As described here: http://www.nabble.com/0.5.5-issue%3A-pluginContextPath-on-null-object-tf3931482.html http://www.nabble.com/Grails-0.5.5-Released-tf3928954.html Corey's steps to reproduce: #0: install the 0.5.5 release #1: grails create-app MyProj #2: grails create-domain-class Foo ( now, start the app and go to http://localhost:8080/MyProj just to verify everything at this point is fine, then stop the app ) #3: grails create-controller Foo ...now, start the app again, go to http://localhost:8080/MyProj again, and you'll see: Message: Cannot get property: pluginContextPath on null object Caused by: Cannot get property: pluginContextPath on null object Class: JavascriptTagLib At Line: [62] Submitting patch.