SonarSource/sonarqube · error

Could not copy file:

Error message

Could not copy file: 

What it means

copyFile copies a source file (e.g. ES keystore, HTTP SSL certificate) into the temporary Elasticsearch conf directory with Files.copy(REPLACE_EXISTING). An IOException (source unreadable, target unwritable) is wrapped in this IllegalStateException including the source path, aborting ES setup.

Source

Thrown at server/sonar-main/src/main/java/org/sonar/application/ProcessLauncherImpl.java:212

    esInstallation.getTrustStorePassword().ifPresent(s -> keyStoreCli.store(TRUSTSTORE_PASSWORD_PROPERTY_KEY, s));
    esInstallation.getKeyStorePassword().ifPresent(s -> keyStoreCli.store(KEYSTORE_PASSWORD_PROPERTY_KEY, s));
  }

  private static void setupElasticsearchHttpEncryption(EsInstallation esInstallation, EsKeyStoreCli keyStoreCli) {
    if (esInstallation.isHttpEncryptionEnabled()) {
      String esConfPath = esInstallation.getConfDirectory().getAbsolutePath();
      Path httpKeyStoreLocation = esInstallation.getHttpKeyStoreLocation();
      copyFile(httpKeyStoreLocation, Paths.get(esConfPath, httpKeyStoreLocation.toFile().getName()));
      esInstallation.getHttpKeyStorePassword().ifPresent(s -> keyStoreCli.store(HTTP_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD_PROPERTY_KEY, s));
    }
  }

  private static void copyFile(Path from, Path to) {
    try {
      Files.copy(from, to, StandardCopyOption.REPLACE_EXISTING);
    } catch (IOException e) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("Could not copy file: " + from, e);
    }
  }

  private static void storeElasticsearchLog4j2Properties(EsInstallation esInstallation) {
    try (FileOutputStream fileOutputStream = new FileOutputStream(esInstallation.getLog4j2PropertiesLocation())) {
      esInstallation.getLog4j2Properties().store(fileOutputStream, "log4j2 properties file for ES bundled in SonarQube");
    } catch (IOException e) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to write ES configuration files", e);
    }
  }

  private <T extends JvmOptions> Process launchJava(JavaCommand<T> javaCommand) {
    ProcessId processId = javaCommand.getProcessId();
    try {
      ProcessBuilder processBuilder = create(javaCommand);
      logLaunchedCommand(javaCommand, processBuilder);
      return processBuilder.start();
    } catch (Exception e) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 184c821202)

Solutions

1. Verify the source file path in the message exists and is readable by the sonarqube user.
2. Fix permissions on the ES temp conf destination directory.
3. Re-check sonar.security / HTTPS keystore and certificate configuration properties.
4. Ensure the source path is a file, not a directory or symlink to a missing target.

Example fix

// before
sonar.web.https.keyStore=/etc/ssl/certs/nonexistent.p12
// after
sonar.web.https.keyStore=/etc/sonarqube/keystore.p12  # verified readable

Path from = Paths.get(keystoreProp);
if (!Files.isRegularFile(from) || !Files.isReadable(from)) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Certificate/keystore missing or unreadable: " + from);
}

try { launcher.launch(...); } catch (IllegalStateException e) { if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Could not copy file:")) { verifySourcePath(e); } }

When it happens

Trigger: setupElasticsearchAuthentication() or setupElasticsearchHttpEncryption() -> copyFile() when the source file (cert/keystore) cannot be read or the destination in the ES temp conf dir cannot be written.

Common situations: Misconfigured sonar.auth.keystore / TLS certificate paths pointing at missing or unreadable files; permission problems in the temp conf dir; certificate file deleted or renamed after configuration.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

• Could not delete Elasticsearch temporary conf directory
• Failed to create temporary configuration directory [%s]
• Failed to write ES configuration files
• Cannot write Elasticsearch jvm options file
• Can not write to file

AI-assisted analysis of SonarSource/sonarqube@184c821202 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f1400473f944f2f9. Report an issue: GitHub.