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Error loading the global workflow configuration after updating Comala Document Management

Error loading the global workflow configuration after updating Comala Document Management

After updating Comala Document Management (CDM), workflows may disappear from pages after a transition and the Confluence logs may fill with “getConfiguration” errors.

Summary

When Comala Document Management is updated, Confluence may attempt to access resources from the previous version of the app while it is being uninstalled or replaced. This can leave the plugin in an inconsistent state where the global workflow configuration cannot be loaded. This behavior is not specific to any particular version and can occur during any update if the plugin cache does not refresh correctly.

Symptoms

  • Workflows disappear from Confluence pages after performing a transition.

  • The following error appears in the Confluence application logs:

2026-06-08 09:58:06,866 ERROR [http-nio-8090-exec-212] [comalatech.confluence.workflow.WorkflowConfigurationManager] getConfiguration Error getting the global workflow configuration: com.comalatech.confluence.workflow.model.WorkflowConfiguration -- page: 238879674 | referer: «vcs-97wev4vy» | traceId: f344493f22ff557d | userName: redacted-s8sq | action: viewpage | url: /pages/viewpage.action

  • Related warnings may also appear during the update window, indicating uninstallation conflicts or blocked method calls:

2026-06-08 06:51:53,170 ERROR [http-nio-8090-exec-12] [apache.struts2.dispatcher.DefaultDispatcherErrorHandler] sendErrorResponse Exception occurred during processing request: Error creating bean with name 'i18NBean' defined in class path resource [i18NContext.xml]: Failed to instantiate [com.atlassian.confluence.util.i18n.I18NBean]: Factory method 'getI18NBean' threw exception with message: Cannot getResourceAsStream(workflows_de_DE.properties): This operation must occur before the plugin 'com.comalatech.workflow' is uninstalled
2026-06-08 09:58:06,838 WARN [http-nio-8090-exec-212] [velocity] log Invocation blocked as method is not allowlisted: com.comalatech.confluence.states.model.PageState#getExpirationDate() [com.comalatech.workflow] (com.comalatech.workflow [332])

Cause

The update did not complete cleanly, leaving the plugin in an inconsistent state. This typically happens when Confluence accesses plugin resources before the new version is fully enabled, or when the OSGi cache retains references to the previous version.

Resolution

Perform a clean reinstallation of Comala Document Management and rebuild the Confluence plugin caches.

Perform a clean reinstallation

  1. Stop Confluence.

  2. Uninstall Comala Document Management.

  3. In the Confluence Home directory, delete the following directories:

    • plugins-cache

    • plugins-osgi-cache

    • bundled-plugins

    • bundled-plugins_language

  4. Start Confluence.

  5. Go to Administration > Manage apps and install the target version of Comala Document Management.

  6. Restart Confluence once the installation is complete.

Uninstalling and reinstalling the app does not remove workflow definitions, metadata, page states, or approvals. These are stored in the Confluence database.