apache/hadoop · error · IOException

Mkdirs failed to create " + parent.getAbsolutePath()

Error message

Mkdirs failed to create " + parent.getAbsolutePath()

What it means

Inside unZip(InputStream, File toDir), after the path-traversal check passes, the code creates the entry's parent directory; if parent.mkdirs() returns false AND parent.isDirectory() is still false it throws IOException("Mkdirs failed to create <parent.getAbsolutePath()>"). The isDirectory() re-check makes it tolerant of concurrent creation, so the throw means the directory genuinely could not be created or exists as a file. It is an environment/permissions failure, not an archive-content issue.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/FileUtil.java:756

   */
  public static void unZip(InputStream inputStream, File toDir)
      throws IOException {
    try (ZipArchiveInputStream zip = new ZipArchiveInputStream(inputStream)) {
      int numOfFailedLastModifiedSet = 0;
      String targetDirPath = toDir.getCanonicalPath() + File.separator;
      for(ZipArchiveEntry entry = zip.getNextZipEntry();
          entry != null;
          entry = zip.getNextZipEntry()) {
        if (!entry.isDirectory()) {
          File file = new File(toDir, entry.getName());
          if (!file.getCanonicalPath().startsWith(targetDirPath)) {
            throw new IOException("expanding " + entry.getName()
                + " would create file outside of " + toDir);
          }
          File parent = file.getParentFile();
          if (!parent.mkdirs() &&
              !parent.isDirectory()) {
            throw new IOException("Mkdirs failed to create " +
                parent.getAbsolutePath());
          }
          try (OutputStream out = Files.newOutputStream(file.toPath())) {
            IOUtils.copyBytes(zip, out, BUFFER_SIZE);
          }
          if (!file.setLastModified(entry.getTime())) {
            numOfFailedLastModifiedSet++;
          }
          if (entry.getPlatform() == ZipArchiveEntry.PLATFORM_UNIX) {
            Files.setPosixFilePermissions(file.toPath(), permissionsFromMode(entry.getUnixMode()));
          }
        }
      }
      if (numOfFailedLastModifiedSet > 0) {
        LOG.warn("Could not set last modfied time for {} file(s)",
            numOfFailedLastModifiedSet);
      }
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Clear the blocked path: delete the stale FILE occupying the parent directory location, then retry unZip
2. Verify the target is writable and has space before extracting: toDir.canWrite(), Files.getFileStore(...).getUsableSpace()
3. Extract into a fresh empty directory (unique per run) to avoid collisions with prior runs
4. Fix filesystem-level denials: mount options (rw,exec), SELinux policy, ownership of toDir

Example fix

// before
FileUtil.unZip(zipStream, new File("/opt/app")); // Mkdirs failed to create /opt/app/lib
// because /opt/app/lib exists as a FILE

// after
File blocked = new File("/opt/app/lib");
if (blocked.exists() && !blocked.isDirectory()) {
  Files.delete(blocked.toPath());
}
FileUtil.unZip(zipStream, new File("/opt/app"));

if (!toDir.canWrite()) throw new IOException("Extraction dir not writable: " + toDir);
long usable = Files.getFileStore(toDir.getCanonicalFile().toPath()).getUsableSpace();
if (usable < neededBytes) throw new IOException("Insufficient space: " + usable);

try {
  FileUtil.unZip(in, toDir);
} catch (IOException e) {
  if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Mkdirs failed")) {
    // check for a blocking FILE at the parent path and clear it, then retry once
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Extraction target on a read-only filesystem; a regular file already exists at the parent path the archive wants as a directory; SELinux/AppArmor denial; disk/inode exhaustion; NFS mount permissions.

Common situations: Extracting into /tmp with noexec/locked-down ACLs; leftover file from a previous partial extraction blocking a needed directory; containers with read-only layers; disk-full CI runners.

Related errors

• Mkdirs failed to create " + file.getParentFile().toString()
• Mkdirs failed to create " + untarDir
• Mkdirs failed to create tar internal dir " + outputDir
• Cannot create directory ${aliasMapFile}
• expanding " + entry.getName() + " would create file outside

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/207e9b6183ec7b63. Report an issue: GitHub.