quarkusio/quarkus · error · IllegalArgumentException

More than one context object for the given scope

Error message

More than one context object for the given scope: ${selectedContext} ${context}

What it means

ClientProxies.getDelegate() resolves a scope's client proxy target by asking each registered InjectableContext for that scope to return the instance if active. If two contexts for the same scope are both active AND both return a value, ArC cannot pick one deterministically and throws IllegalArgumentException naming both contexts. CDI allows at most one active context per normal scope.

Solutions

Find code that activates the scope twice (e.g. RequestContext.activate() in both a filter and a test harness) and remove the duplicate activation.
If you register custom contexts, verify no custom context's scope overlaps a built-in active context for the same scope annotation.
Terminate contexts properly (try/finally with terminate/deactivate) so stale active contexts don't coexist.

Example fix

// before
requestContext.activate(); // also started by the test filter -> two active contexts

// after
if (!Arc.container().requestContext().isActive()) {
    Arc.container().requestContext().activate();
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

long active = Arc.container().getActiveContexts(MyScoped.class).stream() // or per-impl equivalents
    .filter(InjectableContext::isActive).count();
if (active > 1) throw new IllegalStateException("scope activated more than once");

Type guard

static boolean isSingleActiveScope(Class<? extends Annotation> scope) {
    long n = Arc.container().getContexts(scope).stream()
        .filter(InjectableContext::isActive).count();
    return n <= 1;
}

Try / catch

try {
    myScopedBean.doWork();
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (!e.getMessage().contains("More than one context object")) throw e;
    // deactivate duplicate context or fail fast with a clear message
}

Prevention

Always check isActive() before activating a context.
Terminate contexts in finally blocks to avoid lingering activations.
Give custom contexts their own scope annotation; never reuse built-in scopes.
Avoid activating the same scope in both test harness and production filters.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling a method on a client proxy (normal-scoped bean) when two context objects registered for the same scope annotation are simultaneously active and each yields an instance (e.g. a request context registered twice, or a custom context overlapping a built-in one).

Common situations: Custom @ActivatedScope/@RequestScoped-like context implementations registered via servlet/request filters that start a second context while the built-in one is active; testing harnesses that start contexts multiple times; extension bugs double-registering a context.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90f1650d8a46a2ac. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at independent-projects/arc/runtime/src/main/java/io/quarkus/arc/impl/ClientProxies.java:48

        T result = context.getIfActive(bean, ClientProxies::newCreationalContext);
        if (result == null) {
            throw notActive(bean);
        }
        return result;
    }

    public static <T> T getDelegate(InjectableBean<T> bean) {
        List<InjectableContext> contexts = Arc.requireContainer().getContexts(bean.getScope());
        T result = null;
        if (contexts.size() == 1) {
            result = contexts.get(0).getIfActive(bean, ClientProxies::newCreationalContext);
        } else {
            InjectableContext selectedContext = null;
            for (int i = 0; i < contexts.size(); i++) {
                InjectableContext context = contexts.get(i);
                if (result != null) {
                    if (context.isActive()) {
                        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                                "More than one context object for the given scope: " + selectedContext + " " + context);
                    }
                } else {
                    result = context.getIfActive(bean, ClientProxies::newCreationalContext);
                    if (result != null) {
                        selectedContext = context;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        if (result == null) {
            throw notActive(bean);
        }
        return result;
    }

    private static ContextNotActiveException notActive(InjectableBean<?> bean) {
        String msg = String.format(

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)