NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IOException

Error copying original connection file

Error message

Error copying original connection file

What it means

Thrown by initializeDataDirectory() when hbaFile.renameTo(hbaCopy) fails — pg_hba.conf could not be moved to pg_hba.conf.orig. BSim rewrites pg_hba.conf to enforce the chosen auth method (trust/password/cert), so a failed rename halts initialization.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimControlLaunchable.java:928

		}
		File configCopy = new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_CONFIGFILE + ".orig");

		if (hostAuthentication == AUTHENTICATION_PKI || localAuthentication == AUTHENTICATION_PKI) {
			File rootCA = new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_ROOTCA);
			FileUtilities.copyFile(certAuthorityFile, rootCA, false, null);
			addCertificateName(connectingUserName);
		}

		// Move the original configuration file
		if (!configFile.renameTo(configCopy)) {
			throw new IOException("Error copying original configuration file");
		}

		File hbaCopy = new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_CONNECTFILE + ".orig");

		// Move the original connection file
		if (!hbaFile.renameTo(hbaCopy)) {
			throw new IOException("Error copying original connection file");
		}
		// Patch the configuration
		tuneConfig(configCopy, configFile, hbaCopy, hbaFile, serverConfigFile);
		System.out.println("Generating servers SSL certificate");
		generateSelfSignedCertificate(new File(dataDirectory, "server.crt"),
			new File(dataDirectory, "server.key"));
	}

	/**
	 * Scan the PostgreSQL data directory from the command-line
	 * Make sure the directory exists and establish the File object -dataDirectory-
	 * @param params are the command-line arguments
	 * @param slot is the position to retrieve the data directory argument
	 * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the data directory is invalid
	 * @throws IOException if the canonical file cannot be retrieved
	 */
	private void scanDataDirectory(String[] params, int slot)
			throws IllegalArgumentException, IOException {

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Verify pg_hba.conf exists in the data directory and is writable/owned by the running user.
2. Ensure no postgres process is running against the data directory during init.
3. Keep the data directory on one local filesystem.
4. Clean up any half-applied .orig files from a previous failed run before retrying.

File hba = new File(dataDir, "pg_hba.conf");
File hbaOrig = new File(dataDir, "pg_hba.conf.orig");
if (hba.exists() && !hba.canWrite()) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("pg_hba.conf not writable; rename will fail");
}

public boolean hbaReadyForPatch(File dir) {
    File hba = new File(dir, "pg_hba.conf");
    return hba.isFile() && hba.canWrite() && dir.canWrite();
}

try {
    bsimControl.start(args);
} catch (IOException e) {
    if ("Error copying original connection file".equals(e.getMessage())) {
        throw new UserFacingException("Cannot move pg_hba.conf aside; check perms/fs", e);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Same renameTo() failure pattern as the config-file move, but for the connection/auth file pg_hba.conf, immediately after the postgresql.conf move.

Common situations: Cross-filesystem data directory; pg_hba.conf locked by a running postgres or monitoring tool; permission/ownership mismatch; leftover .orig from an interrupted init.

Related errors

• PKI authentication requested, but certificate authority file
• {} is not a valid certification authority
• Distinguished name option (--dn) required for {}
• Error copying original configuration file
• Missing ident file: {}

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/932cbc7d61caf0d3. Report an issue: GitHub.