spring-projects/spring-boot · error · ReportableException

No project type is set and no default is defined. Check the…

Error message

No project type is set and no default is defined. Check the service capabilities (--list)

What it means

Thrown by ProjectGenerationRequest.determineProjectType when type detection is disabled (no --type, not detect mode) and the server metadata advertises no default type. With neither an explicit type nor a server default, no type can be chosen.

Solutions

1. Set --type explicitly to a supported id
2. Run 'spring init --list' to see available types
3. Configure the server to advertise a default type

Example fix

// before
$ spring init --target https://custom-initializr.example.com
// after
$ spring init --target https://custom-initializr.example.com --type maven-project

// If the server may lack a default type, always supply one explicitly.
InitializrServiceMetadata md = service.loadMetadata(serviceUrl);
if (request.getType() == null && md.getDefaultType() == null) {
    throw new IllegalStateException(
        "No default type advertised; set --type. Available: " + md.getProjectTypes().keySet());
}

try {
    request.determineProjectType(metadata);
} catch (ReportableException ex) {
    if (ex.getMessage().startsWith("No project type is set and no default")) {
        Log.error("Server has no default type - pass --type explicitly");
    }
    throw ex;
}

When it happens

Trigger: A custom Initializr service whose metadata omits a default type, combined with a request that sets no --type and does not trigger detect mode.

Common situations: Pointing --target at a minimal or custom Initializr that has not configured a default type; a server downgrade that drops the default-type entry.

Related errors

• Could not save the project, the server did not set a…
• Multiple types found with build
• No project type with id
• No type found with build
• ' ' already exists. Use --force if you want to overwrite or…

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-boot@270dfe353f (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a1837c97d93d2ccf. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/spring-boot-cli/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/cli/command/init/ProjectGenerationRequest.java:396

			if (this.format != null) {
				filter(types, "format", this.format);
			}
			if (types.size() == 1) {
				return types.values().iterator().next();
			}
			else if (types.isEmpty()) {
				throw new ReportableException("No type found with build '" + this.build + "' and format '" + this.format
						+ "' check the service capabilities (--list)");
			}
			else {
				throw new ReportableException("Multiple types found with build '" + this.build + "' and format '"
						+ this.format + "' use --type with a more specific value " + types.keySet());
			}
		}
		else {
			ProjectType defaultType = metadata.getDefaultType();
			if (defaultType == null) {
				throw new ReportableException(("No project type is set and no default is defined. "
						+ "Check the service capabilities (--list)"));
			}
			return defaultType;
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Resolve the artifactId to use or {@code null} if it should not be customized.
	 * @return the artifactId
	 */
	protected @Nullable String resolveArtifactId() {
		if (this.artifactId != null) {
			return this.artifactId;
		}
		if (this.output != null) {
			int i = this.output.lastIndexOf('.');
			return (i != -1) ? this.output.substring(0, i) : this.output;
		}

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