What causes "Failed to create temp directory" in SonarSource/sonarqube?

Ensure the base temp directory's parent exists and is writable by the process user

SonarSource/sonarqube · error · IllegalStateException

Failed to create temp directory

Error message

Failed to create temp directory

What it means

DefaultTempFolder.createTempDir creates the backing temp directory with Files.createTempDirectory under the configured base dir. An IOException (permissions, missing parent, disk full) is wrapped in this IllegalStateException. The library throws it because the temp folder cannot function without its root directory.

Solutions

Ensure the base temp directory's parent exists and is writable by the process user
Fix java.io.tmpdir (or the configured temp path) to a writable location
Check disk space and mount flags (read-only/tmpfs limits)
Inspect e.getCause() for permission-denied details and adjust OS permissions/SELinux policy

Example fix

// before
Path base = Paths.get("/readonly/tmp");
DefaultTempFolder folder = new DefaultTempFolder(base, true);
// after
Path base = Paths.get("/var/tmp/sonar");
Files.createDirectories(base);
DefaultTempFolder folder = new DefaultTempFolder(base, true);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// ensure base dir is writable before constructing the temp folder
Path base = Paths.get(tempPath);
Files.createDirectories(base);
if (!Files.isWritable(base)) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("temp base not writable: " + base);
}

Try / catch

try {
  return newDir(name);
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
  log.error("Temp dir creation failed: {}", e.getCause());
  throw new IOException("Check temp base permissions/disk space", e);
}

Prevention

Point java.io.tmpdir at a writable, persistent location
Ensure the service account owns/has write access to the temp path
Monitor disk space and quotas on temp filesystems
Recreate the DefaultTempFolder if an external process cleaned the base dir

When it happens

Trigger: Calling newDir()/newFile() construction path when the base temp directory cannot be created: parent missing, write permission denied, read-only filesystem, or disk full.

Common situations: java.io.tmpdir pointing to a read-only or non-existent location; running as a restricted service user; containers with tmpfs limits; SELinux/AppArmor blocking directory creation.

Understand the failure class

Background: mkdir permission denied (EACCES): failed to create directory errors explained — this error's family across 32 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of SonarSource/sonarqube@184c821202 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0e575d99db10a18b. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at sonar-plugin-api-impl/src/main/java/org/sonar/api/impl/utils/DefaultTempFolder.java:62

  public DefaultTempFolder(File tempDir) {
    this(tempDir, false);
  }

  public DefaultTempFolder(File tempDir, boolean deleteOnExit) {
    this.tempDir = tempDir;
    this.deleteOnExit = deleteOnExit;
  }

  @Override
  public File newDir() {
    return createTempDir(tempDir.toPath()).toFile();
  }

  private static Path createTempDir(Path baseDir) {
    try {
      return Files.createTempDirectory(baseDir, null);
    } catch (IOException e) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to create temp directory", e);
    }
  }

  @Override
  public File newDir(String name) {
    File dir = new File(tempDir, name);
    try {
      FileUtils.forceMkdir(dir);
    } catch (IOException e) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to create temp directory - " + dir, e);
    }
    return dir;
  }

  @Override
  public File newFile() {
    return newFile(null, null);
  }

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