pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · ContentCreationException

IOError while create

Error message

IOError while create

What it means

In FileObjectContentLocation.createItem, after confirming the child does not exist, child.createFile() is called; any IOException from the underlying commons-vfs filesystem is rethrown as ContentCreationException 'IOError while create'. The original IOException is attached as the cause.

Solutions

1. Inspect the cause IOException (getCause()) to see the real filesystem error.
2. Ensure the output directory exists, is writable, and has free space.
3. Re-check that the parent location is still valid before creating items.
4. Add retry with a fresh FileObjectContentLocation if using remote/temp filesystems.

Example fix

// before
ContentItem item = location.createItem("report.prpt");
// after
File outDir = new File(outputPath);
if (!outDir.exists()) outDir.mkdirs();
if (!outDir.canWrite() || outDir.getFreeSpace() < minRequiredBytes) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("Output dir not writable or full: " + outputPath);
}
ContentItem item = location.createItem("report.prpt");

File dir = new File(outputPath);
boolean ready = dir.exists() && dir.isDirectory() && dir.canWrite() && dir.getUsableSpace() > 0;

try {
  item = location.createItem(fileName);
} catch (ContentCreationException e) {
  Throwable cause = e.getCause(); // inspect real IOException
  throw new IOException("Report create failed: " + (cause == null ? e : cause.getMessage()), e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: child.createFile() throwing IOException — e.g. the parent folder vanished, disk full, permission denied, or the filesystem went read-only between the exists() check and createFile().

Common situations: Writing reports to a full or read-only disk, a temp directory removed mid-run, network/remote VFS mounts that dropped, or OS permission changes on the output folder.

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

• KettleVFS.Exception.ParentDirectoryDoesNotExist
• ChangeFileEncoding.Error.CreatingFile
• Couldn't write to the database cache
• Error opening new file
• ex.getMessage()

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/55664139122116d5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/pentaho-reporting/impl/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/pentahoreporting/urlrepository/FileObjectContentLocation.java:166

    String fileName = new File( name ).getName();
    if ( RepositoryUtilities.isInvalidPathName( fileName ) ) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException( "The name given is not valid." );
    }
    try {
      final FileObject file = getBackend();
      final FileObject child = file.resolveFile( fileName );
      if ( child.exists() ) {
        if ( child.getContent().getSize() == 0 ) {
          // probably one of the temp files created by the pentaho-system
          return new FileObjectContentItem( this, child );
        }
        throw new ContentCreationException( "File already exists: " + child );
      }
      try {
        child.createFile();
        return new FileObjectContentItem( this, child );
      } catch ( IOException e ) {
        throw new ContentCreationException( "IOError while create", e );
      }
    } catch ( FileSystemException e ) {
      throw new RuntimeException( e );
    }
  }

  /**
   * Creates a new content location in the current location. This method must never return null. This method will fail
   * if an entity with the same name exists in this location.
   *
   * @param name the name of the new entity.
   * @return the newly created entity, never null.
   * @throws ContentCreationException if the item could not be created.
   */
  public ContentLocation createLocation( final String name ) throws ContentCreationException {
    if ( RepositoryUtilities.isInvalidPathName( name ) ) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException( "The name given is not valid." );
    }

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