NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IOException

Missing ident file: {}

Error message

Missing ident file: {}

What it means

Thrown by addCertificateName() (init flow) when pg_ident.conf is not a regular file in the data directory. BSim patches pg_ident.conf to map the certificate's common name to the connecting user; without the file the mapping cannot be written.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimControlLaunchable.java:1123

		command.add(dataDirectory.getAbsolutePath());
		command.add("-s");
		int res = runCommand(null, command, loadLibraryVar, loadLibraryValue);
		if (res != 0) {
			throw new IOException("Error creating new user");
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Update the PostgreSQL identity map (pg_ident.conf) adding a map from
	 * the currently active -commonName- to -username-
	 * @param username the user name to add
	 * @throws IOException if the postgres ident file is invalid
	 */
	private void addCertificateName(String username) throws IOException {
		File identFile = new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_IDENTFILE);
		File copyFile = new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_IDENTFILE + ".copy");
		if (!identFile.isFile()) {
			throw new IOException("Missing ident file: " + identFile.getAbsolutePath());
		}
		ServerConfig.patchIdent(identFile, copyFile, POSTGRES_MAP_IDENTIFIER, commonName, username,
			true);
		FileUtilities.copyFile(copyFile, identFile, false, null);
	}

	/**
	 * Add a new user to the currently running server on the local host.
	 * A connection is established, using the local interface, and the "CREATE ROLE" command
	 * is executed. If the server is configured to require certificate authentication on
	 * remote connections, the user must have provided a distinguished name associated with
	 * the certificate, which is then mapped to the new username. 
	 * @throws GeneralSecurityException if using PKI and no Distinguished Name is found
	 * @throws Exception if there's a problem initializing the Application of discovering the Postgres installation
	 */
	private void addUserCommand() throws GeneralSecurityException, Exception {
		discoverPostgresInstall();
		initializeDataDirectory();			// Needed to pick up authentication settings

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Confirm pg_ident.conf exists in the data directory; create an empty one if postgres didn't (`touch <dataDir>/pg_ident.conf`).
2. Re-initialize the data directory cleanly if it is incomplete.
3. Check read permissions on the data directory.
4. Ensure the postgres major version is one BSim expects (generates pg_ident.conf).

File ident = new File(dataDir, "pg_ident.conf");
if (!ident.isFile()) {
    // create an empty map file so BSim can patch it, if appropriate for your setup
    ident.createNewFile();
}

public boolean identFileExists(File dir) {
    return new File(dir, "pg_ident.conf").isFile();
}

try {
    bsimControl.start(args);
} catch (IOException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Missing ident file:")) {
        throw new UserFacingException("pg_ident.conf missing in data dir; (re)initialize the cluster", e);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: During initializeDataDirectory() PKI setup, `new File(dataDirectory, POSTGRES_IDENTFILE).isFile()` is false right after postgres init.

Common situations: Postgres version/config that does not generate pg_ident.conf by default; the file was deleted; permissions prevent seeing the file; partial/failed earlier init left the data directory incomplete.

Related errors

• PKI authentication requested, but certificate authority file
• {} is not a valid certification authority
• Distinguished name option (--dn) required for {}
• Error copying original connection file
• Error creating new user

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/183fc113e1ea7167. Report an issue: GitHub.