aeron-io/aeron · error · ArchiveEvent

GENERIC

GENERIC

Error message

cannot extend recording ${recordingId} due to an outstanding delete operation: streamId=${streamId} channel=${originalChannel}

What it means

An extendRecording request targeted a recording whose recorded segments are still queued for deletion by an outstanding DeleteSegmentsSession (e.g. from a purgeRecording/truncate). Extending now would race with segment deletion, so the archive rejects the request with a GENERIC error response and throws ArchiveEvent.

Solutions

Wait for the delete segments session to complete before extending (poll catalog or RecordingSignal/purge completion).
Do not extend a recording that was recently purged; start a fresh recording instead.
Sequence operations: purge -> confirm completion -> then decide extend vs new recording.
Reduce purge scope (truncate to a position instead of full purge) if the recording will be extended.
Add retry with backoff around extendRecording when a purge was issued recently.

Example fix

// before
archive.purgeRecording(recId);
archive.extendRecording(recId, channel, streamId, SourceLocation.LOCAL); // deletion outstanding

// after
archive.purgeRecording(recId);
awaitPurgeComplete(archive, recId); // wait for deletion session to finish
archive.extendRecording(recId, channel, streamId, SourceLocation.LOCAL);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// ensure no purge/delete is pending for this recording before extending
if (recentlyPurged(recordingId)) {
    awaitPurgeComplete(archive, recordingId); // blocks until delete session done
}

Try / catch

try {
    archive.extendRecording(recId, channel, streamId, SourceLocation.LOCAL);
} catch (ArchiveException e) {
    if (e.errorCode() == ArchiveErrorCode.GENERIC && e.getMessage().contains("outstanding delete")) {
        // wait for deletion session completion, then retry once
    }
}

Prevention

Avoid purgeRecording on recordings you plan to extend; use truncate to a position instead.
Wait for purge completion (recording signals) before any extend.
Serialize archive mutations per recordingId in your application.
Implement bounded retry with backoff for extend after purge.

When it happens

Trigger: A purgeRecording (or similar) on recordingId left a DeleteSegmentsSession in deleteSegmentsSessionByIdMap whose maxDeletePosition() >= the recording's stopPosition, and the client then attempts to extend that recording.

Common situations: Application purges/truncates a recording then immediately extends it before the deletion session finishes; long deletion of many segments still in progress; reusing a recordingId recently purged; automation scripts that purge-then-extend without waiting for completion.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of aeron-io/aeron@6d60124e15 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c21c0815b9963c92. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at aeron-archive/src/main/java/io/aeron/archive/ArchiveConductor.java:2089

            if (recordingSessionByIdMap.containsKey(recordingId))
            {
                final String msg = "cannot extend active recording " + recordingId +
                    " streamId=" + image.subscription().streamId() + " channel=" + originalChannel;
                controlSession.sendErrorResponse(correlationId, ACTIVE_RECORDING, msg);
                throw new ArchiveEvent(msg);
            }

            catalog.recordingSummary(recordingId, recordingSummary);

            final DeleteSegmentsSession deleteSegmentsSession = deleteSegmentsSessionByIdMap.get(recordingId);
            if (null != deleteSegmentsSession &&
                deleteSegmentsSession.maxDeletePosition() >= recordingSummary.stopPosition)
            {
                final String msg = "cannot extend recording " + recordingId +
                    " due to an outstanding delete operation: streamId=" +
                    image.subscription().streamId() + " channel=" + originalChannel;
                controlSession.sendErrorResponse(correlationId, GENERIC, msg);
                throw new ArchiveEvent(msg);
            }

            validateImageForExtendRecording(correlationId, controlSession, image, recordingSummary);

            final Counter position = RecordingPos.allocate(
                aeron,
                counterMetadataBuffer,
                ctx.archiveId(),
                recordingId,
                image.sessionId(),
                image.subscription().streamId(),
                strippedChannel,
                image.sourceIdentity());

            position.setRelease(image.joinPosition());

            final RecordingSession session = new RecordingSession(
                correlationId,

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