pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

LDAPConnection.Error.Add

LDAPConnection.Error.Add

Error message

LDAPConnection.Error.Add

What it means

LDAPConnection.add(dn, attributes, values, multValuedSeparator, checkEntry) wraps any non-NameNotFound exception from modifyAttributes(ADD_ATTRIBUTE) in a KettleException with message key 'LDAPConnection.Error.Add' (dn interpolated). Common underlying causes are schema violations (adding a value to a single-valued attribute that already has one), missing attribute definitions, permission denial, or connection failures.

Solutions

  1. Read e.getCause() to identify schema vs permission vs syntax problems.
  2. Use update() (REPLACE semantics) instead of add() when the attribute may already hold a value.
  3. Ensure required objectClasses/auxiliary classes are present for the attributes being added.
  4. Grant write ACI to the bind account and validate value syntax against the schema.

Example fix

// before
connection.add(dn, new String[]{"mail"}, new String[]{mail}, ";", true); // fails if mail already set
// after
connection.update(dn, new String[]{"mail"}, new String[]{mail}, true); // replace semantics
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Confirm attribute is multi-valued before using ADD_ATTRIBUTE
Attributes schema = ctx.getSchema(dn);
Attribute attrDef = schema.get("AttributeTypes"); // inspect syntax & SINGLE-VALUE flag before add()

Try / catch

try {
  connection.add(dn, attrs, vals, ";", true);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  Throwable root = ExceptionUtils.getRootCause(e);
  if (root instanceof SchemaViolationException || root instanceof AttributeInUseException) {
    // single-valued attr already set, or attr not allowed: fall back to replace
    connection.update(dn, attrs, vals, true);
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Adding a second value to a single-valued attribute via ADD_ATTRIBUTE; adding an attribute not permitted by the entry's objectClass; bind user lacks write permission; attribute syntax violation (e.g. non-numeric string in a numeric field).

Common situations: AD rejecting modifications to system attributes; OpenLDAP schema missing an aux objectClass needed for the attribute; multivalued source data with wrong multValuedSeparator causing malformed values.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/479282c9c08fe7e8. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/ldap/impl/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/ldapinput/LDAPConnection.java:343

      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "LDAPConnection.Error.Update", dn ), e );
    }
  }

  public int add( String dn, String[] attributes, String[] values, String multValuedSeparator, boolean checkEntry ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      Attributes attrs = buildAttributes( dn, attributes, values, multValuedSeparator );
      // We had all attributes
      getInitialContext().modifyAttributes( dn, DirContext.ADD_ATTRIBUTE, attrs );
      return STATUS_ADDED;
    } catch ( NameNotFoundException n ) {
      // The entry is not found
      if ( checkEntry ) {
        throw new KettleException(
          BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "LDAPConnection.Error.Deleting.NameNotFound", dn ), n );
      }
      return STATUS_SKIPPED;
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "LDAPConnection.Error.Add", dn ), e );
    }
  }

  /**
   * Insert record in LDAP based on DN
   *
   * @param dn
   *          : Distinguished Name (Key for lookup)
   * @param attributes
   *          : contains all the attributes to set for insert
   * @param values
   *          : contains all the values for attributes
   * @param multValuedSeparator
   *          : multi-valued attributes separator
   * @throws KettleException
   */
  public void insert( String dn, String[] attributes, String[] values, String multValuedSeparator ) throws KettleException {
    try {

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