apache/hadoop · error · IOException

The ownership on the staging directory ${stagingArea} is not

Error message

The ownership on the staging directory ${stagingArea} is not as expected. It is owned by ${fileOwner}. The directory must be owned by the submitter ${currentUser.getShortUserName()} or ${currentUser.getUserName()}

What it means

Error "The ownership on the staging directory ${stagingArea} is not as expected. It is owned by ${fileOwner}. The directory must be owned by the submitter ${currentUser.getShortUserName()} or ${currentUser.getUserName()}" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-mapreduce-project/hadoop-mapreduce-client/hadoop-mapreduce-client-core/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/mapreduce/JobSubmissionFiles.java:152

    UserGroupInformation currentUser = realUser.getCurrentUser();
    try {
      FileStatus fsStatus = fs.getFileStatus(stagingArea);
      String fileOwner = fsStatus.getOwner();
      if (!(fileOwner.equals(currentUser.getShortUserName()) || fileOwner
          .equalsIgnoreCase(currentUser.getUserName()) || fileOwner
          .equals(realUser.getShortUserName()) || fileOwner
          .equalsIgnoreCase(realUser.getUserName()))) {
        String errorMessage = "The ownership on the staging directory " +
            stagingArea + " is not as expected. " +
            "It is owned by " + fileOwner + ". The directory must " +
            "be owned by the submitter " + currentUser.getShortUserName()
            + " or " + currentUser.getUserName();
        if (!realUser.getUserName().equals(currentUser.getUserName())) {
          throw new IOException(
              errorMessage + " or " + realUser.getShortUserName() + " or "
                  + realUser.getUserName());
        } else {
          throw new IOException(errorMessage);
        }
      }
      if (!fsStatus.getPermission().equals(JOB_DIR_PERMISSION)) {
        LOG.info("Permissions on staging directory " + stagingArea + " are " +
            "incorrect: " + fsStatus.getPermission() + ". Fixing permissions " +
            "to correct value " + JOB_DIR_PERMISSION);
        fs.setPermission(stagingArea, JOB_DIR_PERMISSION);
      }
    } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
      FileSystem.mkdirs(fs, stagingArea, new FsPermission(JOB_DIR_PERMISSION));
    }
    return stagingArea;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Change the staging directory owner to the submitting user, or submit the job as the user that owns the directory.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at hadoop-mapreduce-project/hadoop-mapreduce-client/hadoop-mapreduce-client-core/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/mapreduce/JobSubmissionFiles.java:152 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/fa3b0f1ca7c25b46. Report an issue: GitHub.