pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo

Error message

GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo

What it means

GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.saveRep() writes each field's in_stream_name/out_stream_name as numbered step attributes. Any exception from the repository during these writes is wrapped in a KettleException with this localized message plus the id_step, with the original exception as cause.

Solutions

Verify the repository database is up and the connection is valid
Inspect the cause (SQL exception) and fix schema/permissions issues
Reconnect to the repository and retry the save
Check the repository user's write privileges on step attribute tables

Example fix

// before
stepMeta.saveRep(rep, metaStore, id_transformation, id_step);
// after
try {
  stepMeta.saveRep(rep, metaStore, id_transformation, id_step);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Save failed for id_step " + id_step + ": " + e.getCause());
  throw e;
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (rep == null || !rep.isConnected()) { throw new IllegalStateException("Repository not connected before saveRep"); }

Try / catch

try { meta.saveRep(rep, metaStore, id_transformation, id_step); } catch (KettleException e) { log.error("saveRep failed for id_step " + id_step + ": " + e.getCause(), e); /* reconnect and retry once */ }

Prevention

Check DB health before large save operations
Avoid long-idle repository sessions that get dropped
Grant write privileges on step attribute tables
Wrap saves in retry-once logic after reconnect

When it happens

Trigger: Saving a transformation to the repository when a saveStepAttribute call fails — repository DB unreachable, constraint violation, or insufficient permissions.

Common situations: Repository database offline or read-only; session/transaction invalidated after long idle; schema missing the Kettle step attribute tables; quota or permission limits on the repository user.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a58182059e215944. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/get-previous-row-field/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/getpreviousrowfield/GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.java:211

        fieldOutStream[i] = Const.NVL( rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, "out_stream_name" ), "" );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "schema", schema );

      for ( int i = 0; i < fieldInStream.length; i++ ) {
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "in_stream_name", fieldInStream[i] );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "out_stream_name", fieldOutStream[i] );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "GetPreviousRowFieldMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo" )
        + id_step, e );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void getFields( Bowl bowl, RowMetaInterface inputRowMeta, String name, RowMetaInterface[] info,
    StepMeta nextStep, VariableSpace space, Repository repository, IMetaStore metaStore ) throws KettleStepException {

    // Add new field?
    for ( int i = 0; i < fieldOutStream.length; i++ ) {
      if ( !Utils.isEmpty( fieldOutStream[i] ) ) {
        int index = inputRowMeta.indexOfValue( fieldInStream[i] );
        if ( index >= 0 ) {
          ValueMetaInterface in = inputRowMeta.getValueMeta( index );
          try {
            ValueMetaInterface v =
              ValueMetaFactory.createValueMeta( space.environmentSubstitute( fieldOutStream[i] ), in.getType() );

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)