Jira fails to start with DataAccessException: Cannot load the application properties metadata file
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
Jira instance is not accessible. You will see your instance is up and running but when attempting to access Jira the page is not loading
Diagnosis
The following error is observed when attempting to access Jira:
The following error is observed in atlassian-jira.log – Unable to load jpm.xml file:
2022-05-03 10:14:38,999+0200 JIRA-Bootstrap ERROR [c.a.jira.startup.ComponentContainerLauncher] A fatal error occurred during initialisation. JIRA has been locked.
io.atlassian.util.concurrent.LazyReference$InitializationException: io.atlassian.util.concurrent.LazyReference$InitializationException: com.atlassian.jira.exception.DataAccessException: Cannot load the application properties metadata file jpm.xml
at io.atlassian.util.concurrent.LazyReference.getInterruptibly(LazyReference.java:156)
at io.atlassian.util.concurrent.LazyReference.get(LazyReference.java:116)
at io.atlassian.util.concurrent.ResettableLazyReference.get(ResettableLazyReference.java:95) Looking further into the error stack trace, it seems like the file is malformed or corrupted, causing Jira to not be able to be started:
Caused by: org.dom4j.DocumentException: Error on line 2211 of document : The markup in the document following the root element must be well-formed. Nested exception: The markup in the document following the root element must be well-formed.
at org.dom4j.io.SAXReader.read(SAXReader.java:344)
at org.dom4j.io.SAXReader.read(SAXReader.java:250)
at com.atlassian.jira.config.properties.MetadataLoader.loadMetadata(MetadataLoader.java:62)
at com.atlassian.jira.config.properties.MetadataLoader.loadMetadata(MetadataLoader.java:43)
... 218 more
2022-05-03 10:14:39,077+0200 JIRA-Bootstrap ERROR [c.a.jira.health.HealthChecks] We couldn't start JIRA Cause
The jpm.xml file, which is placed at $JIRA_INSTALL/atlassian-jira/WEB-INF/classes directory, is corrupted or malformed.
Solution
- Restore the file from a previous backup if available.
- Alternatively, you could fix the issue if the error is clear. e.g. <property> element was incorrectly added at the end of the file.
If you are unsure of how to fix the file, you can always raise a support ticket and we will assist you.
<jira-properties>
<properties>
<property>
<key>jira.ajax.autocomplete.issuepicker.enabled</key>
<default-value>true</default-value>
<type>boolean</type>
<admin-editable>false</admin-editable>
<sysadmin-editable>false</sysadmin-editable>
</property>
...................
...................
<property>
<key>jira.project.permission.helper.beta.fix.enabled</key>
<default-value>false</default-value>
<type>boolean</type>
<requires-restart>true</requires-restart>
</property>
</properties>
</jira-properties>
<property>
<key>jira.thumbnails.scaling.factor</key>
<default-value>4</default-value>
<type>uint</type>
<admin-editable>false</admin-editable>
<sysadmin-editable>true</sysadmin-editable>
<requires-restart>false</requires-restart>
</property>