openzipkin/zipkin · critical · IllegalStateException

no {name} property in {fileName}

Error message

no {name} property in {fileName}

What it means

DynamicCredentialsFileLoader.ensureNotEmptyOrNull throws IllegalStateException ('no {name} property in {fileName}') when the Elasticsearch credentials properties file exists but does not contain the required username or password key. The loader parses a Java properties file on a schedule to rotate ES basic-auth credentials; a missing key means the file cannot produce a complete credential pair, so it refuses rather than silently clearing credentials.

Source

Thrown at zipkin-server/src/main/java/zipkin2/server/internal/elasticsearch/DynamicCredentialsFileLoader.java:58

    } catch (Exception e) {
      LOGGER.error("Error loading elasticsearch credentials", e);
    }
  }

  void updateCredentialsFromProperties() throws IOException {
    Properties properties = new Properties();
    try (FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream(credentialsFile)) {
      properties.load(is);
    }
    String username = ensureNotEmptyOrNull(properties, credentialsFile, USERNAME);
    String password = ensureNotEmptyOrNull(properties, credentialsFile, PASSWORD);
    basicCredentials.updateCredentials(username, password);
  }

  @Nullable static String ensureNotEmptyOrNull(Properties properties, String fileName, String name) {
    String value = properties.getProperty(name);
    if (value == null) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("no " + name + " property in " + fileName);
    }
    value = value.trim();
    if (value.isEmpty()) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("empty " + name + " property in " + fileName);
    }
    return value;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 878ce2a1fa)

Solutions

1. Add both keys to the credentials file: username=<user> and password=<pass> (exact lowercase keys)
2. Verify the file is java .properties format (key=value lines, no colons/YAML nesting)
3. Confirm the path in zipkin.storage.elasticsearch.credentials-file points at the file you edited

Example fix

# before (credentials.properties)
UserName=es-user
passwd=secret

# after
username=es-user
password=secret

Properties p = new Properties();
try (FileInputStream is = new FileInputStream(path)) { p.load(is); }
for (String k : new String[]{"username", "password"}) {
  if (p.getProperty(k) == null) throw new IllegalStateException("credentials file missing key " + k);
}

catch (IllegalStateException e) { log.error("ES credentials file invalid: {}", e.getMessage()); fail startup — do not run with stale/no credentials }

When it happens

Trigger: Setting zipkin.storage.elasticsearch.credentials-file to a properties file that lacks the 'username' or 'password' key (exact case-sensitive keys), or where keys are commented out with '#'. Triggered at startup and on every refresh interval tick.

Common situations: Operators write the credentials file with wrong key casing (UserName vs username), use YAML instead of java properties syntax, or typo key names; secrets-injection systems (vault agent, k8s secrets) render a file without the expected keys.

Related errors

• empty {name} property in {fileName}
• No valid endpoints found in ES hosts: {hosts}
• credential refresh thread didn't start
• dateSeparator must be empty or a single character
• No content reading Elasticsearch/OpenSearch version

AI-assisted analysis of openzipkin/zipkin@878ce2a1fa (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/095bbb732e79c74b. Report an issue: GitHub.