Unexpected error occurred in scheduled task

[doug86i]

Alf.io version you are using
v.2.0-M5-2509-1

Describe the bug
After updating to v.2.0-M5-2509-1 (from v.2.0-M4-2204)

I get the following repeating error in the startup log:

2025-09-22T12:30:09.130Z ERROR 506552 --- [Alf.io] [ scheduling-1] o.s.s.s.TaskUtils$LoggingErrorHandler : Unexpected error occurred in scheduled task

java.lang.IllegalStateException: null
at java.base/java.util.Optional.orElseThrow(Optional.java:403) ~[?:?]
at alfio.manager.SpecialPriceTokenGenerator.generateCode(SpecialPriceTokenGenerator.java:91) ~[!/:2.0-M5-2509-1]
at java.base/java.util.ArrayList.forEach(ArrayList.java:1511) ~[?:?]
at alfio.manager.SpecialPriceTokenGenerator.generatePendingCodes(SpecialPriceTokenGenerator.java:80) ~[!/:2.0-M5-2509-1]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?]
at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:569) ~[?:?]
at org.springframework.aop.support.AopUtils.invokeJoinpointUsingReflection(AopUtils.java:355) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.invokeJoinpoint(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:196) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:163) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.CglibAopProxy$CglibMethodInvocation.proceed(CglibAopProxy.java:768) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionAspectSupport.invokeWithinTransaction(TransactionAspectSupport.java:379) ~[spring-tx-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor.invoke(TransactionInterceptor.java:119) ~[spring-tx-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:184) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.CglibAopProxy$CglibMethodInvocation.proceed(CglibAopProxy.java:768) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.aop.framework.CglibAopProxy$DynamicAdvisedInterceptor.intercept(CglibAopProxy.java:720) ~[spring-aop-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at alfio.manager.SpecialPriceTokenGenerator$$SpringCGLIB$$0.generatePendingCodes() ~[!/:2.0-M5-2509-1]
at alfio.job.Jobs.generateSpecialPriceCodes(Jobs.java:81) ~[!/:2.0-M5-2509-1]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) ~[?:?]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:77) ~[?:?]
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) ~[?:?]
at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:569) ~[?:?]
at org.springframework.scheduling.support.ScheduledMethodRunnable.runInternal(ScheduledMethodRunnable.java:130) ~[spring-context-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.scheduling.support.ScheduledMethodRunnable.lambda$run$2(ScheduledMethodRunnable.java:124) ~[spring-context-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at io.micrometer.observation.Observation.observe(Observation.java:499) ~[micrometer-observation-1.13.6.jar!/:1.13.6]
at org.springframework.scheduling.support.ScheduledMethodRunnable.run(ScheduledMethodRunnable.java:124) ~[spring-context-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at org.springframework.scheduling.support.DelegatingErrorHandlingRunnable.run(DelegatingErrorHandlingRunnable.java:54) [spring-context-6.1.14.jar!/:6.1.14]
at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:539) [?:?]
at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.runAndReset(FutureTask.java:305) [?:?]
at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:305) [?:?]
at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1136) [?:?]
at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:635) [?:?]
at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:840) [?:?]

Server is running Debian with:

openjdk version "17.0.16" 2025-07-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.16+8-Debian-1deb11u1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 17.0.16+8-Debian-1deb11u1, mixed mode, sharing)

Is it safe to continue to let this server run?

[doug86i]

I thought it may be an orphaned discount code with no event/catagory/organisation so did a little digging with no luck

alfio=> -- A) any special_price referencing a missing ticket_category or event?
SELECT COUNT(*) AS sp_orphan_cat_or_event
FROM special_price sp
LEFT JOIN ticket_category tc ON tc.id = sp.ticket_category_id
LEFT JOIN event e ON e.id = tc.event_id
WHERE sp.ticket_category_id IS NULL OR tc.id IS NULL OR e.id IS NULL;

sp_orphan_cat_or_event

                  0

-- B) any special_price referencing a missing organization?
SELECT COUNT(*) AS sp_orphan_org
FROM special_price sp
LEFT JOIN organization o ON o.id = sp.organization_id_fk
WHERE sp.organization_id_fk IS NOT NULL AND o.id IS NULL;

sp_orphan_org

         0

[doug86i]

Doing a bit more digging:

Enabled All the debug logging I could find.

2025-09-22T12:52:40.351Z DEBUG 507213 --- [Alf.io] [ scheduling-1] o.s.j.c.JdbcTemplate : Executing prepared SQL statement [select * from ticket_category_with_currency where id = ? and tc_status = 'ACTIVE'] 2025-09-22T12:52:40.351Z TRACE 507213 --- [Alf.io] [ scheduling-1] o.s.j.c.StatementCreatorUtils : Setting SQL statement parameter value: column index 1, parameter value [310], value class [java.lang.Integer], SQL type 4 2025-09-22T12:52:40.357Z TRACE 507213 --- [Alf.io] [ scheduling-1] o.s.t.i.TransactionInterceptor : Completing transaction for [alfio.manager.SpecialPriceTokenGenerator.generatePendingCodes] after exception: java.lang.IllegalStateException 2025-09-22T12:52:40.362Z ERROR 507213 --- [Alf.io] [ scheduling-1] o.s.s.s.TaskUtils$LoggingErrorHandler : Unexpected error occurred in scheduled task

Seems just before the crash it's running : [select * from ticket_category_with_currency where id = 310 and tc_status = 'ACTIVE']

But in the database ID 310 is NOT_ACTIVE

SELECT
tc.id,
tc.name,
tc.tc_status
FROM ticket_category tc
JOIN event e ON e.id = tc.event_id
WHERE e.short_name = 'fspsfet'
ORDER BY tc.id;
id | name | tc_status
-----+------------------------------+------------
310 | General Admission (Ellie T) | NOT_ACTIVE
311 | General Admission (Alex W) | NOT_ACTIVE
312 | General Admission | ACTIVE
313 | General Admission (Bonnie E) | NOT_ACTIVE
(4 rows)

We have quite a few events with categories that are NOT_ACTIVE in the database, is it safe to set them to active so they show up in the UI? How is it best to fix these orphans, or stop whatever the scheduled task is (something to do with promo codes?)

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help identify what caused the issue in the first place!

All the best,

Dx

[cbellone]

Hi @doug86i ,

thanks for reporting the issue. I can confirm it is not related to the recent release.
It is an existing corner case (race condition) that we'll fix in a future release.

Here's most likely what happened:

1. the user has created a hidden category
2. alf.io has scheduled the generation of the unique access codes linked to the category
3. the user has deleted the category (hence the status = 'NOT_ACTIVE') immediately, before the scheduled job had the opportunity to run

if you want to stop the scheduled task errors from happening, you can do the following (execute carefully and at your own risk, as queries might contain errors):

1. backup database
2. open psql
3. begin; (begins transaction)
4. update special_price set status = 'CANCELLED' where status = 'WAITING' and category_id = <insert category id here>;
5. double check that the category_id impacted is the right one
6. commit; (commits transaction)

[doug86i]

Thanks @cbellone.

All sorted, errors gone.

For anyone else looking to tidy up a similar issue the category ID row for special_price is ticket_category_id so the sql looks like this:

update special_price set status = 'CANCELLED' where status = 'WAITING' and ticket_category_id = <insert category id here>;

Also the following sql helped me find ticket categories and their IDs that are NOT_ACTIVE and have special prices in the WAITING status.

SELECT e.id AS event_id, e.display_name, e.short_name, tc.id AS ticket_category_id, tc.name AS category_name, COUNT(sp.*) AS waiting_count FROM ticket_category tc JOIN event e ON e.id = tc.event_id JOIN special_price sp ON sp.ticket_category_id = tc.id WHERE tc.tc_status = 'NOT_ACTIVE' AND sp.status = 'WAITING' GROUP BY e.id, e.display_name, e.short_name, tc.id, tc.name ORDER BY waiting_count DESC, event_id, ticket_category_id;

[cbellone]

reopened, as the issue is still present in the code