pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

FileExistsMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo

Error message

FileExistsMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo

What it means

FileExistsMeta.saveRep() writes the step attributes (filenamefield, resultfieldname, includefiletype, filetypefieldname, addresultfilenames) to the Kettle repository and wraps any failure in a KettleException with 'UnableToSaveStepInfo' plus the step id. It means the step's settings could not be persisted.

Solutions

  1. Check the repository database is reachable and writable; retry the save.
  2. Grant the repository user INSERT/UPDATE rights on the repository tables.
  3. Upgrade/repair the repository schema if it mismatches the current Pentaho version.
  4. Save the transformation to a .ktr file as a workaround while fixing the repository.

Example fix

// before
// save with read-only repo user -> saveRep throws
// after
GRANT INSERT, UPDATE ON r_step_attribute TO kettle_user; // then retry save
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (rep.getConnection().isReadOnly()) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("Repository connection is read-only; saving will fail");
}

Try / catch

try {
  transMeta.saveRep(rep, metaStore, null, null);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().contains("FileExistsMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo")) {
    // check DB grants/connectivity; retry or save to file
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Saving a transformation to a repository when an INSERT/UPDATE into r_step_attribute fails: DB connection lost, read-only account, constraint violation, or disk full on the DB server.

Common situations: Repository user lacking write privileges; database in read-only mode; connection dropped during save; repository schema mismatch after upgrade.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eec418610ec3e685. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/fileexists/FileExistsMeta.java:213

      resultfieldname = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "resultfieldname" );
      includefiletype = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "includefiletype" );
      filetypefieldname = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "filetypefieldname" );
      addresultfilenames = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "addresultfilenames" );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "FileExistsMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "filenamefield", filenamefield );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "resultfieldname", resultfieldname );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "includefiletype", includefiletype );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "filetypefieldname", filetypefieldname );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "addresultfilenames", addresultfilenames );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "FileExistsMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo" )
        + id_step, e );
    }
  }

  public void check( List<CheckResultInterface> remarks, TransMeta transMeta, StepMeta stepMeta,
    RowMetaInterface prev, String[] input, String[] output, RowMetaInterface info, VariableSpace space,
    Repository repository, IMetaStore metaStore ) {
    CheckResult cr;
    String error_message = "";

    if ( Utils.isEmpty( resultfieldname ) ) {
      error_message = BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "FileExistsMeta.CheckResult.ResultFieldMissing" );
      cr = new CheckResult( CheckResult.TYPE_RESULT_ERROR, error_message, stepMeta );
      remarks.add( cr );
    } else {
      error_message = BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "FileExistsMeta.CheckResult.ResultFieldOK" );
      cr = new CheckResult( CheckResult.TYPE_RESULT_OK, error_message, stepMeta );
      remarks.add( cr );

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