Spring cannot find bean xml configuration file when it does exist

Question

I am trying to make my first bean in Spring but got a problem with loading a context. I have a configuration XML file of the bean in src/main/resources.

I receive the following IOException:

Exception in thread "main" org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanDefinitionStoreException: IOException parsing XML document from class path resource [src/main/resources/beans.xml]; nested exception is

java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [src/main/resources/beans.xml] cannot be opened because it does not exist

but I don't get it, since I do the following code test:

File f = new File("src/main/resources/beans.xml");
System.out.println("Exist test: " + f.exists());

which gives me true! resources is in the classpath. What's wrong?

How do you load context? – Aleksandr M Oct 15 '12 at 12:29 — Aleksandr M, Oct 15 '12 at 12:29

score 188 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 24 '22 at 09:09

Thanks, but that was not the solution. I found it out why it wasn't working for me.

Since I'd done a declaration:

ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");

I thought I would refer to root directory of the project when beans.xml file was there. Then I put the configuration file to src/main/resources and changed initialization to:

ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("src/main/resources/beans.xml");

it still was an IO Exception.

Then the file was left in src/main/resources/ but I changed declaration to:

ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");

and it solved the problem - maybe it will be helpful for someone.

Edit:

Since I get many people thumbs up for the solution and had had first experience with Spring as student few years ago, I feel desire to explain shortly why it works.

When the project is being compiled and packaged, all the files and subdirs from 'src/main/java' in the project goes to the root directory of the packaged jar (the artifact we want to create). The same rule applies to 'src/main/resources'.

This is a convention respected by many tools like maven or sbt in process of building project (note: as a default configuration!). When code (from the post) was in running mode, it couldn't find nothing like "src/main/resources/beans.xml" due to the fact, that beans.xml was in the root of jar (copied to /beans.xml in created jar/ear/war).

When using ClassPathXmlApplicationContext, the proper location declaration for beans xml definitions, in this case, was "/beans.xml", since this is path where it belongs in jar and later on in classpath.

It can be verified by unpacking a jar with an archiver (i.e. rar) and see its content with the directories structure.

I would recommend reading articles about classpath as supplementary.

I fail to see the difference between `ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");` and `ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");` — Florian F, Aug 26 '16 at 13:04
@FlorianF there is no difference. The difference is where the file is put, what is described in the post. — dawrutowicz, Aug 29 '16 at 07:03
I see you change `beans.xml` to `src/main/resources/beans.xml` and then *back* to `beans.xml`. Thanks. — Florian F, Aug 29 '16 at 14:26
You're not supposed to have src on the classpath. When you build the project those resources will be packaged somewhere else. — OrangeDog, Feb 21 '17 at 21:14
Hi, if we are running this jar from command line, it does not seem to be working as expected (working fine on eclipse). — Dhruv Singhal, Aug 07 '18 at 13:15

Mikhail Kolesnikov · Answer 2 · 2013-12-15T09:00:08.177

71

Try this:

new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("file:src/main/resources/beans.xml");

file: preffix point to file system resources, not classpath.

file path can be relative or system (/home/user/Work/src...)

edited Dec 15 '13 at 09:00

answered Dec 12 '13 at 15:10

Mikhail Kolesnikov

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1

well, it is better to keep resources in classpath than hard coded it but thanks, though. I didn't have experienced with CP that time :-) – dawrutowicz Jan 13 '14 at 23:03
1

It's probably better to be using [FileSystemXmlApplicationContext](https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/current/javadoc-api/org/springframework/context/support/FileSystemXmlApplicationContext.html) for files. – romnempire Dec 13 '15 at 10:43
i has similar problem and this solution worked for me. – Avdhut Dec 29 '16 at 06:39
1

this should be the answer – Supun Sandaruwan Mar 16 '22 at 15:08
It worked for me finally!!! – Deepak Kumar Mar 20 '23 at 16:51

score 24 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 13 '15 at 00:16

24

I also had a similar problem but because of a bit different cause so sharing here in case it can help anybody.

My file location

beans.xml file

How I was using

ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");

There are two solutions

Take the beans.xml out of package and put in default package.
Specify package name while using it viz.

ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("com/mypackage/beans.xml");

answered Mar 13 '15 at 00:16

Kalher

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well, true to be said. Reference "com/mypackage/beans.xml" is same as "/com/mypackage/beans.xml" since "com/mypackage/beans.xml" is relevant path which uses "/" (root) to build absolute path. – dawrutowicz Mar 14 '15 at 15:12

score 9 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 21 '17 at 23:09

9

src/main/resources is a source directory, you should not be referencing it directly. When you build/package the project the contents will be copied into the correct place for your classpath. You should then load it like this

new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml")

Or like this

new GenericXmlApplicationContext("classpath:beans.xml");

answered Feb 21 '17 at 23:09

OrangeDog

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new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml") didn't worked but -> new GenericXmlApplicationContext("classpath:beans.xml"); worked with java command line. – Martín Alcubierre Nov 14 '22 at 16:46

score 9 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 29 '18 at 04:07

This is because applicationContect.xml or any_filename.XML is not placed under proper path.

Trouble shooting Steps

1: Add the XML file under the resource folder.

2: If you don't have a resource folder. Create one by navigating new by Right click on the project new > Source Folder, name it as resource and place your XML file under it.

score 5 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 26 '15 at 06:18

5

use it ApplicationContext context = new FileSystemXmlApplicationContext("Beans.xml");

answered Dec 26 '15 at 06:18

Deep Shah

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Brian Agnew · Answer 7 · 2016-10-30T17:10:50.183

3

I suspect you're building a .war/.jar and consequently it's no longer a file, but a resource within that package. Try ClassLoader.getResourceAsStream(String path) instead.

edited Oct 30 '16 at 17:10

answered Oct 15 '12 at 10:35

Brian Agnew

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Hi... Sorry for asking a bit late, but can you please elaborate on how to convert from input streamto application context? I am currently trying to run an executable jar file, but it says it cannot load the bean xml as it does not exist. – Dhruv Singhal Aug 07 '18 at 13:14

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Oct 15 '12 at 14:16

3

You have looked at src directory. The xml file indeed exist there. But look at class or bin/build directory where all your output classes are set. I suspect you will need only resources/beans.xml path to use.

answered Oct 15 '12 at 14:16

Michael Z

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score 3 · Answer 9 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Note that the first applicationContext is loaded as part of web.xml; which is mentioned with the below.

<context-param>
    <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
    <param-value>META-INF/spring/applicationContext.xml</param-value>
</context-param>

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>myOwn-controller</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
    <init-param>
        <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
        <param-value>META-INF/spring/applicationContext.xml</param-value>
    </init-param>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

Where as below code will also tries to create one more applicationContext.

private static final ApplicationContext context = 
               new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");

See the difference between beans.xml and applicationContext.xml

And if appliationContext.xml under <META-INF/spring/> has declared with <import resource="beans.xml"/> then this appliationContext.xml is loading the beans.xml under the same location META-INF/spring of appliationContext.xml.

Where as; in the code; if it is declared like below

ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml");

This is looking the beans.xml at WEB-INF/classes OR in eclipse src/main/resources.

[If you have added beans.xml at src/main/resources then it might be placed at WEB-INF/classes while creating the WAR.]

So totally TWO files are looked up.

I have resolved this issue by adding classpath lookup while importing at applicationContext.xml like below

<import resource="classpath*:beans.xml" />

and removed the the line ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("beans.xml") in java code, so that there will be only one ApplicationContext loaded.

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 01 '17 at 20:39

In Spring all source files are inside src/main/java. Similarly, the resources are generally kept inside src/main/resources. So keep your spring configuration file inside resources folder.

Make sure you have the ClassPath entry for your files inside src/main/resources as well.

In .classpath check for the following 2 lines. If they are missing add them.

<classpathentry path="src/main/java" kind="src"/>
<classpathentry path="src/main/resources" kind="src" />

So, if you have everything in place the below code should work.

ApplicationContext ctx = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("Spring-Module.xml");

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered May 14 '19 at 16:03

Gradle : v4.10.3

IDE : IntelliJ

I was facing this issue when using gradle to run my build and test. Copying the applicationContext.xml all over the place did not help. Even specifying the complete path as below did not help !

context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("C:\\...\\applicationContext.xml");

The solution (for gradle at least) lies in the way gradle processes resources. For my gradle project I had laid out the workspace as defined at https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/java_plugin.html#sec:java_project_layout

When running a test using default gradle set of tasks includes a "processTestResources" step, which looks for test resources at C:\.....\src\test\resources (Gradle helpfully provides the complete path).

Your .properties file and applicationContext.xml need to be in this directory. If the resources directory is not present (as it was in my case), you need to create it copy the file(s) there. After this, simply specifying the file name worked just fine.

context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("applicationContext.xml");

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered May 26 '20 at 17:26

1

Beans.xml or file.XML is not placed under proper path. You should add the XML file under the resource folder, if you have a Maven project. src -> main -> java -> resources

answered May 26 '20 at 17:26

Mihai Vlasceanu

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Jun 18 '15 at 14:17

I did the opposite of most. I am using Force IDE Luna Java EE and I placed my Beans.xml file within the package; however, I preceded the Beans.xml string - for the ClassPathXMLApplicationContext argument - with the relative path. So in my main application - the one which accesses the Beans.xml file - I have:

    ApplicationContext context = 
         new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("com/tutorialspoin/Beans.xml");

I also noticed that as soon as I moved the Beans.xml file into the package from the src folder, there was a Bean image at the lower left side of the XML file icon which was not there when this xml file was outside the package. That is a good indicator in letting me know that now the beans xml file is accessible by ClassPathXMLAppllicationsContext.

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Aug 16 '16 at 13:02

0

This is what worked for me:

  new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("classpath:beans.xml");

answered Aug 16 '16 at 13:02

Sushrut Rathi

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Hi, this worked for me too but the problem is when the jar file is build the jar is not running for me..I mean, I am getting the NoClassDefFoundError while I try to run the jar file, when I run the application in eclipse as Java it's running without errors, not sure how to resolve this – sailaja Mar 17 '17 at 11:09

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Jan 08 '18 at 13:55

If this problem is still flummoxing you and you are developing using Eclipse, have a look at this Eclipse bug: Resources files from "src/main/resources" are not correctly included in classpath

Solution seems to be look at properties of project, Java build path, source folders. Delete the /src/main/resources dir and add it again. This causes Eclipse to be reminded it needs to copy these files to the classpath.

This bug affected me when using the "Neon" release of Eclipse. (And was very frustrating until I realized the simple fix just described)

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Feb 19 '19 at 09:21

I was experiencing this issue and it was driving me nuts; I ultimately found the following lying in my POM.xml, which was the cause of the problem:

<resources>
    <resource>
        <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
        <filtering>true</filtering>
        <includes>
            <include>**/*.properties</include>
        </includes>
    </resource>
</resources>

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Mar 19 '19 at 12:46

0

I was not sure to write it but maybe someone save a few hours:

mvn clean

may do the job if your whole configuration is already perfect!

answered Mar 19 '19 at 12:46

Ismail Yavuz

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score 0 · Answer 18 · answered Nov 21 '19 at 04:55

I have stuck in this issue for a while and I have came to the following solution

Create an ApplicationContextAware class (which is a class that implements the ApplicationContextAware)
In ApplicationContextAware we have to implement the one method only

public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext context) throws BeansException
Tell the spring context about this new bean (I call it SpringContext)
```
bean id="springContext" class="packe.of.SpringContext" />
```

Here is the code snippet

import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextAware;

public class SpringContext implements ApplicationContextAware {
  private static ApplicationContext context;

  @Override
  public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext context) throws BeansException {
    this.context = context;
  }
  public static ApplicationContext getApplicationContext() {
    return context;
  }
}

Then you can call any method of application context outside the spring context for example


SomeServiceClassOrComponent utilityService SpringContext.getApplicationContext().getBean(SomeServiceClassOrComponent .class);

I hope this will solve the problem for many users

Nafeez Quraishi · Answer 19 · 2021-02-16T19:27:27.983

I am on IntelliJ and faced the same issue. Below is how i resolved it:

1. Added the resource import as following in Spring application class along with other imports: @ImportResource("applicationContext.xml")

2. Saw IDE showing : Cannot resolve file 'applicationContext.xml' and also suggesting paths where its expecting the file (It was not the resources where the file applicationContext.xml was originally kept)

3. Copied the file at the expected location and the Exception got resolved.

Screen shot below for easy ref:

But if you would like to keep it at resources then follow this great answer link below and add the resources path so that it gets searched. With this setting exception resolves without @ImportResource described in above steps:

https://stackoverflow.com/a/24843914/5916535

score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Jun 28 '22 at 16:15

Sharing my case and how I debugged it, maybe helps someone:

this will only be relevant if you have first checked you actually have the resources folder in correct place and correctly named

create some temporary folder somewhere, preferably out of any git projects (e.g. mkdir playground) and move there (cd playground)
copy the java archive there (e.g. cp /path/to/java.war .) that is missing that beans.xml
unpack it (e.g. unzip java.war on ubuntu)
find if there's any .xml files in there (for example in WEB-INF/classes) (the unpacking process should show a list of files being unpacked, most of them will probably be other dependencies as archives, these are not relevant)
if you don't see a beans.xml, just read the other .xml files (e.g. cat root-config.xml), you might find something like root-config.xml there or similar, in there you might either have some other <import resource="somethingelse.xml"> records or nothing.
if this is the case, this means you do have that file (root-config.xml here) present in the project or if not, continue going up parent projects to where the archive is getting packaged from. Find that file, add <import resource="beans.xml"> and run mvn package.

Now verifying the fix by doing the steps in 1.-5. should result in that file (root-config.xml here) in the newly packaged archive having the beans.xml defined and once you deploy it, it should work.

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Jul 07 '22 at 09:45

0

Make sure that beans.xml is located in the resources folder.

answered Jul 07 '22 at 09:45

DanteArceneaux

59
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score 0 · Answer 22 · answered Mar 17 '23 at 09:38

0

Follow these steps:

I want to access config.xml at 'src/main/java/org/example/App.java'

So,

Create resources folder at src/main
Now create or paste an XML file in this directory.

Rebuild the project and you are good to go.

answered Mar 17 '23 at 09:38

Vipul Chaudhary

43
6

score 0 · Answer 23 · answered Mar 20 '23 at 09:21

use it ClassPathXmlApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("applicationContext.xml"); and keep the applicationContext.xml file into your src folder that means keep one level out of you package. it will be applicable in the spring annotation configuration and spring xml configuration.

score 0 · Answer 24 · edited Aug 31 '23 at 06:08

I was having the similar problem in IntelliJ tried moving the file around and adding the appropriate filePath but I was still getting the IOException.

I created another folder named resources inside src/main/resources and moved the config.xml file there.

And changed left the fileName as is inside

ApplicationContext context = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("config.xml");

And that worked.

Spring cannot find bean xml configuration file when it does exist

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