Error starting Confluence plugin system due to missing or unreadable atlassian-bundled-plugins.zip

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Symptoms

Confluence does not load the plugin system, causing Confluence to not initialize the main context. When trying to access Confluence, it shows a startup error like the one shown below:

(Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

The following appears in the atlassian-confluence.log:

2013-08-07 14:44:21,167 ERROR [main] [springframework.web.context.ContextLoader] initWebApplicationContext Context initialization failed org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'pluginManager' defined in class path resource [services/pluginServiceContext.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'bundledPluginLoader' while setting constructor argument with key [57]; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'bundledPluginLoader': FactoryBean threw exception on object creation; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:275) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:104) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveManagedList(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:287) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:126) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.resolveConstructorArguments(ConstructorResolver.java:479) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.autowireConstructor(ConstructorResolver.java:162) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.autowireConstructor(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:925) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBeanInstance(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:835) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:440) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory$1.run(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:409) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:380) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:264) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:261) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:185) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:164) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.getBeansOfType(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:308) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.getBeansOfType(AbstractApplicationContext.java:947) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.registerListeners(AbstractApplicationContext.java:701) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:377) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.createWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:255) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.initWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:199) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:45) at com.atlassian.spring.container.ContainerContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContainerContextLoaderListener.java:32) at com.atlassian.confluence.setup.ConfluenceBootstrappedContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ConfluenceBootstrappedContextLoaderListener.java:32) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:4206) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:4705) at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1057) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:840) at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1057) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:463) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:525) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:754) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:595) at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57) at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:606) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:289) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:414) Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'bundledPluginLoader': FactoryBean threw exception on object creation; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport$1.run(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:127) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.doGetObjectFromFactoryBean(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:116) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.getObjectFromFactoryBean(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:91) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getObjectForBeanInstance(AbstractBeanFactory.java:1288) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:275) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:185) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:164) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:269) ... 40 more Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException at com.atlassian.plugin.util.zip.UrlUnzipper.entries(UrlUnzipper.java:47) at com.atlassian.confluence.plugin.BundledPluginLoaderFactory.extractExtraPluginsFromZipToDirectory(BundledPluginLoaderFactory.java:128) at com.atlassian.confluence.plugin.BundledPluginLoaderFactory.getObject(BundledPluginLoaderFactory.java:81) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport$1.run(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:121) ... 48 more 2013-08-07 14:44:21,171 ERROR [main] [atlassian.config.bootstrap.BootstrappedContextLoaderListener] contextInitialized Failed to initialize the main Confluence context org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'pluginManager' defined in class path resource [services/pluginServiceContext.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'bundledPluginLoader' while setting constructor argument with key [57]; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'bundledPluginLoader': FactoryBean threw exception on object creation; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:275) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:104) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveManagedList(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:287) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:126) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.resolveConstructorArguments(ConstructorResolver.java:479) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.autowireConstructor(ConstructorResolver.java:162) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.autowireConstructor(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:925) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBeanInstance(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:835) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:440) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory$1.run(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:409) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:380) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:264) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:261) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:185) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:164) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.getBeansOfType(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:308) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.getBeansOfType(AbstractApplicationContext.java:947) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.registerListeners(AbstractApplicationContext.java:701) at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:377) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.createWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:255) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.initWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:199) at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:45) at com.atlassian.spring.container.ContainerContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContainerContextLoaderListener.java:32) at com.atlassian.confluence.setup.ConfluenceBootstrappedContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ConfluenceBootstrappedContextLoaderListener.java:32) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:4206) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:4705) at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1057) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:840) at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1057) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:463) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:525) at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:754) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:595) at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57) at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:606) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:289) at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:414) Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'bundledPluginLoader': FactoryBean threw exception on object creation; nested exception is java.lang.NullPointerException at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport$1.run(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:127) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.doGetObjectFromFactoryBean(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:116) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.getObjectFromFactoryBean(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:91) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getObjectForBeanInstance(AbstractBeanFactory.java:1288) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:275) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:185) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:164) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:269) ... 40 more Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException at com.atlassian.plugin.util.zip.UrlUnzipper.entries(UrlUnzipper.java:47) at com.atlassian.confluence.plugin.BundledPluginLoaderFactory.extractExtraPluginsFromZipToDirectory(BundledPluginLoaderFactory.java:128) at com.atlassian.confluence.plugin.BundledPluginLoaderFactory.getObject(BundledPluginLoaderFactory.java:81) at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.FactoryBeanRegistrySupport$1.run(FactoryBeanRegistrySupport.java:121) ... 48 more  

Cause

The file atlassian-bundled-plugins.zip is either not present in <CONFLUENCE-INSTALL>/confluence/WEB-INF/classes/com/atlassian/confluence/setup, or is not readable by the user running Confluence. This has been reported to occur when using Solaris's tar to extract the Confluence tarball.

Resolution

  • If you used Solaris's tar to extract Confluence, try using GNU tar instead.

  • If the file is not readable by the user running Confluence, grant read permissions for atlassian-bundled-plugins.zip, and execute permissions for all directories up to and including confluence/WEB-INF/classes/com/atlassian/confluence/setup

  • If the file is missing, re-extract confluence/WEB-INF/classes/com/atlassian/confluence/setup/atlassian-bundled-plugins.zip from the tarball (atlassian-confluence-version.tar.gz) or zip file (atlassian-confluence-version.zip)

Updated on September 25, 2025
Platform
Data Center only
App
Confluence Data Center
On this pageSymptomsCauseResolution

Still need help?

The Atlassian Community is here for you.
Ask the Community