spring-projects/spring-boot · error · MojoExecutionException

Process terminated with exit code: {exitCode}

Error message

Process terminated with exit code: {exitCode}

What it means

MojoExecutionException thrown by JavaProcessExecutor.run when the forked process exits with a code that is neither 0 nor EXIT_CODE_SIGINT. The message echoes the actual exit code so the underlying process failure is identifiable. This wraps a deliberate, completed run — the process did terminate, just unsuccessfully.

Source

Thrown at build-plugin/spring-boot-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/maven/JavaProcessExecutor.java:75

		this.runProcessCustomizer = runProcessCustomizer;
	}

	JavaProcessExecutor withRunProcessCustomizer(Consumer<RunProcess> customizer) {
		Consumer<RunProcess> combinedCustomizer = (this.runProcessCustomizer != null)
				? this.runProcessCustomizer.andThen(customizer) : customizer;
		return new JavaProcessExecutor(this.mavenSession, this.toolchainManager, combinedCustomizer);
	}

	int run(File workingDirectory, List<String> args, Map<String, String> environmentVariables)
			throws MojoExecutionException {
		RunProcess runProcess = new RunProcess(workingDirectory, getJavaExecutable());
		if (this.runProcessCustomizer != null) {
			this.runProcessCustomizer.accept(runProcess);
		}
		try {
			int exitCode = runProcess.run(true, args, environmentVariables);
			if (!hasTerminatedSuccessfully(exitCode)) {
				throw new MojoExecutionException("Process terminated with exit code: " + exitCode);
			}
			return exitCode;
		}
		catch (IOException ex) {
			throw new MojoExecutionException("Process execution failed", ex);
		}
	}

	RunProcess runAsync(File workingDirectory, List<String> args, Map<String, String> environmentVariables)
			throws MojoExecutionException {
		try {
			RunProcess runProcess = new RunProcess(workingDirectory, getJavaExecutable());
			runProcess.run(false, args, environmentVariables);
			return runProcess;
		}
		catch (IOException ex) {
			throw new MojoExecutionException("Process execution failed", ex);
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 270dfe353f)

Solutions

1. Look immediately above in the log — the forked process printed its own error before exiting with that code.
2. Increase forked memory / verify the toolchain JDK matches the project's target.
3. Run the same command outside Maven to reproduce and get the full stack trace.
4. If exit code is 130 (SIGINT) it is treated as success; for other non-zero codes, fix the root cause inside the child process.

Example fix

// before: mvn -Pnative spring-boot:process-aot   (OOM during AOT, exit 137)
// after:  mvn -Pnative -Dspring-boot.aot.forkJvmArgs='-Xmx2g' spring-boot:process-aot

// Pre-validate fork inputs (memory, classpath, JDK) before invoking:
assert jdkToolchainExists();
assert forkedClasspathResolves();
// Then invoke; the message echoes the real exit code for diagnosis.

try {
    // invoke goal using JavaProcessExecutor.run
} catch (MojoExecutionException ex) {
    if (ex.getMessage().startsWith("Process terminated with exit code:")) {
        int code = Integer.parseInt(ex.getMessage().substring(ex.getMessage().lastIndexOf(' ') + 1));
        // surface child process logs above; do NOT silently retry unchanged
    }
    throw ex;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling run(...) (synchronous fork) for an AOT/test process or any Mojo that delegates to JavaProcessExecutor.run, and the child JVM exits non-zero (and not SIGINT). Examples: ProcessAotMojo/ProcessTestAotMojo forked AOT generation that fails inside the forked process; run goal with a failing main.

Common situations: Forked AOT process crashes (OOM, missing class, compile error in the host compiler); the application main throws and exits non-zero; toolchain JDK incompatible; native-image or AOT processor emits an error and exits 1.

Related errors

• A jar or war file is required for building image
• Process execution failed
• Source file is not available, make sure 'package' runs as pa
• Failed to load layers configuration with name '%s': '%s' not
• Failed to process custom layers configuration {source}

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-boot@270dfe353f (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/55bf396c5a1ac7bd. Report an issue: GitHub.