openzipkin/zipkin · info · TestAbortedException

Could not connect to storage, skipping test: {}

Error message

Could not connect to storage, skipping test: {}

What it means

ITStorage.checkStorage throws TestAbortedException ('Could not connect to storage, skipping test') when storage.check() reports a failure. This is Zipkin's integration-test harness: when the backing store (MySQL, Cassandra, Elasticsearch, ...) is unreachable, tests are skipped as aborted rather than failed, so CI without the storage dependency still passes.

Source

Thrown at zipkin-tests/src/main/java/zipkin2/storage/ITStorage.java:55

    if (!initializeStoragePerTest()) return;
    doInitializeStorage(testInfo);
  }

  void doInitializeStorage(TestInfo testInfo) {
    StorageComponent.Builder builder = newStorageBuilder(testInfo);
    configureStorageForTest(builder);
    // TODO(anuraaga): It wouldn't be difficult to allow storage builders to be parameterized by
    // their storage type.
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    T storage = (T) builder.build();
    this.storage = storage;
    checkStorage();
  }

  protected void checkStorage() {
    CheckResult check = storage.check();
    if (!check.ok()) {
      throw new TestAbortedException("Could not connect to storage, skipping test: "
        + check.error().getMessage(), check.error());
    }
  }

  @AfterAll void closeStorage() throws Exception {
    if (initializeStoragePerTest()) return;
    storage.close();
  }

  @AfterEach void closeStorageForTest() throws Exception {
    if (!initializeStoragePerTest()) return;
    storage.close();
  }

  @AfterEach void clearStorage() throws Exception {
    clear();
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to 878ce2a1fa)

Solutions

1. Start the storage backend first (docker-compose up, Testcontainers, or a local MySQL/Cassandra/ES) and confirm you can connect with the same credentials.
2. Set the connection env vars the module expects (e.g. MYSQL_HOST, CASSANDRA_CONTACT_POINTS, STORAGE_TYPE) before running the tests.
3. If startup is slow, increase the readiness wait so checkStorage runs only after the port actually accepts connections.

Example fix

# before: storage not running, tests abort
mvn test -pl zipkin-storage/zipkin-mysql

# after: start storage, then run tests
docker run -d -p 3306:3306 -e MYSQL_USER=zipkin -e MYSQL_PASSWORD=zipkin mysql:8
mvn test -pl zipkin-storage/zipkin-mysql

// before running ITs, verify the storage endpoint is reachable
try (Socket s = new Socket()) { s.connect(new InetSocketAddress(host, port), 2000); }

catch (TestAbortedException e) { /* storage unavailable: log and mark build as unstable rather than failed */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Running an IT- prefixed integration test (e.g. ITMySQLStorage) while the storage container/database is not running, credentials are wrong, or the storage is not yet ready (race at container startup).

Common situations: Docker daemon not running so the test container never starts; the database takes longer to accept connections than the test's startup wait; wrong host/port env vars; a new storage version that changes the health-check handshake.

Related errors

• serviceNameSuffix == null
• Don't use test data that results in indeterministic ordering

AI-assisted analysis of openzipkin/zipkin@878ce2a1fa (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5bf51b47c8d7ed64. Report an issue: GitHub.