spring-projects/spring-framework · error · IllegalArgumentException

targetField is required

Error message

targetField is required

What it means

Error "targetField is required" thrown in spring-projects/spring-framework.

Source

Thrown at spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/FieldRetrievingFactoryBean.java:194

				Assert.state(this.staticField != null, "No target field specified");
			}

			// Try to parse static field into class and field.
			int lastDotIndex = this.staticField.lastIndexOf('.');
			if (lastDotIndex == -1 || lastDotIndex == this.staticField.length()) {
				throw new IllegalArgumentException(
						"staticField must be a fully qualified class plus static field name: " +
						"for example, 'example.MyExampleClass.MY_EXAMPLE_FIELD'");
			}
			String className = this.staticField.substring(0, lastDotIndex);
			String fieldName = this.staticField.substring(lastDotIndex + 1);
			this.targetClass = ClassUtils.forName(className, this.beanClassLoader);
			this.targetField = fieldName;
		}

		else if (this.targetField == null) {
			// Either targetClass or targetObject specified.
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("targetField is required");
		}

		// Try to get the exact method first.
		Class<?> targetClass = (this.targetObject != null ? this.targetObject.getClass() : this.targetClass);
		this.fieldObject = targetClass.getField(this.targetField);
	}


	@Override
	public @Nullable Object getObject() throws IllegalAccessException {
		if (this.fieldObject == null) {
			throw new FactoryBeanNotInitializedException();
		}
		ReflectionUtils.makeAccessible(this.fieldObject);
		if (this.targetObject != null) {
			// instance field
			return this.fieldObject.get(this.targetObject);
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to e8729d0438)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/config/FieldRetrievingFactoryBean.java:194 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-framework@e8729d0438 (2026-08-04). Data as JSON: /data/errors/2cb2b356ba2024be.json. Report an issue: GitHub.