query is a select, drop the annotation and keep Pageable

Example fix

// before
@Modifying
@Query("delete from User u where u.inactive = true")
void deleteInactive(Pageable page);
// after
@Modifying
@Query("delete from User u where u.inactive = true")
void deleteInactive();

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (method.isAnnotationPresent(Modifying.class)) {
    boolean hasPaging = Arrays.stream(method.getParameterTypes())
        .anyMatch(t -> Pageable.class.isAssignableFrom(t) || Sort.class.equals(t));
    if (hasPaging) throw new IllegalArgumentException("@Modifying methods cannot take Pageable/Sort");
}

Try / catch

try {
    compile();
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("doesn't support Pageable and Sort")) {
        log.error("Strip Pageable/Sort from the modifying method");
    }
    throw e;
}

Prevention

Never add Pageable/Sort to @Modifying methods
Restrict bulk statements with WHERE clauses instead of pagination
Select ids first, then delete/update with IN
Double-check @Modifying is intended for the method

When it happens

Trigger: A repository method annotated with @Query and @Modifying whose signature includes a Pageable/PageRequest or Sort parameter, e.g. @Modifying @Query("delete from User u where u.lastLogin < :d") void deleteInactive(Pageable p).

Common situations: Copy-pasting a read method signature (which legitimately takes Pageable) into a bulk delete/update method; intending to batch deletes with pagination — which JPQL bulk statements do not support; misuse of @Modifying on what is actually a select query.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1890eece8d4eed88. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at extensions/spring-data-jpa/deployment/src/main/java/io/quarkus/spring/data/deployment/generate/CustomQueryMethodsAdder.java:167

                var index = (int) annotation.target().asMethodParameter().position();
                namedParameterToIndex.put(annotation.value().asString(), index);
            }
            // if no or only some parameters are annotated with @Param, add the compiled names (if present)
            if (namedParameterToIndex.size() < methodParameterTypes.size()) {
                for (int index = 0; index < methodParameterTypes.size(); index++) {
                    if (namedParameterToIndex.containsValue(index)) {
                        continue;
                    }
                    String parameterName = method.parameterName(index);
                    if (parameterName != null) {
                        namedParameterToIndex.put(parameterName, index);
                    }
                }
            }

            boolean isModifying = (method.annotation(DotNames.SPRING_DATA_MODIFYING) != null);
            if (isModifying && (sortParameterIndex != null || pageableParameterIndex != null)) {
                throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                        method.name() + " of Repository " + repositoryClassInfo
                                + " is meant to be a insert/update/delete query and therefore doesn't " +
                                "support Pageable and Sort method parameters");
            }

            Set<String> usedNamedParameters = extractNamedParameters(queryString);
            if (!usedNamedParameters.isEmpty()) {
                Set<String> missingParameters = new LinkedHashSet<>(usedNamedParameters);
                missingParameters.removeAll(namedParameterToIndex.keySet());
                if (!missingParameters.isEmpty()) {
                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                            method.name() + " of Repository " + repositoryClassInfo
                                    + " is missing the named parameters " + missingParameters
                                    + ", provided are " + namedParameterToIndex.keySet()
                                    + ". Ensure that the parameters are correctly annotated with @Param.");
                }
                namedParameterToIndex.keySet().retainAll(usedNamedParameters);
            } else {

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