pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ExecSQLMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

ExecSQLMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

Error message

ExecSQLMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

What it means

Thrown by ExecSQLMeta.readRep when reading the step's configuration from the repository fails. It reads attributes such as sql, connection, and the arg_name entries per argument index; any repository exception is wrapped in a KettleException with this message key. The transformation cannot be loaded from the repository when this fires.

Solutions

  1. Check the wrapped cause for the repository database error
  2. Reconnect to the repository and retry loading the transformation
  3. Upgrade/repair the repository schema to match your PDI version
  4. Re-save the transformation from a local .ktr backup to rewrite its repository rows

Example fix

// before
transMeta.loadTransMeta(rep, id_transformation, metaStore);
// after
try {
  transMeta.loadTransMeta(rep, id_transformation, metaStore);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Repository read failed: " + e.getCause());
  transMeta.loadXml("local-copy.ktr"); // load from file instead
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before load
if (!rep.isConnected()) rep.connect();
if (rep.getTransformationID(name, directory) == null) throw new IllegalStateException("Transformation missing in repository");

Try / catch

try { transMeta.loadTransMeta(rep, id, metaStore); } catch (KettleException e) { logError("Repository read failed: " + e.getCause()); transMeta.loadXml("fallback.ktr"); }

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Loading an ExecSQL step from a repository where getStepAttributeString/getStepAttributeInteger throws: repository DB unavailable, R_STEP_ATTRIBUTE rows corrupted or deleted, or count mismatch between saved nrargs and stored argument rows.

Common situations: Repository schema drift after PDI upgrade; DB connection dropped during load; another user deleted/modified the transformation mid-load; corrupted repository rows from a failed prior save.

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/0ce40d5be331f8ad. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/sql/ExecSQLMeta.java:349

      executedEachInputRow = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "execute_each_row" );
      singleStatement = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "single_statement" );
      replaceVariables = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "replace_variables" );
      quoteString = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "quoteString" );
      sql = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "sql" );
      setParams = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "set_params" );
      insertField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "insert_field" );
      updateField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "update_field" );
      deleteField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "delete_field" );
      readField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "read_field" );

      int nrargs = rep.countNrStepAttributes( id_step, "arg_name" );
      allocate( nrargs );

      for ( int i = 0; i < nrargs; i++ ) {
        arguments[i] = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, "arg_name" );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "ExecSQLMeta.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, "sql", sql );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "execute_each_row", executedEachInputRow );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "single_statement", singleStatement );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "replace_variables", replaceVariables );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "quoteString", quoteString );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "set_params", setParams );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "insert_field", insertField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "update_field", updateField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "delete_field", deleteField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "read_field", readField );

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