pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

JobEntryWaitForSQL.UnableLoadRep

Error message

JobEntryWaitForSQL.UnableLoadRep

What it means

KettleException thrown by JobEntryWaitForSQL.loadRep when reading the job entry's attributes (connection, SQL, timeouts, cycle time, successOnTimeout, clearResultRows) from the repository fails with a KettleDatabaseException. It wraps the original DB exception and identifies the job entry by id. It indicates the repository metadata for this 'Wait for SQL' entry could not be loaded.

Solutions

  1. Verify the repository database is reachable and credentials are valid
  2. Check R_JOBENTRY_ATTRIBUTE rows exist for the given id_jobentry and the schema matches your Pentaho version
  3. Reopen/re-import the job or recreate the Wait For SQL job entry
  4. Inspect the wrapped KettleDatabaseException cause for the underlying SQL error

Example fix

// before
jobEntry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers); // throws
// after
try {
  jobEntry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Failed loading Wait For SQL entry " + idJobentry + ": " + e.getCause(), e);
  // repair repository or recreate entry
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before loadRep
if (rep == null || idJobentry == null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("repository and id_jobentry required");
// optionally: verify connectivity with a cheap repository read

Try / catch

try {
  entry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, databases, slaveServers);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("LoadRep failed for id=" + idJobentry + ": " + e.getCause(), e);
  // fall back to default entry settings or abort job load
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling loadRep on a JobEntryWaitForSQL whose attributes cannot be read from the repository, e.g. the row for id_jobentry is missing/corrupt in R_JOBENTRY_ATTRIBUTE, the repository database connection is down, or a schema mismatch causes KettleDatabaseException.

Common situations: Corrupted or partially migrated Pentaho repository database; repository DB temporarily unavailable; opening an old kjb/job stored in a repository with a mismatched schema version.

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/bdc9a96997537c43. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/waitforsql/JobEntryWaitForSQL.java:277

    try {
      connection = rep.loadDatabaseMetaFromJobEntryAttribute( id_jobentry, "connection", "id_database", databases );

      schemaname = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "schemaname" );
      tablename = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "tablename" );
      successCondition =
        getSuccessConditionByCode( Const.NVL(
          rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "success_condition" ), "" ) );
      rowsCountValue = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "rows_count_value" );
      iscustomSQL = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "is_custom_sql" );
      isUseVars = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "is_usevars" );
      isAddRowsResult = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "add_rows_result" );
      customSQL = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "custom_sql" );
      maximumTimeout = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "maximum_timeout" );
      checkCycleTime = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "check_cycle_time" );
      successOnTimeout = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "success_on_timeout" );
      isClearResultList = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "clear_result_rows" );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages
        .getString( PKG, "JobEntryWaitForSQL.UnableLoadRep", "" + id_jobentry ), dbe );
    }
  }

  private static int getSuccessConditionByCode( String tt ) {
    if ( tt == null ) {
      return 0;
    }

    for ( int i = 0; i < successConditionsCode.length; i++ ) {
      if ( successConditionsCode[i].equalsIgnoreCase( tt ) ) {
        return i;
      }
    }
    return 0;
  }

  @Override

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