theonedev/onedev · error · ExplicitException

Unable to find dependency project: " + dependency.getProject

Error message

Unable to find dependency project: " + dependency.getProjectPath()

What it means

While submitting a build with project dependencies, DefaultJobService.doSubmit interpolates each dependency's project path and resolves it via projectService.findByPath. If no project exists at that path, an ExplicitException is thrown so the user knows the dependency configuration points at a non-existent project.

Source

Thrown at server-core/src/main/java/io/onedev/server/job/DefaultJobService.java:400

					ProjectScopedCommit.pop();
				}
				for (var dependencyParamMap: dependencyParamMaps) {
					Build dependencyBuild = doSubmit(user, project, commitId, interpolated.getJobName(), 
							dependencyParamMap, refName, request, issue, reason);
					BuildDependence dependence = new BuildDependence();
					dependence.setDependency(dependencyBuild);
					dependence.setDependent(build);
					dependence.setRequireSuccessful(interpolated.isRequireSuccessful());
					dependence.setArtifacts(interpolated.getArtifacts());
					dependence.setDestinationPath(interpolated.getDestinationPath());
					build.getDependencies().add(dependence);
				}
			}
			for (ProjectDependency dependency : build.getJob().getProjectDependencies()) {
				dependency = interpolator.interpolateProperties(dependency);
				Project dependencyProject = projectService.findByPath(dependency.getProjectPath());
				if (dependencyProject == null)
					throw new ExplicitException("Unable to find dependency project: " + dependency.getProjectPath());

				Subject subject;
				if (dependency.getAccessTokenSecret() != null) {
					String secretValue = build.getJobAuthorizationContext().getSecretValue(dependency.getAccessTokenSecret());
					var accessToken = accessTokenService.findByValue(secretValue);
					if (accessToken == null) {
						throw new ExplicitException("Unable to access dependency project '"
								+ dependency.getProjectPath() + "': invalid access token");
					}
					subject = accessToken.asSubject();
				} else {
					subject = SecurityUtils.asAnonymous();
				}

				Build dependencyBuild = dependency.getBuildProvider().getBuild(dependencyProject);
				if (dependencyBuild == null) {
					String errorMessage = String.format("Unable to find dependency build in project '"
							+ dependencyProject.getPath() + "'");

View on GitHub (pinned to d44925c47c)

Solutions

Fix the dependency's project path in the build spec to an existing project (check the project list for the exact path).
Recreate the missing dependency project, or remove the dependency if it's no longer needed.
If the path comes from property interpolation, verify the property values resolve correctly for this build.

Example fix

// before
projectDependencies:
- projectName: core-lib   # project renamed to 'core-library'
// after
projectDependencies:
- projectName: core-library

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

for (ProjectDependency dep : job.getProjectDependencies()) {
  if (projectService.findByPath(dep.getProjectPath()) == null)
    throw new ValidationException("Dependency project not found: " + dep.getProjectPath());
}

Try / catch

try { jobService.submit(...); } catch (ExplicitException e) { if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Unable to find dependency project")) fixDependencyPath(); throw e; }

Prevention

Reference dependency projects by their full current path
Check for renames/deletions when updating build specs
Test property interpolation values that build dependency paths

When it happens

Trigger: doSubmit (via submit or dependencyBuild) when a job's projectDependencies reference a projectPath that does not exist in the server (renamed, deleted, or mistyped project path).

Common situations: Dependency project renamed or deleted after the build spec was written; typos in the project path; copy-pasting specs between servers/instances where the project doesn't exist; interpolated property producing a wrong path.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Could not be found', 'does not exist', 'not found in database': the resource-not-found family when an ID, slug, key, or URI lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of theonedev/onedev@d44925c47c (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5c29cfb7d3f7452e. Report an issue: GitHub.