Spring Boot requestMappingHandlerMapping java.lang.ArrayStoreException

Question

Update: Weirdly, this error is thrown only when I build the jar with Gradle. The Maven generated jar runs fine! So I'm currently exploring if and how my gradle build script/spring boot config is failing.

I have a spring boot app throwing the following error

 =========================
    AUTO-CONFIGURATION REPORT
    =========================

    Positive matches:
    -----------------

       DataSourceAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: org.springframework.jdbc.datasource.embedded.EmbeddedDatabaseType (OnClassCondition)

       DataSourceAutoConfiguration.DataSourceInitializerConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.jdbc.DataSourceInitializer; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       DataSourceTransactionManagerAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate,org.springframework.transaction.PlatformTransactionManager (OnClassCondition)

       DataSourceTransactionManagerAutoConfiguration.TransactionManagementConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.transaction.annotation.AbstractTransactionManagementConfiguration; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       DispatcherServletAutoConfiguration
          - found web application StandardServletEnvironment (OnWebApplicationCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet (OnClassCondition)

       DispatcherServletAutoConfiguration.DispatcherServletConfiguration
          - no ServletRegistrationBean found (DispatcherServletAutoConfiguration.DefaultDispatcherServletCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: javax.servlet.ServletRegistration (OnClassCondition)

       EmbeddedServletContainerAutoConfiguration
          - found web application StandardServletEnvironment (OnWebApplicationCondition)

       EmbeddedServletContainerAutoConfiguration.EmbeddedTomcat
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: javax.servlet.Servlet,org.apache.catalina.startup.Tomcat (OnClassCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.context.embedded.EmbeddedServletContainerFactory; SearchStrategy: current) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: javax.servlet.Servlet,org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet (OnClassCondition)
          - found web application StandardServletEnvironment (OnWebApplicationCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration#basicErrorController
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ErrorController; SearchStrategy: current) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration#errorAttributes
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ErrorAttributes; SearchStrategy: current) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration.WhitelabelErrorViewConfiguration
          - No error template view detected (ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration.ErrorTemplateMissingCondition)
          - SpEL expression on org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration$WhitelabelErrorViewConfiguration: ${error.whitelabel.enabled:true} (OnExpressionCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration.WhitelabelErrorViewConfiguration#beanNameViewResolver
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.view.BeanNameViewResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       ErrorMvcAutoConfiguration.WhitelabelErrorViewConfiguration#defaultErrorView
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (names: error; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       HttpMessageConvertersAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: org.springframework.http.converter.HttpMessageConverter (OnClassCondition)

       HttpMessageConvertersAutoConfiguration#messageConverters
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.HttpMessageConverters; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       HttpMessageConvertersAutoConfiguration.ObjectMappers
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper (OnClassCondition)

       HttpMessageConvertersAutoConfiguration.ObjectMappers#mappingJackson2HttpMessageConverter
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.http.converter.json.MappingJackson2HttpMessageConverter; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       JacksonAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper (OnClassCondition)

       JacksonAutoConfiguration.JacksonObjectMapperAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper (OnClassCondition)

       JmxAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: org.springframework.jmx.export.MBeanExporter (OnClassCondition)
          - SpEL expression on org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.jmx.JmxAutoConfiguration: ${spring.jmx.enabled:true} (OnExpressionCondition)

       JmxAutoConfiguration#mbeanServer
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: javax.management.MBeanServer; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       MultipartAutoConfiguration
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: javax.servlet.Servlet,org.springframework.web.multipart.support.StandardServletMultipartResolver,javax.servlet.MultipartConfigElement (OnClassCondition)
          - SpEL expression on org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.MultipartAutoConfiguration: ${multipart.enabled:true} (OnExpressionCondition)

       MultipartAutoConfiguration#multipartConfigElement
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: javax.servlet.MultipartConfigElement; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       MultipartAutoConfiguration#multipartResolver
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.multipart.support.StandardServletMultipartResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       ServerPropertiesAutoConfiguration
          - found web application StandardServletEnvironment (OnWebApplicationCondition)

       ServerPropertiesAutoConfiguration#serverProperties
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ServerProperties; SearchStrategy: current) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration
          - found web application StandardServletEnvironment (OnWebApplicationCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnClass classes found: javax.servlet.Servlet,org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet,org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.WebMvcConfigurerAdapter (OnClassCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.WebMvcConfigurationSupport; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration#hiddenHttpMethodFilter
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.filter.HiddenHttpMethodFilter; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#beanNameViewResolver
          - @ConditionalOnBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.View; SearchStrategy: all) found the following [error] (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#defaultViewResolver
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.view.InternalResourceViewResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#requestContextListener
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.context.request.RequestContextListener; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#viewResolver
          - @ConditionalOnBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.ViewResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found the following [beanNameViewResolver, defaultViewResolver] @ConditionalOnMissingBean (names: viewResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)


    Negative matches:
    -----------------

      ....
....
       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#dateFormatter
          - @ConditionalOnProperty missing required properties: date-format not found (OnPropertyCondition)

       WebMvcAutoConfiguration.WebMvcAutoConfigurationAdapter#localeResolver
          - @ConditionalOnMissingBean (types: org.springframework.web.servlet.LocaleResolver; SearchStrategy: all) found no beans (OnBeanCondition)
          - @ConditionalOnProperty missing required properties: locale not found (OnPropertyCondition)

       WebSocketAutoConfiguration
          - required @ConditionalOnClass classes not found: org.springframework.web.socket.WebSocketHandler,org.apache.tomcat.websocket.server.WsSci (OnClassCondition)



    15:11:13.684 [main] ERROR o.s.boot.SpringApplication - Application startup failed
    org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'requestMappingHandlerMapping' defined in class path resource [org/springframework/web/servlet/config/annotation/DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration.class]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.ArrayStoreException: sun.reflect.annotation.TypeNotPresentExceptionProxy
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1554) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:539) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:475) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:302) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:228) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:298) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:193) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:706) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:762) ~[spring-context-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:482) ~[spring-context-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.boot.context.embedded.EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.refresh(EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.java:109) ~[spring-boot-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar:1.1.6.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:691) [spring-boot-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar:1.1.6.RELEASE]
    Exception in thread "main" org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'requestMappingHandlerMapping' defined in class path resource [org/springframework/web/servlet/config/annotation/DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration.class]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.lang.ArrayStoreException: sun.reflect.annotation.TypeNotPresentExceptionProxy
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1554)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:539)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:475)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:302)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:228)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:298)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:193)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:706)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:320) [spring-boot-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar:1.1.6.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:952) [spring-boot-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar:1.1.6.RELEASE]
    Disconnected from the target VM, address: '127.0.0.1:61052', transport: 'socket'
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:941) [spring-boot-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar:1.1.6.RELEASE]
        at org.ihc.phr.status.Initializer.main(Initializer.java:17) [main/:na]
    Caused by: java.lang.ArrayStoreException: sun.reflect.annotation.TypeNotPresentExceptionProxy
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:762)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseClassArray(AnnotationParser.java:724) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:482)
        at org.springframework.boot.context.embedded.EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.refresh(EmbeddedWebApplicationContext.java:109)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.refresh(SpringApplication.java:691)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:320)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:952)
        at org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication.run(SpringApplication.java:941)
        at org.ihc.phr.status.Initializer.main(Initializer.java:17)
    Caused by: java.lang.ArrayStoreException: sun.reflect.annotation.TypeNotPresentExceptionProxy
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseClassArray(AnnotationParser.java:724)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseArray(AnnotationParser.java:531)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseArray(AnnotationParser.java:531) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseMemberValue(AnnotationParser.java:355) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseMemberValue(AnnotationParser.java:355)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotation2(AnnotationParser.java:286) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotation2(AnnotationParser.java:286)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotations2(AnnotationParser.java:120)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotations2(AnnotationParser.java:120) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotations(AnnotationParser.java:72)
        at sun.reflect.annotation.AnnotationParser.parseAnnotations(AnnotationParser.java:72) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at java.lang.Class.createAnnotationData(Class.java:3508)
        at java.lang.Class.createAnnotationData(Class.java:3508) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at java.lang.Class.annotationData(Class.java:3497)
        at java.lang.Class.createAnnotationData(Class.java:3513)
        at java.lang.Class.annotationData(Class.java:3497)
        at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredAnnotations(Class.java:3464)
        at org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(AnnotationUtils.java:352)
        at java.lang.Class.annotationData(Class.java:3497) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(AnnotationUtils.java:319)
        at java.lang.Class.createAnnotationData(Class.java:3513) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerMapping.isHandler(RequestMappingHandlerMapping.java:173)
        at java.lang.Class.annotationData(Class.java:3497) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.initHandlerMethods(AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java:123)
        at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredAnnotations(Class.java:3464) ~[na:1.8.0_20]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.afterPropertiesSet(AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java:103)
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerMapping.afterPropertiesSet(RequestMappingHandlerMapping.java:126)
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1613)
        at org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(AnnotationUtils.java:352) ~[spring-core-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1550)
        ... 15 more
        at org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils.findAnnotation(AnnotationUtils.java:319) ~[spring-core-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerMapping.isHandler(RequestMappingHandlerMapping.java:173) ~[spring-webmvc-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.initHandlerMethods(AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java:123) ~[spring-webmvc-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.afterPropertiesSet(AbstractHandlerMethodMapping.java:103) ~[spring-webmvc-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerMapping.afterPropertiesSet(RequestMappingHandlerMapping.java:126) ~[spring-webmvc-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1613) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1550) ~[spring-beans-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar:4.0.7.RELEASE]
        ... 15 common frames omitted
    :bootRun FAILED

    FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

Initializer:

@Configuration
@ComponentScan(basePackages={"com.mycompany",
"com.mycompany.utils",
"com.mycompany.domain","com.mycompany.resources",
 "com.mycompany.resources.hook"})
@EnableAutoConfiguration
public class Initializer {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Initializer.class, args);
    }


}

Config class

@Configuration
@EnableAsync
@EnableScheduling
@PropertySource("classpath:application-dev.properties")
@ImportResource(value="classpath:applicationContext.xml")
@ComponentScan(basePackages={
        "com.mycompany.web"})
public class StatusConfiguration {
    @Autowired
    Environment env;

    @Bean
    public ObjectMapper jacksonObjectMapper() {
        return new CustomObjectMapper();
    }

    @Bean
    public TargetServer targetServer(){
        TargetServer targetServer = new TargetServer();
        targetServer.setJndiValidationConnectionURL(env.getProperty("jndiValidationConnectionURL"));
        targetServer.setJndiValidationUsername(env.getProperty("jndiValidationUsername"));
        targetServer.setJndiValidationPassword(env.getProperty("jndiValidationPassword"));
        return targetServer;
    }
}   

Controller

@RestController
public class StatusController {

    @Autowired
    private ReportService reportService;

    @Autowired
    private TargetServer targetServer;

    private Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(StatusController.class);

     @RequestMapping(value = "/report")

        public MyReport getStatus(){
        MyReport report = reportService.getReport();
        return report;
    }

    @RequestMapping(value = "/report/no-cache")
    public MyReport getStatusNoCache(){
        autoRunReport();
        MyReport report = reportService.getReport();
        return report;
    }


    @Scheduled(fixedDelay=300000)
    public void autoRunReport(){
        reportService.kickOffReport(targetServer);
        log.debug("Running the scheduled validation Report!");
    }

}

Gradle config

apply plugin: 'java'
apply plugin: 'maven'
apply plugin: 'spring-boot'

dependencies {
    compile("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web:1.1.6.RELEASE")
    compile(group: 'org.ihc.mh', name: 'mh-util', version:'13.12.5') {
exclude(module: 'slf4j-api')
exclude(module: 'slf4j-log4j12')
    }
   /* testCompile(group: 'org.springframework.boot', name: 'spring-boot-starter-test', version:'1.1.6.RELEASE') {
exclude(module: 'commons-logging')
    }*/
}

buildscript {
    dependencies {
        classpath("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-gradle-plugin:1.1.6.RELEASE")
    }
}

/*
idea {
    module {
        inheritOutputDirs = false
        outputDir = file("$buildDir/classes/main/")
    }
}*/

Also if I run the Initializer directly (as a Java executable class), it runs fine. However this fails when I package it as a jar and then run the jar file. Any help/insights are appreciated.

Diff between Gradle and Maven dependency lib folders

Only in Gradle Build: commons-logging-1.1.3.jar
Only in Gradle Build: jackson-annotations-2.3.0.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-boot-starter-security-1.1.6.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-context-support-3.0.5.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-jdbc-3.0.5.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-security-config-3.2.5.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-security-core-3.2.5.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-security-web-3.2.5.RELEASE.jar
Only in Gradle Build: spring-tx-3.0.5.RELEASE.jar


Only in Maven Build: jackson-annotations-2.3.4.jar
Only in Maven Build: spring-context-support-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar
Only in Maven Build: spring-jdbc-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar
Only in Maven Build: spring-tx-4.0.7.RELEASE.jar

Answer 1

We (the Spring Boot team) have seen this sort of problem a few times before. Unfortunately, the JVM's diagnostics are really poor. What it's trying to tell you is that it's encountered an annotation with a Class[] attribute that's referencing a class that isn't on the classpath. It would be hugely helpful if it told you what the missing class was...

I've tried to recreate your failure using the snippets above but was unable to do so. As you have this working with Maven, try taking a look at the output from unzip -l run against the jars built with Maven and Gradle and see if you can spot what's missing in the Gradle case.