pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleDatabaseException

Database.Exception.UnableToSetSavepointName

Error message

Database.Exception.UnableToSetSavepointName

What it means

Thrown by Database.setSavepoint(String savePointName) (Database.java:5097) when connection.setSavepoint(savePointName) fails with a SQLException. Same family as the unnamed variant, but with a named savepoint, so naming/identifier rules add extra failure modes.

Solutions

1. Call setAutoCommit(false) before creating the savepoint
2. Shorten/quote the savepoint name to satisfy DB identifier rules
3. Check supportsSavepoints() on the DatabaseMeta before using named savepoints
4. Verify the connection is still open; reconnect if it was dropped
5. Read the wrapped SQLException for the driver-specific cause

Example fix

// before
Savepoint sp = database.setSavepoint( "my_very_long_savepoint_name_for_step" );
// after
String name = "sp_" + UUID.randomUUID().toString().replace( "-", "" ).substring( 0, 20 );
database.setAutoCommit( false );
Savepoint sp = database.setSavepoint( name );

if ( savePointName == null || savePointName.length() > 30 ) {
  savePointName = "sp" + System.nanoTime();
}
database.setAutoCommit( false );

try {
  savepoint = database.setSavepoint( savePointName );
} catch ( KettleDatabaseException e ) {
  SQLException cause = (SQLException) e.getCause();
  log.error( "Named savepoint [" + savePointName + "] failed: " + cause.getMessage(), cause );
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Database.setSavepoint(name) with an invalid or too-long savepoint identifier, auto-commit enabled, closed connection, or a driver lacking savepoint support.

Common situations: Savepoint names exceeding DB identifier limits (e.g. 30 chars on Oracle); illegal characters in the savepoint name; auto-commit left on; duplicate savepoint name reuse on drivers that forbid it.

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

• Database.Exception.UnableToReleaseSavepoint
• Database.Exception.UnableToRollbackToSavepoint
• Database.Exception.UnableToSetSavepoint
• Database.Exception.UnableToDisableAutoCommit
• Database.Exception.UnableToEnableAutoCommit

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6966db564e6b1781. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/core/database/Database.java:5097

      throw new KettleDatabaseException( e );
    }
    return ins.toString();
  }

  public Savepoint setSavepoint() throws KettleDatabaseException {
    try {
      return connection.setSavepoint();
    } catch ( SQLException e ) {
      throw new KettleDatabaseException(
        BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "Database.Exception.UnableToSetSavepoint" ), e );
    }
  }

  public Savepoint setSavepoint( String savePointName ) throws KettleDatabaseException {
    try {
      return connection.setSavepoint( savePointName );
    } catch ( SQLException e ) {
      throw new KettleDatabaseException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "Database.Exception.UnableToSetSavepointName", savePointName ), e );
    }
  }

  public void releaseSavepoint( Savepoint savepoint ) throws KettleDatabaseException {
    try {
      connection.releaseSavepoint( savepoint );
    } catch ( SQLException e ) {
      throw new KettleDatabaseException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "Database.Exception.UnableToReleaseSavepoint" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void rollback( Savepoint savepoint ) throws KettleDatabaseException {
    try {
      connection.rollback( savepoint );
    } catch ( SQLException e ) {
      throw new KettleDatabaseException( BaseMessages.getString(

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