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()} or ${realUser.getShortUserName()} or ${realUser.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()} or ${realUser.getShortUserName()} or ${realUser.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:148

  public static Path getStagingDir(Cluster cluster, Configuration conf,
      UserGroupInformation realUser) throws IOException, InterruptedException {
    Path stagingArea = cluster.getStagingAreaDir();
    FileSystem fs = stagingArea.getFileSystem(conf);
    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. Fix ownership of the staging directory so it is owned by the submitting user (or real user in proxy setups), e.g. chown the directory or resubmit as the correct user.

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:148 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/52fa18be915a1030. Report an issue: GitHub.