pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

DynamicSQLRowMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

Error message

DynamicSQLRowMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

What it means

Kettle wraps any exception thrown while loading the Dynamic SQL Row step's settings from a repository into this KettleException. It indicates the step metadata (sql, outer_join, replace_vars, sql_fieldname, query_only_on_change attributes) could not be read from the repository database; the original cause is attached.

Solutions

  1. Check the underlying cause exception in the stack trace for the real repository error (connectivity, permissions, missing row).
  2. Verify the repository database is reachable and the user can read step attribute tables.
  3. Reopen/re-save the transformation; if the step XML/rows are corrupt, recreate the DynamicSQLRow step.
  4. Align Pentaho/Kettle versions between the tool that saved the transformation and the one loading it.

Example fix

// before: loading with a stale/broken repository connection
TransMeta meta = new TransMeta(repo, "trans.ktr");
// after: validate repository connectivity and handle the load error
if (!repo.isConnected()) { repo.connect(); }
try {
  TransMeta meta = new TransMeta(repo, "trans.ktr");
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Failed to read DynamicSQLRow step info", e);
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before loading
if (!repo.isConnected()) { repo.connect(); }
if (repo.getObjectId(new TransMeta()) == null) { /* repository unreadable */ }

Try / catch

try { TransMeta tm = new TransMeta(repo, path); } catch (KettleException e) { log.error("Step info read failed", e.getCause()); }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Repository.readRep path: TransMeta loads a transformation containing a DynamicSQLRow step and rep.getStepAttributeString/getStepAttributeBoolean throws (repository connection failure, missing/corrupt step row, incompatible repository schema).

Common situations: Repository DB temporarily unreachable or dropped mid-load; transformation saved by a newer Pentaho version with attributes the current repository schema cannot serve; corrupted r_step_attribute rows; permission issues reading the repository tables.

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/7ef5f1b4fcad97fe. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/dynamicsqlrow/DynamicSQLRowMeta.java:289

    retval.append( "    " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "outer_join", outerJoin ) );
    retval.append( "    " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "replace_vars", replacevars ) );
    retval.append( "    " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "sql_fieldname", sqlfieldname ) );
    retval.append( "    " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "query_only_on_change", queryonlyonchange ) );

    return retval.toString();
  }

  public void readRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_step, List<DatabaseMeta> databases ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      databaseMeta = rep.loadDatabaseMetaFromStepAttribute( id_step, "id_connection", databases );
      rowLimit = (int) rep.getStepAttributeInteger( id_step, "rowlimit" );
      sql = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "sql" );
      outerJoin = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "outer_join" );
      replacevars = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "replace_vars" );
      sqlfieldname = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "sql_fieldname" );
      queryonlyonchange = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "query_only_on_change" );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "DynamicSQLRowMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveDatabaseMetaStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "id_connection", databaseMeta );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "rowlimit", rowLimit );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "sql", sql );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "outer_join", outerJoin );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "replace_vars", replacevars );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "sql_fieldname", sqlfieldname );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "query_only_on_change", queryonlyonchange );

      // Also, save the step-database relationship!
      if ( databaseMeta != null ) {
        rep.insertStepDatabase( id_transformation, id_step, databaseMeta.getObjectId() );
      }

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