pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ScriptMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo

Error message

ScriptMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo

What it means

readRep() loads Script step metadata from the repository database via rep.getStepAttribute*. Any repository error while reading the step's attributes is wrapped in KettleException 'ScriptMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo'.

Solutions

Check the nested cause for the underlying repository/DB error and fix connectivity or schema issues.
Verify the repository schema version matches your PDI version (repository upgrade wizard).
Re-save or re-create the affected Script step; if corrupt, delete the step attribute rows and re-enter settings.
Restore the transformation from a backup or export it as XML to bypass repository state.

Example fix

// before: mismatched repository schema (no field_type attribute rows)
// after: run repository upgrade to align schema, then reload the transformation

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Verify repository connectivity and schema before loading
if (!rep.connect(...)) throw new IllegalStateException("repository unavailable");

Try / catch

try { stepMeta.readRep(rep, metaStore, id_step, databases, metaStore); }
catch (KettleException e) { log.error("readRep failed: " + e.getCause(), e);
  // retry once after reconnect, then fail fast
}

Prevention

Keep repository schema in sync with PDI version
Monitor DB connectivity during batch loads
Back up transformations before repository upgrades
Export critical transformations to XML as fallback

When it happens

Trigger: Loading a transformation from a Pentaho repository when the R_STEP_ATTRIBUTE rows for the Script step are missing, corrupted, or the repository query throws (connection loss, schema mismatch).

Common situations: Repository database upgraded/downgraded between PDI versions; broken DB connection mid-load; partial save left step attributes inconsistent.

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/d3da63b22589683f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/ScriptMeta.java:387

            (int) rep.getStepAttributeInteger( id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_TYPE ),
            rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_NAME ),
            rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_SCRIPT ) );
        }
      }

      int nrfields = rep.countNrStepAttributes( id_step, "field_name" );
      allocate( nrfields );

      for ( int i = 0; i < nrfields; i++ ) {
        fieldname[i] = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, "field_name" );
        rename[i] = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, "field_rename" );
        type[i] = ValueMetaFactory.getIdForValueMeta( rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, i, "field_type" ) );
        length[i] = (int) rep.getStepAttributeInteger( id_step, i, "field_length" );
        precision[i] = (int) rep.getStepAttributeInteger( id_step, i, "field_precision" );
        replace[i] = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, i, "field_replace" );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "ScriptMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      for ( int i = 0; i < jsScripts.length; i++ ) {
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_NAME, jsScripts[i].getScriptName() );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_SCRIPT, jsScripts[i].getScript() );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, JSSCRIPT_TAG_TYPE, jsScripts[i].getScriptType() );
      }

      for ( int i = 0; i < fieldname.length; i++ ) {
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "field_name", fieldname[i] );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "field_rename", rename[i] );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "field_type",
          ValueMetaFactory.getValueMetaName( type[i] ) );
        rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, i, "field_length", length[i] );

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