pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

An error occured loading the directory tree from the…

Error message

An error occured loading the directory tree from the repository

What it means

Wraps any exception raised while recursively loading the repository directory tree (RepositoryDirectory tree) starting at the root. Any failure walking R_REPOSITORY_LOG/directory rows or building subdirectories is wrapped into this KettleException, with the original exception attached as cause.

Solutions

Inspect the cause exception for the exact SQL/row failure
Verify directory rows in the repository directory table for dangling or duplicate ids and repair them
Reconnect and retry if the repository connection was dropped
Restore the directory tables from a repository backup if the tree is corrupt

Example fix

// before
RepositoryDirectoryInterface tree = repository.loadRepositoryDirectoryTree(); // wraps any failure
// after: ensure a healthy connection and handle failure gracefully
try {
  RepositoryDirectoryInterface tree = repository.loadRepositoryDirectoryTree();
} catch (KettleException e) {
  log.error("Directory tree load failed", e.getCause()); // inspect real cause, repair tables
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// sanity-check directory table for dangling parent links
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery(
  "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM R_REPOSITORY_LOG d WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM R_REPOSITORY_LOG p WHERE p.ID_DIRECTORY = d.ID_DIRECTORY_PARENT)");

Try / catch

try {
  RepositoryDirectoryInterface tree = repository.loadRepositoryDirectoryTree();
} catch (KettleException e) {
  log.error("Directory tree load failed", e.getCause());
  // repair directory rows or restore backup, then retry
}

Prevention

Avoid interrupting repository move/delete operations
Back up directory tables before imports and bulk operations
Verify parent/child directory ids after any manual repository surgery

When it happens

Trigger: Calling loadRepositoryDirectoryTree() when reading directory rows from the repository tables throws: SQL error, missing directory table, corrupt parent/child id links, or connection failure.

Common situations: Corrupted directory tree after an interrupted delete/move; cyclic or dangling id_directory_parent references from a bad import; repository DB unreachable mid-load; missing privileges on the directory table.

Understand the failure class

Background: Database query failed: Internal Server Error 500s wrapping SQL, Prisma, and connection failures — what to check first — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/017d19b67a07b71d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/repository/kdr/delegates/KettleDatabaseRepositoryDirectoryDelegate.java:100

    return repositoryDirectory;
  }

  public RepositoryDirectoryInterface loadRepositoryDirectoryTree( RepositoryDirectoryInterface root ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      synchronized ( repository ) {

        root.clear();
        ObjectId[] subids = repository.getSubDirectoryIDs( root.getObjectId() );
        for ( int i = 0; i < subids.length; i++ ) {
          RepositoryDirectory subdir = new RepositoryDirectory();
          loadRepositoryDirectory( subdir, subids[i] );
          root.addSubdirectory( subdir );
        }
      }

      return root;
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( "An error occured loading the directory tree from the repository", e );
    }
  }

  public void loadRepositoryDirectory( RepositoryDirectory repositoryDirectory, ObjectId id_directory ) throws KettleException {
    if ( id_directory == null ) {
      // This is the root directory, id = OL
      id_directory = new LongObjectId( 0L );
    }

    try {
      RowMetaAndData row = getDirectory( id_directory );
      if ( row != null ) {
        repositoryDirectory.setObjectId( id_directory );

        // Content?
        //
        repositoryDirectory.setName( row.getString( "DIRECTORY_NAME", null ) );

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