Supress JavaFX VirtualFlow Info log noise for large libraries (10k+). by faneeshh · Pull Request #15298 · JabRef/jabref

faneeshh · 2026-03-09T00:57:46Z

Related issues and pull requests

PR Description

When we opened any large library with around 10k entries, console ListView triggers an info level log message from JavaFX's VirtualFlow ("index exceeds maxCellCount") due to a known upstream JavaFX bug (JDK-8089472, JDK-8296871) that occurs when scrollTo is called while the list is still being populated. Since this cannot be fixed in JabRef itself this PR suppresses the noisy log message by adding a single line to tinylog.properties to set VirtualFlow's log level to warn.

Steps to test

Open JabRef
Load a .bib file with 10k+ entries ( You can generate one using a python script )
Notice that no "index exceeds maxCellCount" message appears in the console output

Checklist

I own the copyright of the code submitted and I license it under the MIT license
I manually tested my changes in running JabRef (always required)
[/] I added JUnit tests for changes (if applicable)
[/] I added screenshots in the PR description (if change is visible to the user)
[/] I added a screenshot in the PR description showing a library with a single entry with me as author and as title the issue number
[/] I described the change in CHANGELOG.md in a way that can be understood by the average user (if change is visible to the user)
I checked the user documentation for up to dateness and submitted a pull request to our user documentation repository

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-03-09T00:57:58Z

Review Summary by Qodo

Suppress JavaFX VirtualFlow log noise for large libraries

🐞 Bug fix

Walkthroughs

Description

• Suppress JavaFX VirtualFlow log noise for large libraries
• Prevents "index exceeds maxCellCount" warnings from upstream JavaFX bug
• Avoids StackOverflowError when error console is open
• Updated changelog with user-facing change description

Diagram

flowchart LR
  A["JavaFX VirtualFlow<br/>Info Log Messages"] -- "Set log level to warn" --> B["tinylog.properties<br/>Configuration"]
  B --> C["Reduced Console<br/>Noise"]
  C --> D["No StackOverflowError<br/>in Error Console"]

File Changes

1. jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties ⚙️ Configuration changes +1/-0

Configure VirtualFlow log level to warn

• Added log level configuration for javafx.scene.control.skin.VirtualFlow set to warn
• Suppresses info-level log messages from JavaFX's VirtualFlow that occur when scrolling large lists
• Addresses known upstream JavaFX bug (JDK-8089472, JDK-8296871)

jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties

2. CHANGELOG.md 📝 Documentation +1/-0

Document VirtualFlow log suppression change

• Added entry documenting suppression of JavaFX internal 'index exceeds maxCellCount' warnings
• Explains that warnings stem from known upstream JavaFX bug
• Notes that suppression prevents StackOverflowError in error console
• References issue #12534

CHANGELOG.md

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-03-09T00:57:59Z

Code Review by Qodo

🐞 Bugs (2) 📘 Rule violations (1) 📎 Requirement gaps (0)

1. ~~Changelog too technical~~ ☑ 📘 Rule violation ✓ Correctness

Description

The new CHANGELOG.md entry includes highly technical/internal terms (index exceeds maxCellCount,
StackOverflowError) and may be imprecise about the log level/wording (“warnings”), reducing
clarity for end users. This risks violating the requirement that release notes be end-user focused
and precisely worded.

Code

CHANGELOG.md[19]

+- We no longer show JavaFX internal 'index exceeds maxCellCount' warnings in the error console as these stem from a known upstream JavaFX bug and were causing a StackOverflowError when the error console was open. [#12534](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/12534)

Evidence

PR Compliance ID 28 requires end-user focused changelog entries, and PR Compliance ID 32 requires
user-facing text to be precise and professional; the added line contains internal JavaFX message
text and a Java exception name that are likely too technical and potentially imprecise for typical
release notes.

AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md[19-19]
Best Practice: Learned patterns

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The new `CHANGELOG.md` entry is likely too technical for end users (mentions internal JavaFX message text and `StackOverflowError`) and may be imprecise about what was suppressed.
## Issue Context
Changelog entries should be understandable by average users and use precise wording.
## Fix Focus Areas
- CHANGELOG.md[19-19]

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

2. ~~Warn threshold may not suppress~~ ☑ 🐞 Bug ⛯ Reliability

Description

The CHANGELOG describes suppressing JavaFX VirtualFlow “warnings”, but the added tinylog rule sets
the logger threshold to WARN, which will still allow WARNING/WARN logs through. If the upstream
message is logged at WARNING on some JavaFX versions/configurations, this change won’t actually
suppress it.

Code

jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[17]
+level@javafx.scene.control.skin.VirtualFlow = warn

Evidence

The PR claims “warnings” are being hidden, but the implemented configuration only suppresses
messages below WARN. Therefore, if the upstream message is indeed a warning-level record (as implied
by the CHANGELOG), it would not be filtered by this rule. The codebase already uses a JUL filter for
noisy JavaFX logs, which would be a more robust way to suppress a specific message regardless of its
level.

CHANGELOG.md[17-21]
jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[10-21]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/Launcher.java[115-128]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The current change uses a tinylog logger threshold (`level@... = warn`). This only suppresses messages below WARN and may not suppress the targeted VirtualFlow message if it is emitted as a warning (as implied by the CHANGELOG).
## Issue Context
JabRef already installs a `java.util.logging.Filter` to suppress known-noisy JavaFX CSS warnings early in startup. A similar approach can precisely suppress `&amp;amp;quot;index exceeds maxCellCount&amp;amp;quot;` regardless of whether JavaFX logs it at INFO or WARNING, and without suppressing other VirtualFlow diagnostics.
## Fix Focus Areas
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/Launcher.java[115-128]
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/logging/JavaFxCssLogFilter.java[8-62]
- jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[10-21]
- CHANGELOG.md[17-21]

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3. Suppression is global & broad 🐞 Bug ✓ Correctness

Description

Raising VirtualFlow’s logger threshold to WARN suppresses all INFO logs from that logger across all
sinks (error console, console output, and the rolling log file). This is broader than “hide one
noisy message” and can remove potentially useful JavaFX diagnostics from bug reports.

Code

jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[17]
+level@javafx.scene.control.skin.VirtualFlow = warn

Evidence
The GUI uses a tinylog Writer (GuiWriter) to feed the Error Console via a shared LogMessages
buffer, and startup config adds a rolling file writer; tinylog logger thresholds apply before
messages reach any writer. Therefore this change affects the error console and persisted logs, and
it suppresses all INFO for the VirtualFlow logger (not only the specific message).
jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[1-21]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/logging/GuiWriter.java[21-29]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/Launcher.java[149-158]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/errorconsole/LogEventViewModel.java[25-45]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The tinylog rule suppresses *all* INFO logs from `javafx.scene.control.skin.VirtualFlow` globally. This can hide other potentially useful diagnostics and removes them from on-disk logs used for troubleshooting.
## Issue Context
The error console is populated via `GuiWriter -&amp;amp;gt; LogMessages`, and JabRef also configures a rolling log file writer at startup. Logger-threshold changes apply before events reach any writer.
## Fix Focus Areas
- jabgui/src/main/resources/tinylog.properties[1-21]
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/logging/GuiWriter.java[21-29]
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/Launcher.java[115-128]
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/logging/JavaFxCssLogFilter.java[8-62]

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

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koppor · 2026-03-09T05:08:46Z


 ### Changed

+- We no longer show JavaFX internal 'index exceeds maxCellCount' warnings in the error console as these stem from a known upstream JavaFX bug and were causing a StackOverflowError when the error console was open. [#12534](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/12534)


Which "StackOverflowerror"? I did not see in the bug report.

Please shorten the text.

I think the SO error was in the logs from @ThiloteE

It was a link to StackOverflow. Thus, this CHANGELOG.md entry seems to be AI-generated.

Before @calixtus added the hotfix at #15288 it was leading to a StackOverflow error considering the logs from @ThiloteE whenever a broken PDF was linked. I was honestly just working on 3-4 interconnected problems at once so I got that part wrong but yeah since the error isn't happening anymore I'll take it off the CHANGELOG.

koppor · 2026-03-09T05:08:57Z

 level@ai.djl = info
 level@io.zonky.test.db.postgres.embedded = warn
 level@org.freedesktop.dbus.connections.transports.TransportBuilder = warn
+level@javafx.scene.control.skin.VirtualFlow = warn


Please sort this group of "level@" alphabetically.

calixtus · 2026-03-09T06:48:41Z

Does the actual log message appear somewhere to the user or is this a developer console thing?

If not user facing: remove changelog entry at all

ThiloteE · 2026-03-09T10:35:31Z

Somebody mentioned that fixed-cell-size gets rid of the warnings: https://stackoverflow.com/a/54349820, but that's probably a no go for us?

faneeshh · 2026-03-09T11:10:25Z

Does the actual log message appear somewhere to the user or is this a developer console thing?

If not user facing: remove changelog entry at all

It's a developer console thing, should I remove the entry then? @koppor

calixtus · 2026-03-09T11:15:33Z

Im not @koppor, but im a maintainer as well. Yes, remove it. Changelog is only for user facing changes.

testlens-app · 2026-03-09T11:17:52Z

✅ All tests passed ✅

🏷️ Commit: 7fc510e
▶️ Tests: 10126 executed
⚪️ Checks: 61/61 completed

Learn more about TestLens at testlens.app.

faneeshh · 2026-03-09T11:21:14Z

Im not @koppor, but im a maintainer as well. Yes, remove it. Changelog is only for user facing changes.

Noted. I've removed it. Also when I open CHANGELOG in my InteliJ it opens some different Changelog file with the title Unreleased : 2025-01-07. But when I run the command code CHANGELOG.md this opens the correct file in VS Code. Do you have any clue why this is happening?

koppor · 2026-03-09T12:14:17Z

Noted. I've removed it. Also when I open CHANGELOG in my InteliJ it opens some different Changelog file with the title Unreleased : 2025-01-07. But when I run the command code CHANGELOG.md this opens the correct file in VS Code. Do you have any clue why this is happening?

Wrong path maybe?

addressed

* upstream/main: (59 commits) Fix 15000 identifier (JabRef#15286) Chore(deps): Bump dev.langchain4j:langchain4j-bom in /versions (JabRef#15305) Supress JavaFX VirtualFlow Info log noise for large libraries (10k+). (JabRef#15298) Chore(deps): Bump commons-logging:commons-logging in /versions (JabRef#15304) Fix merge dialog closing immediately when only one PDF importer returns metadata (JabRef#15127) (JabRef#15287) Fixed nullable eventhandlers (JabRef#15288) New Crowdin updates (JabRef#15285) Fix the ESC key for GlobalSearchResultDialog (JabRef#15259) Remove jbang plugin banner (JabRef#15282) Chore(deps): Bump org.apache.httpcomponents.core5:httpcore5 in /versions (JabRef#15281) Udpate to latest gradle master (JabRef#15279) Migrate to GemsFX Notifications (JabRef#14762) Chore(deps): Bump JetBrains/junie-github-action from 0 to 1 (JabRef#15272) Chore(deps): Bump docker/setup-qemu-action from 3 to 4 (JabRef#15269) Feature/citation count dropdown (JabRef#15216) Update dependency org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-resources-plugin to v3.5.0 (JabRef#15275) Chore(deps): Bump jablib/src/main/resources/csl-styles (JabRef#15273) Fix more security Fix pr_body leakage Chore: add dependency-management.md (JabRef#15278) ...

…JabRef#15298) * Supress JavaFX VirtualFlow Info log noise for large libraries. * Changelog * Arranged tinylog alphabetically * Removed changelog entry

faneeshh added 2 commits March 8, 2026 17:38

Supress JavaFX VirtualFlow Info log noise for large libraries.

c4f9c82

Changelog

90022dc

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github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Mar 9, 2026

index exceeds cell count #12534

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koppor previously requested changes Mar 9, 2026

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faneeshh added 2 commits March 9, 2026 04:15

Arranged tinylog alphabetically

a58afaa

Removed changelog entry

7fc510e

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Siedlerchr approved these changes Mar 9, 2026

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Merged via the queue into JabRef:main with commit a4ecec8 Mar 9, 2026
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		### Changed

		- We no longer show JavaFX internal 'index exceeds maxCellCount' warnings in the error console as these stem from a known upstream JavaFX bug and were causing a StackOverflowError when the error console was open. [#12534](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/12534)

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qodo-free-for-open-source-projects Bot commented Mar 9, 2026

Review Summary by Qodo

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✅ All tests passed ✅

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