Groovy script not working as expected - Trying to update cq:tags

[PriyaNair1]

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to use AEM Groovy Console to add a new tag to a page's existing cq:tags property.
Below is my code:

def page = getPage("/content/mysite/en/sample")
def modifiable = page.node
def tagToAdd = "myproject:custom/tag"

def existingTags = modifiable["cq:tags"] ?: []
if (!existingTags.contains(tagToAdd)) {
existingTags << tagToAdd
modifiable["cq:tags"] = existingTags
}

I expect this to add the tag only if it's not already present. But it doesn't work in some cases - especially when the page already has one tag.
Can anyone tell what is wrong?

[SantoshSai]

Hi @PriyaNair1,
Try changing the first line where you fetch the tags like this:

def existingTags = modifiable.get("cq:tags") as List ?: []

That should handle cases where cq:tags is already a list.

Hope that helps!

[PriyaNair1]

@SantoshSai I tried that, but now it’s giving an error when the tag is just a single string.

groovy.lang.MissingMethodException: No signature of method: java.lang.String.each() is applicable for argument types

[SantoshSai · Accepted solution]

@PriyaNair1 

Can you try this?

def page = getPage("/content/mysite/en/sample")
def modifiable = page.node
def tagToAdd = "myproject:custom/tag"

// Read existing tags
def existingTagsRaw = modifiable.get("cq:tags")
def existingTags = []

if (existingTagsRaw instanceof String) {
    existingTags = [existingTagsRaw]
} else if (existingTagsRaw instanceof String[]) {
    existingTags = existingTagsRaw.toList()
}

// Add new tag if it doesn't already exist
if (!existingTags.contains(tagToAdd)) {
    existingTags << tagToAdd
    modifiable.setProperty("cq:tags", existingTags as String[])
    println "Tag added successfully"
} else {
    println "Tag already exists"
}

[PriyaNair1]

@SantoshSai Thank you, this worked.

[AmitVishwakarma]

Hi @PriyaNair1 ,

Here is a robust Groovy script (well-commented and explained) that adds a tag to a page's cq:tags property using the AEM Groovy Console, ensuring compatibility regardless of whether the property is a single string or a string array:

Groovy Script: Add a New cq:tag Safely in AEM

// Path to the page
def page = getPage("/content/mysite/en/sample")

// Access the underlying JCR node of the page
def modifiable = page.node

// The tag to be added
def tagToAdd = "myproject:custom/tag"

// Get the existing value of 'cq:tags'
def existingTagsRaw = modifiable.get("cq:tags")

// Initialize as empty list
def existingTags = []

// Normalize the tag property to a List<String>
if (existingTagsRaw instanceof String) {
    // If only one tag is present as a String
    existingTags = [existingTagsRaw]
} else if (existingTagsRaw instanceof String[]) {
    // If multiple tags are present
    existingTags = existingTagsRaw.toList()
}

// Check if the new tag is already in the list
if (!existingTags.contains(tagToAdd)) {
    existingTags << tagToAdd  // Append the new tag

    // Set the property back as a String array
    modifiable.setProperty("cq:tags", existingTags as String[])

    println " Tag '${tagToAdd}' added successfully."
} else {
    println " Tag '${tagToAdd}' already exists."
}

Handles both String and String[] types (AEM stores cq:tags as multi-value but may return a single string if only one tag is set).

Ensures the updated value is stored as a String[], as expected by AEM for multi-value properties.

Prevents duplicates by checking with .contains() before adding.

Regards,
Amit