apache/hadoop · error · FileAlreadyExistsException

Path is a file: " + dir

Error message

Path is a file: " + dir

What it means

Error "Path is a file: " + dir" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/impl/MkdirOperation.java:139

    if (dir.isRoot()) {
      // fast exit for root.
      return true;
    }

    // get the file status of the path.
    // this is done even for a magic path, to avoid always  issuing PUT
    // requests. Doing that without a check wouild seem to be an
    // optimization, but it is not because
    // 1. PUT is slower than HEAD
    // 2. Write capacity is less than read capacity on a shard
    // 3. It adds needless entries in versioned buckets, slowing
    //    down subsequent operations.
    FileStatus fileStatus = getPathStatusExpectingDir(dir);
    if (fileStatus != null) {
      if (fileStatus.isDirectory()) {
        return true;
      } else {
        throw new FileAlreadyExistsException("Path is a file: " + dir);
      }
    }
    // file status was null

    // is the path magic?
    // If so, we declare success without looking any further
    if (isMagicPath) {
      // Create the marker file immediately,
      callbacks.createFakeDirectory(dir);
      return true;
    }

    // if performance creation mode is set, no need to check
    // whether the closest ancestor is dir.
    if (!performanceMkdir) {
      verifyFileStatusOfClosestAncestor();
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Choose a different path for the directory; a file already exists at that location.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/impl/MkdirOperation.java:139 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ba45c6f4f29db1a4. Report an issue: GitHub.