Can't find GrailsCompiler in 2.1.1 project - grails

Question

I inherited a Grails app that, on a fresh checkout, I can't get to run. Of course the people that originally worked on this project are long gone. I have other Grails projects that run correctly (out of the box) so I know it's not my config.
setup info:
> cat application.properties
#Grails Metadata file
#Tue Jul 09 16:31:14 IST 2013
app.grails.version=2.1.1
app.name=myapp
app.version=0.1
> grails -version
Grails version: 2.1.1
echo $GROOVY_HOME
/cygdrive/c/Users/myuser/.gvm/groovy/current
> echo $GRAILS_HOME
/cygdrive/c/Users/myuser/.gvm/grails/2.1.1
Now the stacktrace:
grails run-app --stacktrace
| Configuring classpath.
Environment set to development
| Configuring classpath.....
| Error Error executing script RunApp: taskdef class org.codehaus.groovy.grails.compiler.GrailsCompiler cannot be found
using the classloader AntClassLoader[] (NOTE: Stack trace has been filtered. Use --verbose to see entire trace.)
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.codehaus.groovy.grails.compiler.GrailsCompiler
at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader.findClassInComponents(AntClassLoader.java:1361)
at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader.findClass(AntClassLoader.java:1311)
at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader.loadClass(AntClassLoader.java:1064)
at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.Definer.addDefinition(Definer.java:594)
at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.Definer.execute(Definer.java:239)
at org.apache.tools.ant.UnknownElement.execute(UnknownElement.java:291)
at com.springsource.loaded.ri.ReflectiveInterceptor.jlrMethodInvoke(ReflectiveInterceptor.java:1231)
at org.apache.tools.ant.dispatch.DispatchUtils.execute(DispatchUtils.java:106)
at org.codehaus.gant.GantBuilder.invokeMethod(GantBuilder.java:99)
at _GrailsCompile_groovy.run(_GrailsCompile_groovy:32)
at _GrailsCompile_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsPackage_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets.leftShift(IncludeTargets.groovy:59)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets$leftShift.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsPackage_groovy.run(_GrailsPackage_groovy:38)
at _GrailsPackage_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsSettings_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets.leftShift(IncludeTargets.groovy:59)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets$leftShift.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsPlugins_groovy.run(_GrailsPlugins_groovy:33)
at _GrailsPlugins_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsRun_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets.leftShift(IncludeTargets.groovy:59)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets$leftShift.call(Unknown Source)
at _GrailsRun_groovy.run(_GrailsRun_groovy:31)
at _GrailsRun_groovy$run.call(Unknown Source)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets.leftShift(IncludeTargets.groovy:59)
at org.codehaus.gant.IncludeTargets$leftShift.call(Unknown Source)
at RunApp.run(RunApp.groovy:25)
at RunApp$run.call(Unknown Source)
at gant.Gant.prepareTargets(Gant.groovy:607)
at com.springsource.loaded.ri.ReflectiveInterceptor.jlrMethodInvoke(ReflectiveInterceptor.java:1231)
| Error Error executing script RunApp: taskdef class org.codehaus.groovy.grails.compiler.GrailsCompiler cannot be found
using the classloader AntClassLoader[]
Nothing I seem to do gets past this or changes it. Anyone have any ideas how to fix this?

Answer 1

run grails upgrade - Still not sure why this works but I've had to do it on occasion with a fresh checkout.

Answer 2

check dependencies:
grails dependency-report
Check the output for multiple versions of Groovy or Spring in the build configuration.
http://grails.org/doc/latest/ref/Command%20Line/dependency-report.html
use exclusions or specific dependencies in BuildConfig.groovy to use certain version.
make sure to check different configurations since some dependencies might be just in test configuration, and a different version in compile or build. That might sometimes be a problem with dependencies.
references:
http://grails.1312388.n4.nabble.com/Upgrading-a-project-from-1-3-6-to-1-4-0-M1-td3603895.html
Another check:
Make sure you don't have a ~/.ant/lib directory. I have seen that cause strange problems.
rename it if it exists:
mv ~/.ant/lib{,.old}
Try upgrading directly to Grails 2.3.11 since 2.1.x or 2.2.x Grails branches aren't maintained any more. Take a look at the release notes from grails.org website (https://grails.org/Releases) and grails reference manual for upgrade instructions.
You should take a look at these instructions:
Upgrading from 2.1.x to 2.2.x:
http://grails.org/doc/2.2.x/guide/upgradingFromPreviousVersionsOfGrails.html
Upgrading from 2.2.x to 2.3.x:
http://grails.org/doc/2.3.x/guide/upgradingFromPreviousVersionsOfGrails.html
Read all release notes after the version you are upgrading from:
https://grails.org/Releases
Some extra upgrade tips:
remove all plugin dependencies from application.properties files and move them to BuildConfig.groovy
compare grails-app/conf/* and web-app/WEB-INF/* files of an empty application (of a new version) to your application with a diff tool like Meld , WinMerge, etc.
if you have a templates directory , compare that to an empty application (of a new new version) that has templates installed (grails install-templates).

Answer 3

I had a similar problem, and #Beatty's answer didn't work, because that also would give me an error. Following some possible solutions I found here, I fixed this by deleting the target folder in my app's folder
rm -rf target/*
and then, running again grails compile
Hope this helps