pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleXMLException

ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.UnableToLoadStepInfoFromXML

Error message

ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.UnableToLoadStepInfoFromXML

What it means

ScriptValuesMetaMod.readData(), invoked from loadXML when deserializing the step from a .ktr transformation file, wraps XML parsing in a try/catch and re-throws as a KettleXMLException with the localized message 'UnableToLoadStepInfoFromXML'. It means the step's XML block is malformed or missing expected tags.

Solutions

Open the .ktr in Spoon and inspect the ScriptValuesMod step XML; fix malformed tags.
Restore the transformation from backup or version control.
Compare the failing step XML against a working transformation's step XML.
Check the cause (nested exception) logged with the KettleXMLException for the exact parse failure.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try { trans.loadXML(file, monitor, false); } catch (KettleXMLException e) {
  logError('Failed to load step from XML: ' + e.getMessage(), e.getCause());
}

Prevention

Do not hand-edit .ktr files; edit in Spoon.
Keep transformations in version control for restoration.
Match Pentaho versions when moving transformations between environments.

When it happens

Trigger: Loading a transformation whose <step type='ScriptValueMod'> XML contains unexpected structure or invalid values (e.g. non-numeric length/precision).

Common situations: Hand-edited .ktr files, transformations produced by older/newer Pentaho versions with schema drift, or truncated/corrupted files.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a215898a0b569440. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesMetaMod.java:363

      int nrfields = XMLHandler.countNodes( fields, "field" );

      allocate( nrfields );

      for ( int i = 0; i < nrfields; i++ ) {
        Node fnode = XMLHandler.getSubNodeByNr( fields, "field", i );

        fieldname[i] = XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "name" );
        rename[i] = XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "rename" );
        type[i] = ValueMetaFactory.getIdForValueMeta( XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "type" ) );

        String slen = XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "length" );
        String sprc = XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "precision" );
        length[i] = Const.toInt( slen, -1 );
        precision[i] = Const.toInt( sprc, -1 );
        replace[i] = "Y".equalsIgnoreCase( XMLHandler.getTagValue( fnode, "replace" ) );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleXMLException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.UnableToLoadStepInfoFromXML" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void setDefault() {
    jsScripts = new ScriptValuesScript[1];
    jsScripts[0] =
      new ScriptValuesScript( ScriptValuesScript.TRANSFORM_SCRIPT, BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "ScriptValuesMod.Script1" ), "//"
        + BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "ScriptValuesMod.ScriptHere" ) + Const.CR + Const.CR );

    int nrfields = 0;
    allocate( nrfields );

    for ( int i = 0; i < nrfields; i++ ) {
      fieldname[i] = "newvalue";
      rename[i] = "newvalue";
      type[i] = ValueMetaInterface.TYPE_NUMBER;

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