Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not resolve placeholder 'some.other.property' in value "${some.other.property}" - spring

Question

I am new to Spring technology and this issue has been bugging me for hours. My spring cloud config client isn't able to read properties from the config server because I am getting an IllegalArgumentException. The config server displays all the properties, but I think there is an issue with the name attribute in the propertySources list and my wild guess is that it is the reason why I am getting this issue. I am attaching the source code, error and the output here. Please help me out!!
Error:
. ____ _ __ _ _
/\\ / ___'_ __ _ _(_)_ __ __ _ \ \ \ \
( ( )\___ | '_ | '_| | '_ \/ _` | \ \ \ \
\\/ ___)| |_)| | | | | || (_| | ) ) ) )
' |____| .__|_| |_|_| |_\__, | / / / /
=========|_|==============|___/=/_/_/_/
:: Spring Boot :: (v2.4.1)
2021-01-03 22:52:41.286 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] c.e.c.ConfigClientAppApplication : Starting ConfigClientAppApplication using Java 14.0.2 on RahulNair with PID 6124 (C:\Users\nairr\Documents\DB Learnings\Spring Apps\Spring Cloud\config-client-app\target\classes started by nairr in C:\Users\nairr\Documents\DB Learnings\Spring Apps\Spring Cloud\Spring_Cloud_And_Microservices)
2021-01-03 22:52:41.286 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] c.e.c.ConfigClientAppApplication : No active profile set, falling back to default profiles: default
2021-01-03 22:52:41.467 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] .e.DevToolsPropertyDefaultsPostProcessor : Devtools property defaults active! Set 'spring.devtools.add-properties' to 'false' to disable
2021-01-03 22:52:41.467 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] .e.DevToolsPropertyDefaultsPostProcessor : For additional web related logging consider setting the 'logging.level.web' property to 'DEBUG'
2021-01-03 22:52:43.907 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.cloud.context.scope.GenericScope : BeanFactory id=ccf80bff-8490-3f1d-990f-4b6383bd7788
2021-01-03 22:52:44.391 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.b.w.embedded.tomcat.TomcatWebServer : Tomcat initialized with port(s): 6451 (http)
2021-01-03 22:52:44.407 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.apache.catalina.core.StandardService : Starting service [Tomcat]
2021-01-03 22:52:44.407 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine : Starting Servlet engine: [Apache Tomcat/9.0.41]
2021-01-03 22:52:44.548 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.a.c.c.C.[Tomcat].[localhost].[/] : Initializing Spring embedded WebApplicationContext
2021-01-03 22:52:44.548 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] w.s.c.ServletWebServerApplicationContext : Root WebApplicationContext: initialization completed in 3081 ms
2021-01-03 22:52:45.038 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.s.concurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor : Initializing ExecutorService 'applicationTaskExecutor'
2021-01-03 22:52:45.471 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.b.d.a.OptionalLiveReloadServer : LiveReload server is running on port 35729
2021-01-03 22:52:45.647 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.b.a.e.web.EndpointLinksResolver : Exposing 15 endpoint(s) beneath base path '/actuator'
2021-01-03 22:52:45.723 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.b.w.embedded.tomcat.TomcatWebServer : Tomcat started on port(s): 6451 (http) with context path ''
2021-01-03 22:52:45.833 WARN 6124 --- [ restartedMain] ConfigServletWebServerApplicationContext : Exception encountered during context initialization - cancelling refresh attempt: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'scopedTarget.configClientController': Injection of autowired dependencies failed; nested exception is java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not resolve placeholder 'some.other.property' in value "${some.other.property}"
2021-01-03 22:52:45.836 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.s.concurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor : Shutting down ExecutorService 'applicationTaskExecutor'
2021-01-03 22:52:45.853 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.apache.catalina.core.StandardService : Stopping service [Tomcat]
2021-01-03 22:52:45.877 INFO 6124 --- [ restartedMain] ConditionEvaluationReportLoggingListener :
Error starting ApplicationContext. To display the conditions report re-run your application with 'debug' enabled.
2021-01-03 22:52:45.908 ERROR 6124 --- [ restartedMain] o.s.boot.SpringApplication : Application run failed
org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'scopedTarget.configClientController': Injection of autowired dependencies failed; nested exception is java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not resolve placeholder 'some.other.property' in value "${some.other.property}"
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessProperties(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:405) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1415) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:608) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:531) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.lambda$doGetBean$1(AbstractBeanFactory.java:374) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.GenericScope$BeanLifecycleWrapper.getBean(GenericScope.java:381) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.GenericScope.get(GenericScope.java:184) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:371) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:208) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.getBean(AbstractApplicationContext.java:1159) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.refresh.RefreshScope.eagerlyInitialize(RefreshScope.java:124) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.refresh.RefreshScope.start(RefreshScope.java:116) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.refresh.RefreshScope.onApplicationEvent(RefreshScope.java:111) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.cloud.context.scope.refresh.RefreshScope.onApplicationEvent(RefreshScope.java:66) ~[spring-cloud-context-3.0.0.jar:3.0.0]
at org.springframework.context.event.SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.doInvokeListener(SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.java:172) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.event.SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.invokeListener(SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.java:165) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.event.SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.multicastEvent(SimpleApplicationEventMulticaster.java:139) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.publishEvent(AbstractApplicationContext.java:426) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.publishEvent(AbstractApplicationContext.java:383) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishRefresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:943) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:591) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.boot.web.servlet.context.ServletWebServerApplicationContext.refresh(ServletWebServerApplicationContext.java:144) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:767) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:759) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refreshContext(SpringApplication.java:426) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:326) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1309) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:1298) ~[spring-boot-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
at com.example.configclientapp.ConfigClientAppApplication.main(ConfigClientAppApplication.java:12) ~[classes/:na]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[na:na]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62) ~[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:564) ~[na:na]
at org.springframework.boot.devtools.restart.RestartLauncher.run(RestartLauncher.java:49) ~[spring-boot-devtools-2.4.1.jar:2.4.1]
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Could not resolve placeholder 'some.other.property' in value "${some.other.property}"
at org.springframework.util.PropertyPlaceholderHelper.parseStringValue(PropertyPlaceholderHelper.java:178) ~[spring-core-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.util.PropertyPlaceholderHelper.replacePlaceholders(PropertyPlaceholderHelper.java:124) ~[spring-core-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.core.env.AbstractPropertyResolver.doResolvePlaceholders(AbstractPropertyResolver.java:239) ~[spring-core-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.core.env.AbstractPropertyResolver.resolveRequiredPlaceholders(AbstractPropertyResolver.java:210) ~[spring-core-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.context.support.PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer.lambda$processProperties$0(PropertySourcesPlaceholderConfigurer.java:175) ~[spring-context-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.resolveEmbeddedValue(AbstractBeanFactory.java:931) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1308) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:1287) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor$AutowiredFieldElement.inject(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:640) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.InjectionMetadata.inject(InjectionMetadata.java:119) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
at org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.postProcessProperties(AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java:399) ~[spring-beans-5.3.2.jar:5.3.2]
... 33 common frames omitted
Process finished with exit code 0
I am getting the following output when I hit the ./{config-client-name}/{client-profile} endpoint of the spring cloud config server. The part where I think there is a problem is highlighted in yellow.
Spring Cloud Config Server Output Image
Following is my config-server code
pom.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<parent>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
<version>2.4.1</version>
<relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
</parent>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>config-server</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<name>config-server</name>
<description>Demo project for Spring cloud</description>
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
<spring-cloud.version>2020.0.0</spring-cloud.version>
</properties>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.cloud</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-cloud-config-server</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.cloud</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-cloud-dependencies</artifactId>
<version>${spring-cloud.version}</version>
<type>pom</type>
<scope>import</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
</plugin>
</plugins>
<resources>
<resource>
<directory>src/main/resources</directory>
<filtering>true</filtering>
<includes>
<include>**/*.properties</include>
</includes>
</resource>
</resources>
</build>
<repositories>
<repository>
<id>spring-milestones</id>
<name>Spring Milestones</name>
<url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
</repository>
</repositories>
</project>
application.properties
spring.application.name=config-server
server.port=8888
spring.cloud.config.server.git.uri=https://github.com/rahul976451/config-server-props.git
JAVA code
package com.example.configserver;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.cloud.client.discovery.EnableDiscoveryClient;
import org.springframework.cloud.config.server.EnableConfigServer;
#SpringBootApplication
#EnableConfigServer
public class ConfigServerApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(ConfigServerApplication.class, args);
}
}
Following is my config-client code
pom.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<parent>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
<version>2.4.1</version>
<relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
</parent>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>config-client-app</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<name>config-client-app</name>
<description>Demo project for Spring cloud</description>
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
<spring-cloud.version>2020.0.0</spring-cloud.version>
</properties>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.cloud</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-cloud-config-client</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
<scope>runtime</scope>
<optional>true</optional>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.cloud</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-cloud-dependencies</artifactId>
<version>${spring-cloud.version}</version>
<type>pom</type>
<scope>import</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
</plugin>
</plugins>
<resources>
<resource>
<directory>src/main/resources</directory>
<filtering>true</filtering>
<includes>
<include>**/*.properties</include>
</includes>
</resource>
</resources>
</build>
<repositories>
<repository>
<id>spring-milestones</id>
<name>Spring Milestones</name>
<url>https://repo.spring.io/milestone</url>
</repository>
</repositories>
</project>
application.properties file
server.port=6451
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=*
bootstrap.properties file
spring.application.name=config-client-app
spring.cloud.config.uri=http://localhost:8888
eureka.client.server-url.defaultZone=http://localhost:8761/eureka/
JAVA CODE
main.java
package com.example.configclientapp;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.cloud.client.discovery.EnableDiscoveryClient;
#SpringBootApplication
#EnableDiscoveryClient
public class ConfigClientAppApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(ConfigClientAppApplication.class, args);
}
}
ConfigClientAppConfiguration.java
package com.example.configclientapp;
import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.ConfigurationProperties;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
#Component
#ConfigurationProperties(prefix ="some") //Going to represent our property that is named some.property
public class ConfigClientAppConfiguration {
private String property;
public String getProperty() {
return property;
}
public void setProperty(String property) {
this.property = property;
}
}
ConfigClientController.java
package com.example.configclientapp;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.cloud.context.config.annotation.RefreshScope;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
#RestController
#RefreshScope
public class ConfigClientController {
#Autowired
private ConfigClientAppConfiguration properties;
#Value("${some.other.property}") //from the configuration server's application.properties file
private String someOtherProperty;
#RequestMapping("/")
public String printConfig(){
StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
stringBuilder.append(properties.getProperty());
stringBuilder.append(" || ");
stringBuilder.append(someOtherProperty);
return stringBuilder.toString();
}
}
Sorry if there is any silly mistake from my end, and please do point it out if there. Thank you!

Answer 1

I finally found the fix myself. Seems that the client bootstrapping doesn't occur automatically in new Spring Cloud release, instead we need to add following dependency and explicitly mention the bootstrapping in bootstrap.xml in the config-client.
Add the dependency
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.cloud</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-cloud-starter-bootstrap</artifactId>
</dependency>
And then I just added the following line in bootstrap.xml of my config-client and it worked magically.
spring.cloud.bootstrap.enabled=true
I got this from this link:
Spring Cloud Config: client doesn't attempt to connect to the config server:
Thank you so much guys for your help and contribution! Thanks #Bragolgirith for the fix. Hope this helps people and save their time.

Answer 2

“${some.other.property}” is trying searching for that property in the application.properties file and trying to inject its value in the someOtherProperty variable as expected in this portion of the code:
#Value("${some.other.property}") //from the configuration server's application.properties file
private String someOtherProperty;
Looking at your application.properties file, it is clear that no such entry named some.other.property is defined. There lies the problem, Spring is trying to inject a value not present in such file.

Answer 3

add "some.other.property=foo" in application.properties file and also add the following in the pom.xml:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>

Answer 4

Today is 21st January, 2022 (spring boot version 2.6.3) and config client configuration is done through three settings:
Only add spring-cloud-starter-config dependency in your pom.xml
Set the url for config server in application.properties: spring.config.import=configserver:http://localhost:8888
Set the name of the client in order for it to fetch configuration assigned only to it: spring.application.name=movie-catalog-service
spring-cloud-starter-bootstrap dependency and bootstrap.properties are not required.
NOTE: spring-cloud.version=2021.0.0