apache/hadoop · error · IOException

Cannot remove current directory

Error message

Cannot remove current directory: {curDir}

What it means

Storage.StorageDirectory.clearDirectory() wipes and recreates current/ during format, rollback and finalize transitions: it lists the files, calls FileUtil.fullyDelete(curDir), and if the recursive delete fails it throws IOException('Cannot remove current directory: <curDir>'). The listed files are logged ('Will remove files: ...') just before, which is the fastest way to see what could not be deleted.

Solutions

1. Stop the daemon that owns the storage directory and confirm nothing holds files open (lsof +<pid> or check in_use.lock removed)
2. Fix ownership/permissions: chown -R <hdfs-user> <storage-dir> and ensure write access
3. Repair the filesystem layer: remount read-write mounts, resolve NFS stale handles, check dmesg/RAID health
4. As a last resort, delete current/ manually (after backing up) and re-run format

Example fix

# before: format fails deleting current/
sudo -u hdfs hdfs namenode -format   # old NN still running

# after
hadoop-daemon.sh stop namenode
lsof +D /dfs/nn/current || true
sudo chown -R hdfs:hdfs /dfs/nn
sudo -u hdfs hdfs namenode -format

File curDir = sd.getCurrentDir();
if (curDir != null && curDir.exists()) {
  if (!Files.isWritable(curDir.getParentFile().toPath())) {
    throw new IOException("Storage parent not writable: " + curDir.getParent());
  }
  try (Stream<Path> s = Files.list(curDir.toPath())) {
    Path lock = curDir.toPath().resolve("in_use.lock");
    if (Files.exists(lock)) throw new IOException("Lock present; daemon still running?");
  }
}
sd.clearDirectory();

try {
  sd.clearDirectory();
} catch (IOException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Cannot remove current directory")) {
    throw new IOException("Stop the owning daemon and fix permissions on "
        + sd.getCurrentDir(), e); // actionable rethrow
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'hdfs namenode -format' (or DataNode initialization/rollback/finalize) while the process cannot delete everything under current/: another process still holds a file (in_use.lock, replica files) via an open handle, permissions/ownership changed, or the storage filesystem is read-only or erroring (NFS stale handles, disk fault).

Common situations: Formatting without stopping the old NameNode/DataNode; running the daemon under a different user than the storage dir's owner; storage on NFS with stale file handles; a filesystem remounted read-only after errors.

Related errors

• Cannot create directory
• Cannot create directory
• Can't format the storage directory because the current…
• Cannot remove directory
• Cannot remove directory

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/95886172a132c635. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/common/Storage.java:444

     * This does not fully format storage directory. 
     * It cannot write the version file since it should be written last after  
     * all other storage type dependent files are written.
     * Derived storage is responsible for setting specific storage values and
     * writing the version file to disk.
     * 
     * @throws IOException
     */
    public void clearDirectory() throws IOException {
      File curDir = this.getCurrentDir();
      if (curDir == null) {
        // if the directory is null, there is nothing to do.
        return;
      }
      if (curDir.exists()) {
        File[] files = FileUtil.listFiles(curDir);
        LOG.info("Will remove files: {}", Arrays.toString(files));
        if (!(FileUtil.fullyDelete(curDir)))
          throw new IOException("Cannot remove current directory: " + curDir);
      }
      if (!curDir.mkdirs()) {
        throw new IOException("Cannot create directory " + curDir);
      }
      if (permission != null) {
        try {
          Set<PosixFilePermission> permissions =
              PosixFilePermissions.fromString(permission.toString());
          Files.setPosixFilePermissions(curDir.toPath(), permissions);
        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException uoe) {
          // Default to FileUtil for non posix file systems
          FileUtil.setPermission(curDir, permission);
        }
      }
    }

    /**
     * Directory {@code current} contains latest files defining

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