javadoc "error: no description for @param"

TL;DR: Add a description after each bare @param name. JDK doclint treats @param userId with no description as an error: "no description for @param". Write one short phrase per parameter, for example @param userId the ID of the user to look up, then re-run javadoc.

error: no description for @param

1. Reproduce with doclint enabled:

   javadoc -Xdoclint -d out src/com/example/*.java 2>&1 | grep "no description for @param"

   Expected: one line per bare @param, with the file and line number.

2. Edit each one to add a short description after the parameter name:

   @param userId the ID of the user to look up
   @param verbose when true, print progress to standard out

3. Re-run javadoc:

   javadoc -Xdoclint -d out src/com/example/*.java

   Expected: no errors, and the HTML output shows the parameter descriptions.

4. If your build enables doclint through the Maven or Gradle javadoc plugin, keep the descriptions rather than disabling the check - they become the published API docs.

Use this when

• javadoc fails with "error: no description for @param"
• CI runs javadoc with doclint and the build goes red on param tags
• You inherited code with bare @param name tags

Not for this skill when

• The error is about a missing @param tag entirely - that is a different doclint check
• The complaint is "no @return" - that is the return-tag fix
• doclint is not enabled and the build passes - bare params are only an error under doclint

Variant phrasings

• "javadoc no description for param"
• "error: no description for @param"
• "doclint param description missing"

Why it happens

Newer JDK doclint runs treat a description-less @param as an error because the tag without text publishes nothing useful. Older javadoc versions only warned or stayed silent, so the error often appears the first time a project upgrades its JDK or turns doclint on.

Edge cases

• Every parameter needs its own description, including ones that seem obvious.
• Type parameters need a description too, not just method parameters.
• Keep each description to one phrase; long explanations belong in the method's main description.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstZLWOzVPcspU1LOQ7XmZmQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstZLWOzVPcspU1LOQ7XmZmQ

Thread query: javadoc "error: no description for @param"

TL;DR: