apache/cassandra · error · RuntimeException

Failed verifying SSTable <descriptor>

Error message

Failed verifying SSTable <descriptor>

What it means

SSTableImporter wraps any Throwable raised while verifying an SSTable descriptor (reading metadata/components in the import directory) in a RuntimeException 'Failed verifying SSTable <descriptor>' and aborts the import. It signals the SSTable could not be validated, e.g., corrupt, unreadable, or incompatible files.

Source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/SSTableImporter.java:149

                                                                                          table));
                                    }
                                }
                            }

                            if (options.verifySSTables || options.verifyTokens)
                                verifySSTableForImport(descriptor, entry.getValue(), options.verifyTokens, options.verifySSTables, options.extendedVerify);
                        }
                        catch (Throwable t)
                        {
                            if (dir != null)
                            {
                                logger.error("[{}] Failed verifying SSTable {} in directory {}", importID, descriptor, dir, t);
                                failedDirectories.add(dir);
                            }
                            else
                            {
                                logger.error("[{}] Failed verifying SSTable {}", importID, descriptor, t);
                                throw new RuntimeException("Failed verifying SSTable " + descriptor, t);
                            }
                            break;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        Set<SSTableReader> newSSTables = new HashSet<>();
        for (Pair<Directories.SSTableLister, String> listerPair : listers)
        {
            Directories.SSTableLister lister = listerPair.left;
            String dir = listerPair.right;
            if (failedDirectories.contains(dir))
                continue;

            Set<MovedSSTable> movedSSTables = new HashSet<>();
            Set<SSTableReader> newSSTablesPerDirectory = new HashSet<>();

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)

Solutions

1. Re-copy the SSTable set completely and verify checksums (e.g., rsync with --checksum) before importing
2. Confirm the source SSTables come from the same Cassandra major version and matching schema
3. Check filesystem permissions and disk health on the import directory; fix and retry
4. If a specific directory is bad, remove the offending SSTable from the import directory (or mark the directory as failed) and import the rest

Example fix

// before: partially copied SSTable
rsync -a src/ /data/import/   # interrupted, truncated files
// after: complete, verified copy
rsync -a --checksum --delete src/ /data/import/ && nodetool import -- ks table /data/import

// verify components exist and checksums match before import
for (String f : requiredComponents(descriptor)) {
    File file = new File(importDir, f);
    if (!file.canRead()) throw new IOException("missing/unreadable component: " + f);
    verifyChecksum(file, checksums.get(f));
}

try {
    nodetool("import", "--", ks, table, dir);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Failed verifying SSTable")) {
        // re-copy the offending SSTable from a healthy source, then retry
        reCopySstable(dir);
        nodetool("import", "--", ks, table, dir);
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: importNewSSTables calls SSTableReader validation on a descriptor in the import directory and it throws (corrupt data file, missing required components, unreadable directory, wrong schema/version), and the directory is not one of the designated failedDirectories being handled.

Common situations: Copying SSTables mid-compaction leaving inconsistent components; truncated data files from an interrupted scp/rsync; importing SSTables from an incompatible Cassandra version; wrong file permissions on the import directory.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to read file", EACCES, ENOENT and "could not read <path>" errors: when a program can't read a file from disk — this error's family across 49 libraries.

Related errors

• Can't import sstable <descriptor>
• Failed to import sstable <filename>
• is corrupt, can't import
• Invalid SSTable %s, please force %srepair
• Failed to read partition index

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92bf424f04b71154. Report an issue: GitHub.