What causes "Kibana version %s is not supported. Minimum version is %s" in testcontainers/testcontainers-java?

Upgrade the Kibana image tag to a version at or above MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION (check the constant in KibanaContainer).

testcontainers/testcontainers-java · error · IllegalArgumentException

Kibana version is not supported. Minimum version is

Error message

Kibana version %s is not supported. Minimum version is %s

What it means

KibanaContainer enforces a minimum supported Kibana/Elasticsearch version (MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION). ensureCompatibleVersion parses the version string with ComparableVersion and throws IllegalArgumentException if it is below the minimum, because older Kibana images lack APIs the container integration depends on.

Solutions

Upgrade the Kibana image tag to a version at or above MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION (check the constant in KibanaContainer).
Keep the Kibana and Elasticsearch image versions in lock-step.
If you truly need an old version, use an unmanaged setup (external mode) rather than this container class.

Example fix

// before
new KibanaContainer(DockerImageName.parse("docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:6.8.0"))

// after
new KibanaContainer(DockerImageName.parse("docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:8.11.0"))

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String tag = image.getVersionPart();
org.apache.maven.artifact.versioning.ComparableVersion v = new org.apache.maven.artifact.versioning.ComparableVersion(tag);
if (v.compareTo(new org.apache.maven.artifact.versioning.ComparableVersion("7.17.0")) < 0) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Kibana image too old: " + tag);
}

Prevention

Centralize image version constants and share them between Elasticsearch and Kibana declarations.
Pin supported tags in one place and upgrade Kibana and ES together.
Review MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION in KibanaContainer when choosing tags.

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a KibanaContainer (constructor or via buildDockerImageName) with an image tag whose version is lower than MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION, e.g. DockerImageName.parse("docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:6.x") or any tag that resolves to a too-old version.

Common situations: Pinning an old image tag copied from legacy test code; upgrading Elasticsearch tests selectively so Kibana stays behind; using a typo'd tag like "7.1" mistaken for "7.17".

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of testcontainers/testcontainers-java@8e549514e3 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e9a99b3ad75adf4f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/elasticsearch/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/elasticsearch/KibanaContainer.java:521

        String networkId = network.getId();

        try {
            DockerClientFactory
                .instance()
                .client()
                .connectToNetworkCmd()
                .withContainerId(containerId)
                .withNetworkId(networkId)
                .exec();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to connect Elasticsearch container to ad-hoc shared network", e);
        }
    }

    private static void ensureCompatibleVersion(String esVersion) {
        ComparableVersion comparableVersion = new ComparableVersion(esVersion);
        if (comparableVersion.isLessThan(MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION)) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                String.format(
                    "Kibana version %s is not supported. Minimum version is %s",
                    comparableVersion,
                    MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_VERSION
                )
            );
        }
    }

    private String createKibanaServiceAccountToken(String protocol) {
        if (elasticsearch == null) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Cannot create service account token in external mode");
        }

        String elasticPassword = elasticsearch
            .getEnvMap()
            .getOrDefault("ELASTIC_PASSWORD", ElasticsearchContainer.ELASTICSEARCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD);

View on GitHub (pinned to 8e549514e3)