nextcloud/server · error · Sabre\DAV\Exception

$e->getMessage()

Error message

$e->getMessage()

What it means

This is the catch-all branch of OCA\DAV\Connector\Sabre\File::convertToSabreException() (apps/dav/lib/Connector/Sabre/File.php:645). Every exception raised while writing a file through the DAV connector (PUT, chunked upload, MOVE-overwrite) is passed here and mapped to a Sabre DAV exception; anything that is not NotPermitted, Forbidden, EntityTooLarge, InvalidContent, InvalidPath, Locked, GenericEncryption, StorageNotAvailable, NotFound or NotEnoughSpace falls through to a bare \Sabre\DAV\Exception carrying the original message. Since \Sabre\DAV\Exception maps to HTTP 500, this error always means an unmapped, unexpected server-side failure during a file write.

Source

Thrown at apps/dav/lib/Connector/Sabre/File.php:645

		if ($e instanceof LockedException || $e instanceof LockNotAcquiredException) {
			// the file is currently being written to by another process
			throw new FileLocked($e->getMessage(), $e->getCode(), $e);
		}
		if ($e instanceof GenericEncryptionException) {
			// returning 503 will allow retry of the operation at a later point in time
			throw new ServiceUnavailable($this->l10n->t('Encryption not ready: %1$s', [$e->getMessage()]), 0, $e);
		}
		if ($e instanceof StorageNotAvailableException) {
			throw new ServiceUnavailable($this->l10n->t('Failed to write file contents: %1$s', [$e->getMessage()]), 0, $e);
		}
		if ($e instanceof NotFoundException) {
			throw new NotFound($this->l10n->t('File not found: %1$s', [$e->getMessage()]), 0, $e);
		}
		if ($e instanceof NotEnoughSpaceException) {
			throw new EntityTooLarge($this->l10n->t('Insufficient space'), 0, $e);
		}

		throw new \Sabre\DAV\Exception($e->getMessage(), 0, $e);
	}

	/**
	 * Get the checksum for this file
	 *
	 * @return string|null
	 */
	public function getChecksum() {
		return $this->info->getChecksum();
	}

	public function setChecksum(string $checksum) {
		$this->fileView->putFileInfo($this->path, ['checksum' => $checksum]);
		$this->refreshInfo();
	}

	protected function header($string) {
		if (!\OC::$CLI) {

View on GitHub (pinned to ecdeb153ff)

Solutions

1. Check the Nextcloud log (data/nextcloud.log or admin Settings > Log): the wrapped exception is chained as $e->getPrevious(), and its class name and stack trace identify the real failing component.
2. If the previous exception comes from a custom storage backend or app, fix or update that app/backend so it throws the documented OCP\Files\* exceptions (StorageNotAvailableException, NotFoundException, ...) which are mapped to proper HTTP codes.
3. If you maintain server code, add a mapping branch in convertToSabreException() for the recurring exception type instead of letting it fall through to a 500.
4. If the underlying error is a DB/outage problem, resolve the outage and retry the upload; clients should treat HTTP 500 on PUT as retryable with backoff.

Example fix

// before (custom storage throws \MyVendor\S3SdkException during put())
//   -> surfaces as: \Sabre\DAV\Exception("cURL error 28 ...") -> HTTP 500

// after (in the custom storage, translate to a mapped exception)
try {
    $this->s3Client->putObject($params);
} catch (\MyVendor\S3SdkException $e) {
    throw new \OCP\Files\StorageNotAvailableException($e->getMessage(), 0, $e);
    // now converts to 503 ServiceUnavailable so clients retry instead of failing hard
}

try {
    $file->put($stream); // or writeFileHandle
} catch (\Sabre\DAV\Exception $e) {
    $cause = $e->getPrevious();
    if ($cause instanceof \OCP\Files\StorageNotAvailableException) {
        // retry later / surface 503 semantics
    }
    \OC::$server->getLogger()->error('DAV write failed: ' . get_class($cause), ['exception' => $e]);
    throw $e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: A WebDAV PUT (or chunked-upload MOVE/assemble) where the underlying OC\Files storage or an app hook throws an exception type not listed in convertToSabreException(): e.g. a custom storage backend throwing a domain-specific exception, a post-write hook (OC\Files\hook or an Event) throwing, or a database error surfacing as \OCP\DbException or \Doctrine\DBALException during cache update.

Common situations: Third-party external-storage drivers that throw their own exception classes instead of OCP\Files exceptions; encryption or antivirus app hooks failing mid-write; transient database failures; running apps that are incompatible with the server version and throw inside filesystem hooks; object-store (S3/Swift) SDK exceptions leaking through.

Related errors

• Invalid actor "$actorType"
• Too many calendars created
• Calendar limit reached
• Read-only sharees cannot permanently delete trashbin entries
• Permission denied to create a directory in the trashbin

AI-assisted analysis of nextcloud/server@ecdeb153ff (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e4d0a2b29d31cbd7. Report an issue: GitHub.