apache/hadoop · error · InvalidPathException

Invalid target name: {}

Error message

Invalid target name: {}

What it means

Error "Invalid target name: {}" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/FSDirSymlinkOp.java:47

import java.io.IOException;

import static org.apache.hadoop.util.Time.now;

class FSDirSymlinkOp {

  static FileStatus createSymlinkInt(
      FSNamesystem fsn, String target, final String linkArg,
      PermissionStatus dirPerms, boolean createParent, boolean logRetryCache)
      throws IOException {
    FSDirectory fsd = fsn.getFSDirectory();
    String link = linkArg;
    if (!DFSUtil.isValidName(link)) {
      throw new InvalidPathException("Invalid link name: " + link);
    }
    if (FSDirectory.isReservedName(target) || target.isEmpty()
        || FSDirectory.isExactReservedName(target)) {
      throw new InvalidPathException("Invalid target name: " + target);
    }

    if (NameNode.stateChangeLog.isDebugEnabled()) {
      NameNode.stateChangeLog.debug("DIR* NameSystem.createSymlink: target="
          + target + " link=" + link);
    }

    FSPermissionChecker pc = fsn.getPermissionChecker();
    INodesInPath iip;
    fsd.writeLock();
    try {
      iip = fsd.resolvePath(pc, link, DirOp.WRITE_LINK);
      link = iip.getPath();
      if (!createParent) {
        fsd.verifyParentDir(iip);
      }
      if (!fsd.isValidToCreate(link, iip)) {
        throw new IOException(

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Provide a valid symlink target path (non-empty, properly formed).

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a symlink whose target path is null or empty.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/14a75e5efe796aa7. Report an issue: GitHub.