elastic/elasticsearch · error · IllegalStateException

Could not create output directory: {parent}

Error message

Could not create output directory: {parent}

What it means

Thrown by AugmentForeignModuleInfoTask.augment() when the parent directory of the configured output module-info file cannot be created. The task runs ModuleInfoAugmenter as an external Java process to process module-info.java files. Before launching the process, it ensures the output directory exists via mkdirs(). The guard checks parent != null, mkdirs() == false, and isDirectory() == false.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/foreign/AugmentForeignModuleInfoTask.java:68

    @InputFile
    @PathSensitive(PathSensitivity.NAME_ONLY)
    public abstract RegularFileProperty getServicesFile();

    @Classpath
    public abstract ConfigurableFileCollection getAugmenterClasspath();

    @Nested
    public abstract Property<JavaLauncher> getJavaLauncher();

    @OutputFile
    public abstract RegularFileProperty getOutputModuleInfo();

    @TaskAction
    public void augment() {
        File outputFile = getOutputModuleInfo().get().getAsFile();
        File parent = outputFile.getParentFile();
        if (parent != null && parent.mkdirs() == false && parent.isDirectory() == false) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Could not create output directory: " + parent);
        }

        String javaExecutable = getJavaLauncher().get().getExecutablePath().getAsFile().getAbsolutePath();

        execOperations.exec(spec -> {
            spec.executable(javaExecutable);
            spec.args("-cp", getAugmenterClasspath().getAsPath());
            spec.args("org.elasticsearch.foreign.processor.ModuleInfoAugmenter");
            spec.args(
                getInputModuleInfo().get().getAsFile().getAbsolutePath(),
                getServicesFile().get().getAsFile().getAbsolutePath(),
                outputFile.getAbsolutePath()
            );
        }).assertNormalExitValue();
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Run ./gradlew clean to remove any stale files conflicting with the expected directory path.
2. Verify the output module-info path is set to a location within the build directory.
3. Ensure the Gradle daemon has write permissions to the parent path.
4. Check for path conflicts: ls -la on the parent path to confirm no regular file occupies the directory slot.

// Validate output path before task
File parent = outputFile.getParentFile();
if (parent != null && parent.exists() && !parent.isDirectory()) {
    throw new GradleException("Output parent exists as a non-directory file: " + parent);
}

When it happens

Trigger: The output file's parent directory does not exist, mkdirs() returns false (because of a conflicting file, permissions, or read-only filesystem), and isDirectory() returns false. The three-condition guard avoids throwing when mkdirs() returns false because the directory already existed (a benign race or pre-existing directory).

Common situations: The OutputModuleInfo property is configured to a path whose parent is a regular file. The build directory is read-only. The output path resolves outside the project (e.g., a typo in the configuration). A stale file occupies the path where a directory is expected.

Related errors

• Failed to create output directory: {outputDir}
• Could not create directory: {packageDir}
• Unable to create reaper JAR output directory {}
• Failed to write unicast_hosts for {}
• Failed to create working directory for {}, with: {}

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/29cd7a290637132d. Report an issue: GitHub.