apache/flink · error · IOException

Interrupted when untarring file {inFilePath}

Error message

Interrupted when untarring file {inFilePath}

What it means

Thrown by the Unix tar extraction path (extractTarFileUsingTar) when the thread waiting for the `bash -c "... | tar ..."` process is interrupted. The code restores the interrupt flag before throwing, preserving the interruption request.

Source

Thrown at flink-core/src/main/java/org/apache/flink/util/CompressionUtils.java:138

    // Copy and simplify from hadoop-common package that is used in YARN
    // See
    // https://github.com/apache/hadoop/blob/7f93349ee74da5f35276b7535781714501ab2457/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/FileUtil.java
    private static void extractTarFileUsingTar(
            String inFilePath, String targetDirPath, boolean gzipped) throws IOException {
        inFilePath = makeSecureShellPath(inFilePath);
        targetDirPath = makeSecureShellPath(targetDirPath);
        String untarCommand =
                gzipped
                        ? String.format(
                                "gzip -dc '%s' | (cd '%s' && tar -xf -)", inFilePath, targetDirPath)
                        : String.format("cd '%s' && tar -xf '%s'", targetDirPath, inFilePath);
        Process process = new ProcessBuilder("bash", "-c", untarCommand).start();
        int exitCode = 0;
        try {
            exitCode = process.waitFor();
        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
            Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            throw new IOException("Interrupted when untarring file " + inFilePath);
        }
        if (exitCode != 0) {
            throw new IOException(
                    "Error untarring file "
                            + inFilePath
                            + ". Tar process exited with exit code "
                            + exitCode);
        }
    }

    // Follow the pattern suggested in
    // https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-compress/examples.html
    private static void extractTarFileUsingJava(
            String inFilePath, String targetDirPath, boolean gzipped) throws IOException {
        try (InputStream fi = Files.newInputStream(Paths.get(inFilePath));
                InputStream bi = new BufferedInputStream(fi);
                final TarArchiveInputStream tai =
                        new TarArchiveInputStream(

View on GitHub (pinned to 2f3c205e92)

Solutions

1. Let the interruption propagate: do not swallow it — unwind and stop the extraction work
2. If interruption is expected during shutdown, catch the IOException, check Thread.currentThread().isInterrupted(), and finish cleanup without starting new extractions
3. Avoid sharing the extracting thread with tasks that can be cancelled, or run extraction in a dedicated executor you control

Example fix

// before
executor.submit(() -> CompressionUtils.extractTarFile(src, dst));

// after
Future<?> f = executor.submit(() -> CompressionUtils.extractTarFile(src, dst));
try {
    f.get(5, TimeUnit.MINUTES);
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
    if (Thread.interrupted()) { /* treat as shutdown, skip retry */ }
    throw new RuntimeException(e.getCause());
}

catch (IOException e) { if (Thread.currentThread().isInterrupted()) { abort extraction, do not retry } else { rethrow } }

When it happens

Trigger: Running extractTarFile on Unix while the calling thread gets interrupted — typically a shutdown hook, task cancellation, or a test framework timeout aborting the extraction thread.

Common situations: Job/TaskManager shutdown racing archive extraction in a YARN container; CI test timeout interrupting a worker thread mid-extraction; explicit Future.cancel(true) on an extraction task.

Related errors

• Mkdirs failed to create {targetDir}
• Error untarring file {inFilePath}. Tar process exited with e
• expanding {entry.getName()} would create entry outside of {t
• Failed to create directory {outputFile}
• Mkdirs failed to create tar internal dir {targetDir}

AI-assisted analysis of apache/flink@2f3c205e92 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d74e9d0ee230750b. Report an issue: GitHub.