quarkusio/quarkus · error · MojoExecutionException

Unable to update the pom.xml file

Error message

Unable to update the pom.xml file

What it means

RemoveExtensionMojo.doExecute wraps the whole RemoveExtensions invocation in a try/catch(Exception) and rethrows any thrown exception as MojoExecutionException 'Unable to update the pom.xml file'. This indicates the removal command crashed (rather than returning an unsuccessful outcome) — typically an I/O or model error while reading/rewriting pom.xml.

Source

Thrown at devtools/maven/src/main/java/io/quarkus/maven/RemoveExtensionMojo.java:67

        Set<String> ext = new HashSet<>();
        if (extensions != null && !extensions.isEmpty()) {
            ext.addAll(extensions);
        } else {
            // Parse the "extension" just in case it contains several comma-separated values
            // https://github.com/quarkusio/quarkus/issues/2393
            ext.addAll(Arrays.stream(extension.split(",")).map(s -> s.trim()).collect(Collectors.toSet()));
        }

        try {
            final QuarkusCommandOutcome outcome = new RemoveExtensions(quarkusProject)
                    .extensions(ext.stream().map(String::trim).collect(Collectors.toSet()))
                    .execute();
            if (!outcome.isSuccess()) {
                throw new MojoExecutionException("Unable to remove extensions");
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new MojoExecutionException("Unable to update the pom.xml file", e);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

1. Check the 'Caused by' of this exception for the root cause
2. Confirm pom.xml is writable and valid XML (mvn validate)
3. Close IDE locks/git operations on pom.xml and retry
4. Run `mvn quarkus:remove-extension` from the module directory rather than an unrelated aggregator if module resolution is the issue

// Ensure pom is writable and well-formed before running:
mvn validate && test -w pom.xml && echo writable

catch (MojoExecutionException e) {
  Throwable root = e;
  while (root.getCause() != null) root = root.getCause();
  log.error("pom update failed, root cause: {}", root.getMessage(), root);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any exception thrown inside new RemoveExtensions(...).execute(): IOException writing the pom, Maven model reading errors, concurrent modification/locking of pom.xml, or invalid project model passed via quarkusProject.

Common situations: pom.xml is read-only or locked by another process (IDE, git operation); malformed pom.xml XML; running the mojo in a multi-module setup where the targeted module cannot be resolved; disk full.

Related errors

• Unable to parse pom file: ${pom}
• Could not resolve POM for
• Unable to update the pom.xml file
• The parent project must have a packaging type of POM. Curren
• Failed to log the dependency tree to a file

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/37548fe788e18421. Report an issue: GitHub.