GradleException when multiple goals leave behind spotless-clean dir
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- Java
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Description
In my project: https://github.com/sixcorners/openapi-generator-client/tree/7b2dfb9cda3fe366f0a45f76b60b1a1961311d65
If you run
`gradle clean openApiGenerate spotlessApply`
it leaves behind a `build/spotless-clean/spotlessJava/build/generate-resources/main/src/main/java/` directory. If you then run `gradle spotlessCheck` or `gradle build` it throws an error:
```
Caused by: org.gradle.api.GradleException: There were 0 lint error(s), they must be fixed or suppressed.
Resolve these lints or suppress with `suppressLintsFor`
at com.diffplug.gradle.spotless.SpotlessCheck.performAction(SpotlessCheck.java:85)
at com.diffplug.gradle.spotless.SpotlessCheck.performAction(SpotlessCheck.java:57)
```
if you delete `build/spotless-clean` or just run `gradle spotlessApply` again then `gradle build` works again.
kind of annoying but it's not a big deal.
specifying the target manually also fixes it.
```
spotless {
java {
googleJavaFormat()
target("src/main/java", "build/generate-resources/main/src/main/java")
}
kotlinGradle { ktfmt() }
}
```
I kind of thought the bug was something else but that disappeared so I kind of wonder if this can even be reproduced on other people's machines or if it will disappear too. It's also not a big deal since you can just run `gradle spotlessApply` in it's own cli invocation. Also running the `build` gradle goal in IntelliJ doesn't reproduce the issue. It's very fiddly. If you have trouble reproducing it I wouldn't mind if you just close this issue and leave it as a place for other people to find if they have something similar happen.
This is my gradle version running in a snap:
```
$ gradle --version
------------------------------------------------------------
Gradle 9.6.1
------------------------------------------------------------
Build time: 2026-06-26 14:25:50 UTC
Revision: 309d128bd9fe8c0b71311878fc660b9cbaa07c51
Kotlin: 2.3.21
Groovy: 4.0.32
Ant: Apache Ant(TM) version 1.10.17 compiled on April 6 2026
Launcher JVM: 25.0.3 (Ubuntu 25.0.3+9-2-26.04.2-Ubuntu)
Daemon JVM: /usr/lib/jvm/java-25-openjdk-amd64 (no Daemon JVM specified, using current Java home)
OS: Linux 7.0.0-27-generic amd64
```
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by reproducing the sequence in the linked openapi-generator-client project: `gradle clean openApiGenerate spotlessApply`, followed by `gradle spotlessCheck` or `gradle build`. Inspect the generated `build/spotless-clean/spotlessJava/build/generate-resources/main/src/main/java/` directory and compare behavior with a separate `spotlessApply` run or an explicit target; done means the subsequent check or build succeeds without manual cleanup.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- build-system, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100