apache/flink · error · IOException

Failed to delete: {}

Error message

Failed to delete: {}

What it means

Wraps an AWS SDK S3Exception raised while deleting an object (or while listing during recursive delete) in IOException('Failed to delete: <path>') with the original exception as cause. The S3 status code and error message in the cause explain the actual failure (403 AccessDenied, 404 NoSuchKey, 500s, etc.).

Source

Thrown at flink-filesystems/flink-s3-fs-native/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/fs/s3native/NativeS3FileSystem.java:405

                s3Client.deleteObject(request);
                return true;
            } else {
                if (!recursive) {
                    throw new IOException("Directory not empty and recursive = false");
                }

                final FileStatus[] contents = listStatus(path);
                for (FileStatus file : contents) {
                    delete(file.getPath(), true);
                }

                return true;
            }
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            return false;
        } catch (S3Exception e) {
            throw new IOException("Failed to delete: " + path, e);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Creates a directory at the specified path.
     *
     * <p><b>S3 Behavior:</b> S3 is a flat object store and doesn't have true directories. Directory
     * semantics are simulated through key prefixes. This method always returns true because:
     *
     * <ul>
     *   <li>S3 doesn't require directories to exist before creating objects with that prefix
     *   <li>Creating an empty "directory marker" object (key ending with /) is optional
     *   <li>Most S3 implementations don't create these markers for consistency with Hadoop FS
     * </ul>
     *
     * <p>If explicit directory markers are needed, consider using a custom implementation.
     *
     * @return always returns true (S3 doesn't require explicit directory creation)

View on GitHub (pinned to 2f3c205e92)

Solutions

1. Read the cause's status code: 403 -> grant s3:DeleteObject on the bucket/prefix; 500/503 -> retry with backoff.
2. For Object Lock-protected objects, skip deletion or use compliant retention handling; they cannot be deleted.
3. Retry the whole delete(path, true) — it is idempotent since already-deleted children simply no longer exist.

try {
    s3Fs.delete(path, true);
} catch (IOException e) {
    if (e.getCause() instanceof S3Exception) {
        int code = ((S3Exception) e.getCause()).statusCode();
        if (code == 403) {
            // fix IAM s3:DeleteObject permission, then retry
        } else if (code >= 500) {
            // transient S3 failure: retry delete with backoff (idempotent)
        } else {
            throw e;
        }
    } else {
        throw e;
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: s3Client.deleteObject fails due to missing s3:DeleteObject permissions, object locked (Object Lock / retention), bucket owner enforcement, or transient S3 5xx errors; also fired from the recursive branch for any child delete failure.

Common situations: IAM policies grant read but not delete; S3 Object Lock or legal hold prevents deletion; deleting objects written by a different AWS account without proper ACLs/ownership; intermittent S3 errors under load.

Related errors

• Failed to rename {} to {}
• Directory {} does not exist or an I/O error occurred
• Directory not empty and recursive = false
• Failed to start multipart upload for key: {}
• Failed to put object for key: {}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/flink@2f3c205e92 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bfbc457eba0a9b98. Report an issue: GitHub.