Confluence does not start due to "The main resource set specified [/xxxx/xxxxx/xxxxx] is not a directory or war file, or is not readable (it does not exist or permissions to access it are missing)" error
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Note that this knowledge base article was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center knowledge base articles 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
Summary
Confluence doesn't start up due to incorrect file system permission or missing important files.
Diagnosis / Cause
Usually, there will be many errors like this in tomcat logs (catalina.out).
15-Jul-2024 22:01:24.111 SEVERE [main] org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start The required Server component failed to start so Tomcat is unable to start. org.apache.catalina.LifecycleException: A child container failed during start
...
Caused by: org.apache.catalina.LifecycleException: Failed to start component [org.apache.catalina.webresources.StandardRoot@55d99b92]
...
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: The main resource set specified [/atlassian/confluence-8.5.11/synchrony-proxy] is not a directory or war file, or is not readable (it does not exist or permissions to access it are missing) In the example above, the issue was related to Synchrony folders and files, though the error can affect other paths; we should be mindful of this specific excerpt of the error:: "The main resource set specified [/xxxx/xxxxx/xxxxx] is not a directory or war file, or is not readable (it does not exist or permissions to access it are missing)"
A few things could cause this error, for example, a corrupted installation or file system permission.
Solution
Solution 1. Fixing system permissions
- Make sure Confluence/Tomcat processes are not running.
- Try reseting the installation folder file permissions, by following How to set file system permissions for Confluence.
- Start Confluence and check if the error is still present.
Solution 2. Fixing the installation
- Download Confluence installation ZIP or TAR.GZ from Atlassian archives.
- Move it to a different installation path you'd like.
- Uncompress the Confluence install file you just downloaded.
- Move it to the installation path you like.
- Reapply the folder file permissions, by following How to set file system permissions for Confluence.
- Manually copy Confluence's custom files from your older directory to the new one. Some examples of custom files include:
<installation-directory>\bin\setenv.sh(Linux) or setenv.bat(Windows)
<installation-directory>\confluence\WEB-INF\classes\confluence-init.properties
<installation-directory>\conf\server.xml
If you are using Oracle or Mysql you will need to reinstall the JDBC driver, for this following Database JDBC Drivers.
Any other files you may have customized.
Start Confluence