apache/hadoop · error · IOException

create: Pathname too long. Limit {} characters, {} levels.

Error message

create: Pathname too long.  Limit {} characters, {} levels.

What it means

Error "create: Pathname too long. Limit {} characters, {} levels." thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/NameNodeRpcServer.java:819

  @Override // ClientProtocol
  public FsServerDefaults getServerDefaults() throws IOException {
    checkNNStartup();
    return namesystem.getServerDefaults();
  }

  @Override // ClientProtocol
  public HdfsFileStatus create(String src, FsPermission masked,
      String clientName, EnumSetWritable<CreateFlag> flag,
      boolean createParent, short replication, long blockSize,
      CryptoProtocolVersion[] supportedVersions, String ecPolicyName,
      String storagePolicy)
      throws IOException {
    checkNNStartup();
    String clientMachine = getClientMachine();
    stateChangeLog.debug("*DIR* NameNode.create: file {} for {} at {}.",
        src, clientName, clientMachine);
    if (!checkPathLength(src)) {
      throw new IOException("create: Pathname too long.  Limit "
          + MAX_PATH_LENGTH + " characters, " + MAX_PATH_DEPTH + " levels.");
    }
    namesystem.checkOperation(OperationCategory.WRITE);
    CacheEntryWithPayload cacheEntry = getCacheEntryWithPayload(null);
    if (cacheEntry != null && cacheEntry.isSuccess()) {
      return (HdfsFileStatus) cacheEntry.getPayload();
    }

    HdfsFileStatus status = null;
    try {
      PermissionStatus perm = new PermissionStatus(getRemoteUser()
          .getShortUserName(), null, masked);
      status = namesystem.startFile(src, perm, clientName, clientMachine,
          flag.get(), createParent, replication, blockSize, supportedVersions,
          ecPolicyName, storagePolicy, cacheEntry != null);
    } finally {
      RetryCache.setState(cacheEntry, status != null, status);
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Shorten the path or filename, or raise dfs.namenode.fs-limits.max-component-length / max-directory-items limits if appropriate.

When it happens

Trigger: A create call uses a pathname exceeding the configured character or depth limits.

Common situations: Creating deeply nested paths or very long file names beyond default HDFS limits.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/808187f223ddd859. Report an issue: GitHub.