pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RuntimeException

file to copy [

Error message

file to copy [

What it means

The copyFile() script helper throws 'file to copy [name] can not be found!' when the SOURCE file resolved via KettleVFS does not exist. The existence check happens before any copying; destination checks and overwrite logic are never reached.

Solutions

1. Check fileExists(src) before calling copyFile and handle absence explicitly.
2. Fix the source path (absolute path, correct casing and separators).
3. Re-order the transformation/job so the source file is created before the copy runs.
4. Verify any earlier 'Move/Delete' or cleanup steps are not removing the file prematurely.

Example fix

// before
copyFile('data/in.csv', 'data/backup.csv', true); // in.csv not produced yet
// after
if (fileExists('data/in.csv')) { copyFile('data/in.csv', 'data/backup.csv', true); } else { throw new Error('input missing'); }

if (!fileExists(src)) { throw new Error('source file missing: ' + src); }
copyFile(src, dest, true);

function isNonEmptyString(s) { return typeof s === 'string' && s.trim().length > 0; }

try { copyFile(src, dest, true); } catch (e) { if (String(e).indexOf('can not be found') >= 0) { /* handle missing input */ } else { throw e; } }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling copyFile(src, dest, overwrite) where src does not exist: wrong path, file not yet produced by an earlier step, relative path resolving against an unexpected working directory, or case mismatch on Linux.

Common situations: Copy step runs before the producing step/transform finished (ordering problem); typos in the source path; the previous run's cleanup deleted the file; expected input file missing from a watched directory.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

• file [
• The function call copyFile throw an error :
• AbstractFileErrorHandler.Exception.CouldNotCreateFileErrorHandlerForFile
• AvroInput.Error.SchemaError
• AvroInputDialog.Error.KettleFileException

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ce3806935dc3e198. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/ScriptAddedFunctions.java:2053

          // Destination filename
          fileDestination = KettleVFS.getInstance( bowl ).getFileObject( (String) ArgList[1] );
          if ( fileSource.exists() ) {
            // Source file exists...
            if ( fileSource.getType() == FileType.FILE ) {
              // Great..source is a file ...
              boolean overwrite = false;
              if ( !ArgList[1].equals( null ) ) {
                overwrite = (Boolean) ArgList[2];
              }
              boolean destinationExists = fileDestination.exists();
              // Let's copy the file...
              if ( ( destinationExists && overwrite ) || !destinationExists ) {
                FileUtil.copyContent( fileSource, fileDestination );
              }

            }
          } else {
            throw new RuntimeException( "file to copy [" + ArgList[0] + "] can not be found!" );
          }
        } catch ( IOException e ) {
          throw new RuntimeException( "The function call copyFile throw an error : " + e.toString() );
        } finally {
          if ( fileSource != null ) {
            try {
              fileSource.close();
            } catch ( Exception e ) {
              // Ignore errors
            }
          }
          if ( fileDestination != null ) {
            try {
              fileDestination.close();
            } catch ( Exception e ) {
              // Ignore errors
            }
          }

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