pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ERROR_0003_Cannot_Save_Job_Entry

ERROR_0003_Cannot_Save_Job_Entry

Error message

JobEntryCheckDbConnections.ERROR_0003_Cannot_Save_Job_Entry

What it means

saveRep throws KettleException with ERROR_0003 when persisting the CheckDbConnections entry's connection/wait attributes to the repository fails with a KettleDatabaseException. The job id and DB error message are included for diagnosis.

Solutions

Read the wrapped KettleDatabaseException message to identify the SQL error and fix the repository DB condition (connectivity, locks, disk).
Grant the repository user INSERT/UPDATE privileges on R_JOBENTRY_ATTRIBUTE.
Null-check waitfors/waittimes entries before saving and substitute safe defaults.
Retry the save after the repository connection is restored.

Example fix

// before
rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), i, "waitfor", waitfors[i] );
// after
rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), i, "waitfor", Const.NVL( waitfors[i], "" ) );

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// null-guard arrays before save
if ( waitfors == null || waittimes == null || connections == null ) throw new IllegalStateException( "uninitialized check-db-connections arrays" );

Try / catch

try { entry.saveRep( rep, metaStore, id_job ); } catch ( KettleException e ) { logError( "ERROR_0003 for " + id_job + ": " + e.getMessage(), e ); /* inspect KettleDatabaseException cause */ }

Prevention

Initialize waitfors/waittimes defaults in the entry constructor.
Verify repository write privileges before bulk saves.
Retry saves after transient DB outages rather than discarding the job.

When it happens

Trigger: rep.saveJobEntryAttribute for connection/waittime/waitfor failing due to DB outage, constraint violation, insufficient privileges, or null waitfors[i] on a NOT NULL column.

Common situations: Repository database locked or offline during save, quota/disk issues, DB user lacking write grants, concurrent edits causing lock contention.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/42c892f9e292b50e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/core/impl/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/checkdbconnection/JobEntryCheckDbConnections.java:265

        PKG, "JobEntryCheckDbConnections.ERROR_0002_Cannot_Load_Job_From_Repository", "" + id_jobentry, dbe
          .getMessage() ) );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_job ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      // save the arguments...
      if ( connections != null ) {
        for ( int i = 0; i < connections.length; i++ ) {
          rep.saveDatabaseMetaJobEntryAttribute(
            id_job, getObjectId(), i, "connection", "id_database", connections[i] );

          rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), i, "waittime", getWaitTimeCode( waittimes[i] ) );
          rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), i, "waitfor", waitfors[i] );
        }
      }
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "JobEntryCheckDbConnections.ERROR_0003_Cannot_Save_Job_Entry", "" + id_job, dbe.getMessage() ) );
    }
  }

  public Result execute( Result previousResult, int nr ) {
    Result result = previousResult;
    result.setResult( true );
    int nrerrors = 0;
    int nrsuccess = 0;

    if ( connections != null ) {
      for ( int i = 0; i < connections.length && !parentJob.isStopped(); i++ ) {
        Database db = new Database( this, connections[i] );
        db.shareVariablesWith( this );
        try {
          db.connect( parentJob.getTransactionId(), null );

          if ( isDetailed() ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)