pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

PGPDecryptStreamMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInf…

Error message

PGPDecryptStreamMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo

What it means

PGPDecryptStreamMeta.readRep throws KettleException when reading step attributes from the Pentaho Repository fails unexpectedly. Any exception from rep.getStepAttributeString/Boolean while loading the step's saved settings is wrapped with this message.

Solutions

Verify the repository connection is up and credentials are valid
Re-open the transformation in Spoon to reload from the repository
Check the repository tables (R_STEP_ATTRIBUTE) for the step's rows
Check the wrapped cause 'e' for the true repository error and address it

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Check repository connectivity before loading
if (rep.connect() == null || !rep.isConnected()) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("Repository not connected");
}

Try / catch

try { stepMeta.readRep(rep, metaStore, idStep, dbs); }
catch (KettleException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().contains("UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo")) {
    log.error("Repository read failed for step " + idStep + ": " + e.getCause(), e);
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

Verify repository connectivity and credentials before batch loads
Monitor repository DB health
Avoid concurrent deletion of steps while transformations load
Align repository schema version with PDI runtime

When it happens

Trigger: Calling readRep against a repository where the step attributes cannot be fetched — repository connection issues, missing/corrupt step record, or a repository API error.

Common situations: Database repository temporarily unavailable, step deleted by another user mid-load, repository schema version mismatch, permissions problems on the repository tables.

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/38224f3219488e99. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/pgpdecryptstream/PGPDecryptStreamMeta.java:249

      passphraseFieldName = XMLHandler.getTagValue( stepnode, "passphraseFieldName" );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleXMLException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "PGPDecryptStreamMeta.Exception.UnableToReadStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void readRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_step, List<DatabaseMeta> databases ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      gpglocation = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "gpglocation" );
      passhrase = Encr.decryptPasswordOptionallyEncrypted( rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "passhrase" ) );

      streamfield = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "streamfield" );
      resultfieldname = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "resultfieldname" );
      passphraseFromField = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "passphraseFromField" );
      passphraseFieldName = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "passphraseFieldName" );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "PGPDecryptStreamMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "gpglocation", gpglocation );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "passhrase", Encr
        .encryptPasswordIfNotUsingVariables( passhrase ) );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "streamfield", streamfield );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "resultfieldname", resultfieldname );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "passphraseFromField", passphraseFromField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "passphraseFieldName", passphraseFieldName );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "PGPDecryptStreamMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfo" )
        + id_step, e );

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