What causes "Failed to parse file {docFile}" in elastic/elasticsearch?

Verify the file at the reported path exists and is readable: `ls -l ` and `cat ` (or open it in an editor).

elastic/elasticsearch · error · SnippetParserException

Failed to parse file {docFile}

Error message

Failed to parse file {docFile}

What it means

Thrown by SnippetParser.parseDoc() when an IOException occurs while reading the documentation file (e.g. the file is not readable, the path is invalid, or an I/O error interrupts the line-by-line stream read). The exception is wrapped in a SnippetParserException that names the file, preserving the cause. This is a top-level file-read failure that occurs before any line parsing begins.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/doc/SnippetParser.java:67

    protected final Map<String, String> defaultSubstitutions;

    protected SnippetBuilder snippetBuilder = null;

    private Path currentPath;

    SnippetParser(Map<String, String> defaultSubstitutions) {
        this.defaultSubstitutions = defaultSubstitutions;
    }

    public List<Snippet> parseDoc(File rootDir, File docFile) {
        List<Snippet> snippets = new ArrayList<>();
        this.currentPath = rootDir.toPath().relativize(docFile.toPath());
        try (Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(docFile.toPath(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8)) {
            List<String> linesList = lines.toList();
            parseLines(docFile, linesList, snippets);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new SnippetParserException("Failed to parse file " + docFile, e);
        } finally {
            this.currentPath = null;
            this.snippetBuilder = null;
        }
        return snippets;
    }

    void parseLines(File file, List<String> linesList, List<Snippet> snippets) {
        for (int lineNumber = 0; lineNumber < linesList.size(); lineNumber++) {
            String line = linesList.get(lineNumber);
            try {
                parseLine(snippets, lineNumber, line);
            } catch (InvalidUserDataException e) {
                throw new SnippetParserException(file, lineNumber, e);
            }
        }
        fileParsingFinished(snippets);
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

Verify the file at the reported path exists and is readable: `ls -l <docFile>` and `cat <docFile>` (or open it in an editor).
Re-run the build — if a concurrent process removed the file, a clean re-run typically resolves it.
Check filesystem / mount health if the file exists but read fails (network share, disk errors).
If you intentionally deleted the doc, ensure no build input still references it (check the task's input configuration).

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Before parsing, assert readability:
// if (!Files.isReadable(docFile.toPath())) fail("not readable: " + docFile);

Try / catch

// try (Stream<String> lines = Files.lines(docFile.toPath(), UTF_8)) { ... }
// catch (IOException e) { throw new SnippetParserException("Failed to parse file " + docFile, e); }

Prevention

Don't run `clean` concurrently with the doc test task.
Ensure doc files are committed and present on the filesystem before building.
On network mounts, verify connectivity before the build.

When it happens

Trigger: SnippetParser.parseDoc(rootDir, docFile) is called with a File that cannot be opened or read via Files.lines(...). Happens when the doc file was deleted between the file-tree scan and the parse call, permissions deny read access, the path is a directory, or the disk/FS encounters an I/O error mid-stream.

Common situations: A concurrent process (another build, an editor's safe-save) removes or replaces the file mid-build; a symlink is broken; the file lives on a network mount that dropped; the Gradle input snapshot listed a file that a later `clean` removed.

Understand the failure class

Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8acca28ec864d3f1. Report an issue: GitHub.