Bamboo Remote Agent fails to start: The version of Java specified is greater than the maximum allowed
Platform notice: Server and Data Center only. This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Server and Data Center platforms.
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
Summary
After upgrading Bamboo to more recent versions, a remote agent fails to start with the following error: The version of Java specified by wrapper.java.command (11.0.2) is greater than the maximum allowed (8).
Environment
Observed while upgrading Bamboo from version 8.x to 9.x.
Diagnosis
The following error can be seen when starting the remote agents:
The version of Java specified by wrapper.java.command (11.0.2) is greater than the maximum allowed (8)
The error is also present when checking the <bamboo-agent-home>/atlassian-bamboo-agent.log file. The versions mentioned in the error (11.0.2 and 8 from the example above) can vary.
Cause
The agent is not starting because it is using a Java version which the current agent's wrapper does not allow. This can happen when upgrading from older versions to more recent ones, such as from 8.x to 9.2, for example, and the agent's wrapper was not yet upgraded.
Solution
First, verify if your Java version is supported by the version of Bamboo you're running: Supported platforms. If not, then you need to use a Java version that is within the supported range for your Bamboo version.
If yes, you'd have two options to proceed, as described in the following section of the Remote agent guide
If you're upgrading Bamboo from a release earlier than 8.0 to 8.0 or later and you're also upgrading the Java version on your remote agents from 8 to 11, either update the wrapper configuration manually or download a new remote agent JAR from your upgraded Bamboo and reinstall the wrapper.
Manually update the wrapper file
- Stop the agent.
- Open wrapper configuration file: <bamboo-agent-home>\conf\wrapper.conf.
- Set the value of the wrapper.java.version.max property to 11 (or to any value that matches your error).
- Start the agent.
Reinstall the wrapper (recommended)
- Stop the agent.
- Backup the <bamboo-agent-home>\conf\wrapper.conf file.
- Remove the <bamboo-agent-home>\conf\ directory.
- Download a new Remote Agent JAR from your Bamboo Server:
<BAMBOO_URL>/admin/agent/addRemoteAgent.action. - Launch the remote agent. This will create a new wrapper.conf file. If you want to re-enact your custom configuration in that file, you can do it now (based on the backup you just created).