apache/iceberg · error · UncheckedIOException

Failed to rewrite the manifest list file

Error message

Failed to rewrite the manifest list file {}

What it means

RewriteTablePathUtil.rewriteManifestList copies a snapshot's manifest list while rewriting paths for table relocation/staging (e.g., snapshot copy or table migration). An IOException during writing the rewritten manifest list is rethrown as UncheckedIOException including the manifest list location. It indicates the new manifest list file could not be produced.

Solutions

1. Check write permissions and free space on the staging/target location
2. Verify the target FileIO/prefix configuration (credentials, endpoint) is correct and retry
3. Re-run the rewrite from a clean staging directory, removing partial output files

Example fix

// before
RewriteTablePathUtil.rewriteManifestList(snapshot, io, sourcePrefix, stagingDir, specsById);
// after
try {
  RewriteTablePathUtil.rewriteManifestList(snapshot, io, sourcePrefix, stagingDir, specsById);
} catch (UncheckedIOException e) {
  LOG.error("Manifest list rewrite failed for {}: {}", snapshot.manifestListLocation(), e.getMessage());
  // verify staging dir writability, then retry
}

File stagingDirFile = new File(stagingDir);
Preconditions.checkArgument(stagingDirFile.canWrite() && stagingDirFile.getUsableSpace() > 0,
    "Staging dir not writable or full: " + stagingDir);

try {
  RewriteTablePathUtil.rewriteManifestList(snapshot, io, sourcePrefix, stagingDir, specsById);
} catch (UncheckedIOException e) {
  // check staging dir writability/space and target prefix permissions, clean partials, retry
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling rewriteManifestList (via RewriteTablePathUtil rewrite/copy utilities, e.g. table staging or relocation) when writing the manifest list to the staging/target location fails with IOException.

Common situations: Unwritable staging directory; disk full; object-store permission errors on the target prefix; interrupted network writes during table relocation.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to write file", "Could not save figure", "Error saving remote file" — file write failed: causes and fixes across languages and libraries — this error's family across 38 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to close current writer
• Failed to close entries while caching changes
• Failed to close manifest list
• Failed to close manifest reader
• Failed to create tableMaintenance

AI-assisted analysis of apache/iceberg@86d9c8fc54 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a9641189b92daf0c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/apache/iceberg/RewriteTablePathUtil.java:345

            snapshot.firstRowId())) {

      for (ManifestFile file : manifestFiles) {
        ManifestFile newFile = file.copy();
        ((StructLike) newFile).set(0, newPath(newFile.path(), sourcePrefix, targetPrefix));
        ((StructLike) newFile)
            .set(1, rewrittenManifestLengths.getOrDefault(file.path(), file.length()));
        writer.add(newFile);

        if (rewrittenManifestLengths.containsKey(file.path())) {
          result.toRewrite().add(file);
          result
              .copyPlan()
              .add(Pair.of(stagingPath(file.path(), sourcePrefix, stagingDir), newFile.path()));
        }
      }
      return result;
    } catch (IOException e) {
      throw new UncheckedIOException(
          "Failed to rewrite the manifest list file " + snapshot.manifestListLocation(), e);
    }
  }

  private static List<ManifestFile> manifestFilesInSnapshot(FileIO io, Snapshot snapshot) {
    try {
      return snapshot.allManifests(io);
    } catch (RuntimeIOException e) {
      LOG.warn("Failed to read manifest list {}", snapshot.manifestListLocation(), e);
      return ImmutableList.of();
    }
  }

  /**
   * Rewrite a data manifest, replacing path references.
   *
   * @param manifestFile source manifest file to rewrite
   * @param snapshotIds snapshot ids for filtering returned data manifest entries

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