apache/hadoop · error · ParentNotDirectoryException

{} (is not a directory)

Error message

{} (is not a directory)

What it means

Error "{} (is not a directory)" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/FSPermissionChecker.java:904

  // rudimentary permission-less directory check
  private static void checkSimpleTraverse(INodesInPath iip)
      throws UnresolvedPathException, ParentNotDirectoryException {
    byte[][] components = iip.getPathComponents();
    for (int i=0; i < iip.length() - 1; i++) {
      INode inode = iip.getINode(i);
      if (inode == null) {
        break;
      }
      checkIsDirectory(inode, components, i);
    }
  }

  private static void checkIsDirectory(INode inode, byte[][] components, int i)
      throws UnresolvedPathException, ParentNotDirectoryException {
    if (inode != null && !inode.isDirectory()) {
      checkNotSymlink(inode, components, i);
      throw new ParentNotDirectoryException(
          getPath(components, 0, i) + " (is not a directory)");
    }
  }

  private static void checkNotSymlink(INode inode, byte[][] components, int i)
      throws UnresolvedPathException {
    if (inode != null && inode.isSymlink()) {
      final int last = components.length - 1;
      final String path = getPath(components, 0, last);
      final String preceding = getPath(components, 0, i - 1);
      final String remainder = getPath(components, i + 1, last);
      final String target = inode.asSymlink().getSymlinkString();
      if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
        final String link = inode.getLocalName();
        LOG.debug("UnresolvedPathException " +
            " path: " + path + " preceding: " + preceding +
            " count: " + i + " link: " + link + " target: " + target +
            " remainder: " + remainder);

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Pass a directory path where a directory is required; the target inode is a file, not a directory.

When it happens

Trigger: A permission check or operation expects a directory component but the path resolves to a regular file.

Common situations: Using a file path as a parent directory in create/mkdirs, or traversing through a file as if it were a directory.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/635e554ba46f9910. Report an issue: GitHub.