apache/cassandra · error · java.lang.RuntimeException

Error during taking a snapshot

Error message

Error during taking a snapshot

What it means

nodetool snapshot wraps any IOException from probe.takeSnapshot (the JMX call to the node) into a RuntimeException with the message 'Error during taking a snapshot', preserving the cause. It signals the snapshot operation failed server-side or the JMX communication failed.

Solutions

1. Read the full stack trace and the cause; check the node's system.log for the underlying snapshot error.
2. Verify the keyspaces/tables passed exist (use nodetool describering or cqlsh DESCRIBE).
3. Check node disk space and permissions on the data/snapshots directories.
4. Verify JMX connectivity (nodetool status works) and retry.

Example fix

// before (script ignores failure detail)
nodetool snapshot -tn daily || exit 1
// after
nodetool snapshot -tn daily 2>&1 | tee snap.log || { cat snap.log; grep -A5 'Error during taking a snapshot' snap.log; exit 1; }

// Pre-check target exists: nodetool describering / cqlsh DESCRIBE KEYSPACES, and ensure JMX is reachable before snapshotting

try { probe.takeSnapshot(name, table, options, keyspaces); } catch (RuntimeException e) { if (e.getMessage().equals("Error during taking a snapshot")) { log(e.getCause()); checkNodeLogsAndDisk(); } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: The remote node fails while creating hard links (disk error, missing SSTable files, keyspace/table does not exist) or the JMX connection breaks mid-call.

Common situations: Snapshotting a nonexistent keyspace/table, disk-full or permission problems on the node, or flaky JMX connectivity to a busy node.

Related errors

• Argument must have keyspace and table values.
• Error during clearing snapshots
• Error during moving node
• error
• Error occured when getting the guardrails config

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c743ea7e8cdab6a8. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/tools/nodetool/Snapshot.java:118

            else
            {
                if (keyspaces.isEmpty())
                    sb.append("[all keyspaces]");
                else
                    sb.append('[').append(join(keyspaces, ", ")).append(']');

                if (!snapshotName.isEmpty())
                    sb.append(" with snapshot name [").append(snapshotName).append(']');
                sb.append(" and options ").append(options);
                out.println(sb);

                probe.takeSnapshot(snapshotName, table, options, toArray(keyspaces, String.class));
                out.println("Snapshot directory: " + snapshotName);
            }
        }
        catch (IOException e)
        {
            throw new RuntimeException("Error during taking a snapshot", e);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)