apache/hadoop · error · UnsupportedOperationException

{getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support removeDefaultAc

Error message

{getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support removeDefaultAcl

What it means

removeDefaultAcl (strip the inherited 'default' ACL entries from a directory) is an opt-in ACL method: the base AbstractFileSystem throws UnsupportedOperationException with the filesystem's simple class name because default ACLs only exist where ACLs are implemented. HDFS with ACLs enabled and POSIX-ACL-capable local filesystems support it; object stores and most others never override the method.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/AbstractFileSystem.java:1301

   * @param path Path to modify
   * @param aclSpec List{@literal <AclEntry>} describing entries to remove
   * @throws IOException if an ACL could not be modified
   */
  public void removeAclEntries(Path path, List<AclEntry> aclSpec)
      throws IOException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(getClass().getSimpleName()
        + " doesn't support removeAclEntries");
  }

  /**
   * Removes all default ACL entries from files and directories.
   *
   * @param path Path to modify
   * @throws IOException if an ACL could not be modified
   */
  public void removeDefaultAcl(Path path)
      throws IOException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(getClass().getSimpleName()
        + " doesn't support removeDefaultAcl");
  }

  /**
   * Removes all but the base ACL entries of files and directories.  The entries
   * for user, group, and others are retained for compatibility with permission
   * bits.
   *
   * @param path Path to modify
   * @throws IOException if an ACL could not be removed
   */
  public void removeAcl(Path path)
      throws IOException {
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(getClass().getSimpleName()
        + " doesn't support removeAcl");
  }

  /**

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Probe fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS) first and skip default-ACL cleanup when false
2. On HDFS verify dfs.namenode.acls.enabled=true before issuing ACL commands
3. Where unsupported, recreate the directory without defaults or fall back to plain setPermission

Example fix

// before
fc.removeDefaultAcl(path); // -> UnsupportedOperationException

// after
if (fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS)) {
  fc.removeDefaultAcl(path);
}

if (fc.hasPathCapability(path, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS)) {
  fc.removeDefaultAcl(path);
}

boolean aclCapable(Path p) throws IOException {
  return fc.hasPathCapability(p, CommonPathCapabilities.FS_ACLS);
}

try { fc.removeDefaultAcl(path); } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) { /* default ACLs do not exist on this store: skip */ }

When it happens

Trigger: fc.removeDefaultAcl(path) on a non-ACL filesystem (S3A, ABFS, http, ftp); 'hadoop fs -setfacl -k' routed to a defaultFS without ACL support; recursive permission-reset utilities that clear default ACLs on every directory.

Common situations: Hardening scripts that remove inheritance defaults across all data stores; pipelines moved from HDFS to object storage; test runs on LocalFs where the underlying kernel filesystem has no ACL support.

Related errors

• {getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support modifyAclEntrie
• {getClass().getSimpleName()} doesn't support removeAclEntrie
• {} doesn't support removeAcl
• {} doesn't support setAcl
• {} doesn't support getAclStatus

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25ffaf8a3e8b3124. Report an issue: GitHub.