"file:." cannot be resolved to `java.nio.file.Path` (and plain "." value resolves to classpath root)

[ewoerner]

Given the following stripped-down demo application:

@SpringBootApplication
public class InjectedPathDemoApplication implements ApplicationRunner {
	@Value("${dir}")
	private Path dir;

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		SpringApplication.run(InjectedPathDemoApplication.class, args);
	}

	@Override
	public void run(ApplicationArguments args) throws Exception {
		System.out.println(dir);
	}
}

When run using a JDK in Windows:

$ java -jar demo.jar --dir=..
..
$ java -jar demo.jar --dir=./test
test
$ java -jar demo.jar --dir=.
C:\■■■■■■■■\injected-path-demo\bin\main

When run as native binary compiled with GraalVM:

$ ./demo-native --dir=..
..
$ ./demo-native --dir=./test
test
$ ./demo-native --dir=.
Exception encountered during context initialization - cancelling refresh attempt: org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'injectedPathDemoApplication': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'dir': Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: resource:/
Application run failed
org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'injectedPathDemoApplication': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'dir': Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: resource:/
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.aot.AutowiredFieldValueResolver.resolveValue(AutowiredFieldValueResolver.java:194)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.aot.AutowiredFieldValueResolver.resolveAndSet(AutowiredFieldValueResolver.java:167)
        at com.example.demo.InjectedPathDemoApplication__Autowiring.apply(InjectedPathDemoApplication__Autowiring.java:17)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.InstanceSupplier$1.get(InstanceSupplier.java:83)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.obtainInstanceFromSupplier(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:949)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.obtainFromSupplier(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1219)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBeanInstance(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1162)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:562)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:522)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.lambda$doGetBean$0(AbstractBeanFactory.java:337)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:234)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:335)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:200)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:975)
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:962)
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:624)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:754)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:456)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:335)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1363)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1352)
        at com.example.demo.InjectedPathDemoApplication.main(InjectedPathDemoApplication.java:17)
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.TypeMismatchException: Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: resource:/
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:87)
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:71)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1381)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1353)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.aot.AutowiredFieldValueResolver.resolveValue(AutowiredFieldValueResolver.java:188)
        ... 21 more
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: resource:/
        at org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.PathEditor.setAsText(PathEditor.java:115)
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertTextValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:439)
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:412)
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterDelegate.java:161)
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:80)
        ... 25 more

Expected result for the third call: returns either "." or "", and does not throw an error on native

[sbrannen]

Hi @ewoerner,

Congratulations on opening your first issue for the Spring Framework! 👍

What happens if you introduce the file: prefix as follows?

@Value("file:${dir}")

[ewoerner]

@sbrannen that causes injection to fail with any value, with the following stacktrace:

org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'injectedPathDemoApplication': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'dir': Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; URI is not hierarchical
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.resolveFieldValue(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:787) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:767) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.InjectionMetadata.inject(InjectionMetadata.java:145) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessProperties(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:508) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1421) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:599) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:522) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.lambda$doGetBean$0(AbstractBeanFactory.java:337) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:234) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:335) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:200) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:975) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:962) ~[spring-context-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:624) ~[spring-context-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:754) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar:3.3.1]
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:456) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar:3.3.1]
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:335) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar:3.3.1]
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1363) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar:3.3.1]
	at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1352) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar:3.3.1]
	at com.example.demo.InjectedPathDemoApplication.main(InjectedPathDemoApplication.java:17) ~[main/:na]
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.TypeMismatchException: Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; URI is not hierarchical
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:87) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:71) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1381) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1353) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.resolveFieldValue(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:784) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	... 19 common frames omitted
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: URI is not hierarchical
	at java.base/sun.nio.fs.WindowsUriSupport.fromUri(WindowsUriSupport.java:123) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/sun.nio.fs.WindowsFileSystemProvider.getPath(WindowsFileSystemProvider.java:98) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/java.nio.file.Path.of(Path.java:203) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/java.nio.file.Paths.get(Paths.java:98) ~[na:na]
	at org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.PathEditor.setAsText(PathEditor.java:86) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertTextValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:439) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:412) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterDelegate.java:161) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:80) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	... 23 common frames omitted

[sbrannen]

How about @Value("file://${dir}")?

[ewoerner]

That also throws, but with a different root cause:

[...]
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: URI path component is empty
	at java.base/sun.nio.fs.WindowsUriSupport.fromUri(WindowsUriSupport.java:133) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/sun.nio.fs.WindowsFileSystemProvider.getPath(WindowsFileSystemProvider.java:98) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/java.nio.file.Path.of(Path.java:203) ~[na:na]
	at java.base/java.nio.file.Paths.get(Paths.java:98) ~[na:na]
	at org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.PathEditor.setAsText(PathEditor.java:86) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertTextValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:439) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:412) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterDelegate.java:161) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:80) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar:6.1.10]
	... 23 common frames omitted

[sbrannen]

Thanks for trying out both of those variants and providing feedback!

I unfortunately don't work on a Windows machine, so I don't have an easy way to test this. Though, perhaps one of my colleagues can test this on Windows.

In the interim, please let us know which versions of the following you are using.

• MS Windows
• JDK
• GraalVM

From the stack trace, I can deduce that you're using Spring Boot 3.3.1 with Spring Framework 6.1.10.

[snicoll]

There's not much Spring is doing around that call stack. Since you can easily reproduce, it would be helpful to see if the raw Java API usage throws that exception as well. Can you please replace the @Value injection by the following in your run method?

Paths.get(URI.create("."));

If this fails as well, we know we can close this in favour of a report in GraalVM itself.

[ewoerner]

Version info, as requested:
Windows 11
OpenJDK Runtime Environment GraalVM CE 17.0.9+9.1 (build 17.0.9+9-jvmci-23.0-b22)
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-21.0.2+13 (build 21.0.2+13-LTS)

Turns out I did not test properly (I ran it from Eclipse), the exception is also reproducible without GraalVM when built as a JAR file:

$ java -jar .\injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar --dir=.
[...]
org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'injectedPathDemoApplication': Unsatisfied dependency expressed through field 'dir': Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: jar:nested:/C:/■■■■■■■■/injected-path-demo-1/build/libs/injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar/!BOOT-INF/classes/!/
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.resolveFieldValue(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:787) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:767) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.InjectionMetadata.inject(InjectionMetadata.java:145) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessProperties(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:508) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1421) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:599) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:522) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.lambda$doGetBean$0(AbstractBeanFactory.java:337) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:234) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:335) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:200) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:975) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:962) ~[spring-context-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:624) ~[spring-context-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:754) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar!/:3.3.1]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:456) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar!/:3.3.1]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:335) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar!/:3.3.1]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1363) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar!/:3.3.1]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1352) ~[spring-boot-3.3.1.jar!/:3.3.1]
        at com.example.demo.InjectedPathDemoApplication.main(InjectedPathDemoApplication.java:17) ~[!/:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT]
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[na:na]
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[na:na]
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[na:na]
        at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:568) ~[na:na]
        at org.springframework.boot.loader.launch.Launcher.launch(Launcher.java:91) ~[injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT]
        at org.springframework.boot.loader.launch.Launcher.launch(Launcher.java:53) ~[injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT]
        at org.springframework.boot.loader.launch.JarLauncher.main(JarLauncher.java:58) ~[injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT]
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.TypeMismatchException: Failed to convert value of type 'java.lang.String' to required type 'java.nio.file.Path'; Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: jar:nested:/C:/■■■■■■■■/injected-path-demo-1/build/libs/injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar/!BOOT-INF/classes/!/
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:87) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:71) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1381) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1353) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.resolveFieldValue(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:784) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        ... 26 common frames omitted
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not retrieve file for class path resource []: class path resource [] cannot be resolved to absolute file path because it does not reside in the file system: jar:nested:/C:/■■■■■■■■/injected-path-demo-1/build/libs/injected-path-demo-1-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar/!BOOT-INF/classes/!/
        at org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.PathEditor.setAsText(PathEditor.java:115) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertTextValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:439) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.doConvertValue(TypeConverterDelegate.java:412) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterDelegate.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterDelegate.java:161) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        at org.springframework.beans.TypeConverterSupport.convertIfNecessary(TypeConverterSupport.java:80) ~[spring-beans-6.1.10.jar!/:6.1.10]
        ... 30 common frames omitted

So the chain seems to be as follows:

• Since the value does not start with a "/" and has no scheme, the PathEditor directly delegates its work to the ResourceEditor
• The ResourceEditor resolves the resource to a DefaultResourceLoader.ClassPathContextResource
• The PathEditor checks whether the resource exists; this is true for "."
• Since the resource exists, the PathEditor calls AbstractFileResolvingResource.getFile() which only supports "vfs" and "file" protocol. However, the protocol is "jar" (with JAR) or "resource" (with GraalVM native binary).

The error also happens with any other value that resolves to an existing resource, so --dir=application.properties also throws an Exception.