pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

SplitFieldToRowsMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo

SplitFieldToRowsMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo

Error message

SplitFieldToRowsMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo

What it means

Thrown by SplitFieldToRowsMeta.readRep when loading this step's settings from a repository fails. The method reads step attributes (newfield, rownum, rownum_field, reset_rownumber, delimiter_is_regex) via the Repository API; any exception is wrapped in a KettleException with this message key. It means the step configuration could not be reconstructed from the repository.

Solutions

Check the wrapped cause for the repository/database error
Verify repository connectivity and reconnect
Run the repository schema upgrade for your PDI version
Reload the transformation after the repository is healthy

Example fix

// before
TransMeta tm = new TransMeta();
tm.loadTransMeta(rep, id_transformation, metaStore); // may throw
// after
try {
  tm.loadTransMeta(rep, id_transformation, metaStore);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Failed reading step from repository: " + e.getCause());
  rep.disconnect(); rep.connect();
  tm.loadTransMeta(rep, id_transformation, metaStore);
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before loading from repository
if (!rep.isConnected()) rep.connect();
ObjectId id = rep.getTransformationID(name, dir); // throws early if missing

Try / catch

try { transMeta.loadTransMeta(rep, id, metaStore); } catch (KettleException e) { logError("Repository read failed: " + e.getCause()); /* reconnect or fall back to file load */ }

Prevention

Verify repository connectivity before bulk loads
Keep repository schema in sync with the PDI version
Avoid concurrent modification of the same transformation
Keep local .ktr exports as fallback

When it happens

Trigger: Calling TransMeta.loadFromRepository where getStepAttributeString/getStepAttributeBoolean throws — repository DB connection failure, missing R_STEP_ATTRIBUTE rows, or a schema mismatch between PDI version and repository tables.

Common situations: Repository database down or network dropped while opening a transformation from the repository; repository schema not upgraded after PDI upgrade; step deleted from repository by another user mid-load.

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/7e5f349f7d05de2e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/splitfieldtorows/SplitFieldToRowsMeta.java:193

    retval.append( "   " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "rownum", includeRowNumber ) );
    retval.append( "   " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "rownum_field", rowNumberField ) );
    retval.append( "   " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "resetrownumber", resetRowNumber ) );
    retval.append( "   " + XMLHandler.addTagValue( "delimiter_is_regex", isDelimiterRegex ) );

    return retval.toString();
  }

  public void readRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_step, List<DatabaseMeta> databases ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      splitField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "splitfield" );
      delimiter = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "delimiter" );
      newFieldname = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "newfield" );
      includeRowNumber = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "rownum" );
      rowNumberField = rep.getStepAttributeString( id_step, "rownum_field" );
      resetRowNumber = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, "reset_rownumber" );
      isDelimiterRegex = rep.getStepAttributeBoolean( id_step, 0, "delimiter_is_regex", false );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "SplitFieldToRowsMeta.Exception.UnexpectedErrorInReadingStepInfo" ), e );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_transformation, ObjectId id_step ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "splitfield", splitField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "delimiter", delimiter );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "newfield", newFieldname );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "rownum", includeRowNumber );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "reset_rownumber", resetRowNumber );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "rownum_field", rowNumberField );
      rep.saveStepAttribute( id_transformation, id_step, "delimiter_is_regex", isDelimiterRegex );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "SplitFieldToRowsMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfoToRepository" )
        + id_step, e );
    }

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