elastic/elasticsearch · error · IllegalStateException

unable to read the file {} attributes

Error message

unable to read the file {} attributes

What it means

Thrown by FilePermissionsTask.isExecutableFile when Files.getFileAttributeView(...).readAttributes() raises an IOException — the task could not read POSIX permissions of a file it was asked to audit. Because the whole point of the task is to inspect permissions, an unreadable file is a hard failure rather than a skip.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/precommit/FilePermissionsTask.java:75

    private File outputMarker;

    @Inject
    public FilePermissionsTask(ProjectLayout projectLayout) {
        this.projectLayout = projectLayout;
        this.outputMarker = new File(projectLayout.getBuildDirectory().getAsFile().get(), "markers/filePermissions");
        setDescription("Checks java source files for correct file permissions");
    }

    private static boolean isExecutableFile(File file) {
        try {
            Set<PosixFilePermission> permissions = Files.getFileAttributeView(file.toPath(), PosixFileAttributeView.class)
                .readAttributes()
                .permissions();
            return permissions.contains(PosixFilePermission.OTHERS_EXECUTE)
                || permissions.contains(PosixFilePermission.OWNER_EXECUTE)
                || permissions.contains(PosixFilePermission.GROUP_EXECUTE);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("unable to read the file " + file + " attributes", e);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns the files this task will check
     */
    @InputFiles
    @IgnoreEmptyDirectories
    @SkipWhenEmpty
    @PathSensitive(PathSensitivity.RELATIVE)
    public FileCollection getFiles() {
        return getSources().get()
            .stream()
            .map(sourceTree -> sourceTree.matching(filesFilter))
            .reduce(FileTree::plus)
            .orElse(projectLayout.files().getAsFileTree());
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Inspect the wrapped IOException and the cited file path; confirm the file still exists.
2. If files are being generated/deleted during the build, ensure this task runs at a stable point (after sources settle).
3. On exotic filesystems, run the build on a local POSIX volume.
4. Re-run after a clean checkout to rule out a half-written file.

// Skip files that no longer exist before delegating to isExecutableFile
List<File> existing = files.stream().filter(File::isFile).collect(Collectors.toList());

try {
    boolean exec = isExecutableFile(file);
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
    if (file.exists()) throw e;            // genuine IO problem -> escalate
    // file vanished mid-build: skip with a warning rather than fail
}

When it happens

Trigger: A source file in getFiles() whose POSIX attribute view cannot be read: the file vanished between configuration and execution, the filesystem does not support POSIX views, or an I/O error occurred.

Common situations: A source file deleted or moved concurrently with the task run; running on a non-POSIX filesystem mounted in a way that breaks PosixFileAttributeView; transient I/O errors on network-mounted source trees.

Related errors

• Found invalid file permissions: {}
• Cannot read ${f} to check for duplicate license headers
• Cannot generate license header report for ${path}
• IO problem while reading files with API signatures.
• Failed to load one of the given class files.

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/480fc1448e9163b3. Report an issue: GitHub.