apache/hadoop · error · IllegalArgumentException

{} is not a snapshottable directory.

Error message

{} is not a snapshottable directory.

What it means

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

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/DistributedFileSystem.java:3189

      public Path next(FileSystem fs, Path p) throws IOException {
        if (fs instanceof DistributedFileSystem) {
          DistributedFileSystem myDfs = (DistributedFileSystem)fs;
          return myDfs.provisionSnapshotTrash(p, trashPermission);
        }
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
            "Cannot provisionSnapshotTrash through a symlink to" +
            " a non-DistributedFileSystem: " + fs + " -> " + p);
      }
    }.resolve(this, absF);
  }

  private Path provisionSnapshotTrash(
      String pathStr, FsPermission trashPermission) throws IOException {
    Path path = new Path(pathStr);
    // Given path must be a snapshottable directory
    FileStatus fileStatus = getFileStatus(path);
    if (!fileStatus.isSnapshotEnabled()) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          path + " is not a snapshottable directory.");
    }

    // Check if trash root already exists
    Path trashPath = new Path(path, FileSystem.TRASH_PREFIX);
    try {
      FileStatus trashFileStatus = getFileStatus(trashPath);
      boolean throwException = false;
      String errMessage = "Can't provision trash for snapshottable directory " +
          pathStr + " because trash path " + trashPath.toString() +
          " already exists.";
      if (!trashFileStatus.isDirectory()) {
        throwException = true;
        errMessage += "\r\n" +
            "WARNING: " + trashPath.toString() + " is not a directory.";
      }
      if (!trashFileStatus.getPermission().equals(trashPermission)) {
        throwException = true;

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Enable snapshots on the directory with hdfs dfsadmin -allowSnapshot before provisioning trash.
2. Verify the directory is snapshottable via lsSnapshottableDir.

When it happens

Trigger: provisionSnapshotTrash or a snapshot operation is attempted on a directory that is not marked snapshottable.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9399085993e4eb57. Report an issue: GitHub.