Cursor-rules-java 123-java-exception-handling

Use when you need to apply Java exception handling best practices — including using specific exception types, managing resources with try-with-resources, securing exception messages, preserving error context via exception chaining, validating inputs early with fail-fast principles, handling thread interruption correctly, documenting exceptions with @throws, enforcing logging policy, translating exceptions at API boundaries, managing retries and idempotency, enforcing timeouts, attaching suppressed exceptions, and propagating failures in async/reactive code. Part of the skills-for-java project

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/jabrena/cursor-rules-java

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/jabrena/cursor-rules-java "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/123-java-exception-handling" ~/.claude/skills/jabrena-cursor-rules-java-123-java-exception-handling && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/123-java-exception-handling/SKILL.md

Java Exception Handling Guidelines

Identify and apply robust Java exception handling practices to improve error clarity, security, debuggability, and system reliability.

What is covered in this Skill?

Specific exception types instead of generic
```
Exception
```
/
```
RuntimeException
```
try-with-resources for automatic resource cleanup
Secure exception messages that avoid information leakage
Exception chaining to preserve full error context

Early input validation with

IllegalArgumentException

NullPointerException

```
InterruptedException
```
handling with interrupted-status restoration
```
@throws
```
JavaDoc documentation, fail-fast principle
Structured logging with correlation IDs, avoiding log-and-throw duplication
API boundary translation via centralized exception mappers
Bounded retry with backoff for idempotent operations only
Timeout enforcement with deadline propagation
```
Throwable#addSuppressed
```
for secondary cleanup failures
Never catching
```
Throwable
```
/
```
Error
```
Observability via error metrics
Failure propagation in async
```
CompletionStage
```
code

Scope: The reference is organized by examples (good/bad code patterns) for each core area. Apply recommendations based on applicable examples.

Constraints

Before applying any exception handling changes, ensure the project compiles. If compilation fails, stop immediately — do not proceed until resolved. After applying improvements, run full verification.

MANDATORY: Run
```
./mvnw compile
```
or
```
mvn compile
```
before applying any changes
SAFETY: If compilation fails, stop immediately — do not proceed until the project is in a valid state
VERIFY: Run
```
./mvnw clean verify
```
or
```
mvn clean verify
```
after applying improvements
BEFORE APPLYING: Read the reference for detailed good/bad examples, constraints, and safeguards for each exception handling pattern

When to use this skill

Exception handling
Use try-with-resources in Java code
Create exception chaining in Java code
Apply fail-fast validation in Java code

Reference

For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see references/123-java-exception-handling.md.