pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Error writing XML row :

Error message

Error writing XML row :

What it means

XMLOutput.writeRowToFile wraps any exception raised while writing one XML row (start/end element, characters, encoding) into this KettleException, including the offending row content via getInputRowMeta().getString(r). It indicates an I/O or serialization failure mid-row, typically from the underlying StAX writer or the output stream.

Solutions

1. Check disk space and file permissions on the output file
2. Enable 'Fast dump' vs formatted mode or sanitize field values to valid XML characters
3. Verify the file encoding setting matches the data (e.g. UTF-8)
4. Read the wrapped cause e and the printed Row to identify the offending value

Example fix

// before
String value = data.valueMeta.getString( valueData );
// after
String value = data.valueMeta.getString( valueData ).replaceAll("[\u0000-\u0008\u000B\u000C\u000E-\u001F]", "");

// before run
java.io.File out = new java.io.File(filename);
if (out.getParentFile() != null && !out.getParentFile().canWrite()) throw new IllegalStateException("Output dir not writable");
if (out.getParentFile().getUsableSpace() < minBytes) throw new IllegalStateException("Low disk space");

boolean writableTarget = new java.io.File(directory).canWrite();

try { writeRowToFile(row); } catch (KettleStepException|KettleException e) { log.error("XML row write failed: " + e.getCause(), e); }

When it happens

Trigger: processRow -> writeRowToFile when the writer throws: disk full, file closed/removed, illegal XML characters in field values, encoding conversion errors, or stream closed by a concurrent error.

Common situations: Target filesystem full or quota exceeded; field data contains characters invalid in the target encoding; network drive disconnected mid-run.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to write file", "Could not save figure", "Error saving remote file" — file write failed: causes and fixes across languages and libraries — this error's family across 38 libraries.

Related errors

• Error writing line :
• Unable to save to XML file '" + filename + "'
• AddSequenceMeta.Exception.ErrorLoadingStepInfo
• AggregateRowsMeta.Exception.UnableToLoadStepInfo
• AnalyticQueryMeta.Exception.UnableToLoadStepInfoFromXML

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8d5abe0a0939d096. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/xml/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/xmloutput/XMLOutput.java:213

            ValueMetaInterface valueMeta = data.formatRowMeta.getValueMeta( data.fieldnrs[i] );
            Object valueData = getNullIfValue( r[data.fieldnrs[i]], outputField.getNullString() );

            String elementName = outputField.getElementName();
            if ( Utils.isEmpty( elementName ) ) {
              elementName = outputField.getFieldName();
            }

            if ( !( valueMeta.isNull( valueData ) && meta.isOmitNullValues() ) ) {
              writeField( valueMeta, valueData, elementName );
            }
          }
        }
      }

      data.writer.writeEndElement();
      data.writer.writeCharacters( EOL );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Error writing XML row :" + e.toString() + Const.CR + "Row: "
          + getInputRowMeta().getString( r ), e );
    }

    incrementLinesOutput();
  }

  void writeRowAttributes( Object[] r ) throws KettleValueException, XMLStreamException {
    for ( int i = 0; i < meta.getOutputFields().length; i++ ) {
      XMLField xmlField = meta.getOutputFields()[i];
      if ( xmlField.getContentType() == ContentType.Attribute ) {
        ValueMetaInterface valueMeta = data.formatRowMeta.getValueMeta( data.fieldnrs[i] );
        Object valueData = r[data.fieldnrs[i]];

        String elementName = xmlField.getElementName();
        if ( Utils.isEmpty( elementName ) ) {
          elementName = xmlField.getFieldName();
        }

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