pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

TableExists.Meta.UnableSaveRep

Error message

TableExists.Meta.UnableSaveRep

What it means

JobEntryTableExists.saveRep wraps any KettleDatabaseException thrown while persisting tablename, schemaname and the connection database meta into a KettleException with the localized 'TableExists.Meta.UnableSaveRep' message (id_job interpolated) and the original as cause. It means the entry's attributes could not be written to the repository.

Solutions

  1. Inspect the chained KettleDatabaseException cause for the exact SQL error
  2. Verify the repository account has write privileges and is not in read-only mode
  3. Ensure the job/entry ObjectIds are valid by saving the whole job via Spoon
  4. Retry after confirming repository connectivity; check for table locks from stale sessions
  5. Shorten tablename/schemaname values if a column-length limit is reported

Example fix

// before: entry detached from job, getObjectId() null
rep.saveJobEntryAttribute(id_job, getObjectId(), "tablename", tablename); // throws
// after: add the entry to the job and save the job so IDs are assigned
job.addJobEntry(entry);
job.saveRep(rep, metaStore, id_job);
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Java: preconditions before saveRep
if (rep == null || !rep.isConnected() || getObjectId() == null) {
  throw new KettleException("Repository unavailable or entry not persisted");
}

Type guard

if (id_job != null && getObjectId() != null) { /* safe to saveRep */ }

Try / catch

try {
  entry.saveRep(rep, metaStore, id_job);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("TableExists repo save failed: " + e.getCause(), e);
  // check permissions/locks, then retry once
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling saveRep when saveJobEntryAttribute or saveDatabaseMetaJobEntryAttribute throws: repository read-only, lost connection, invalid ObjectId, or constraint violation on the attribute columns.

Common situations: Repository user lacks write permission; saving concurrently from two Spoon sessions causing locks; database connection meta being saved references missing shared objects; disk/quota limits on the repository DB.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4c634c34848cee0c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/tableexists/JobEntryTableExists.java:120

    try {
      tablename = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "tablename" );
      schemaname = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "schemaname" );

      connection = rep.loadDatabaseMetaFromJobEntryAttribute( id_jobentry, "connection", "id_database", databases );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException(
        BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "TableExists.Meta.UnableLoadRep", "" + id_jobentry ), dbe );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_job ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "tablename", tablename );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "schemaname", schemaname );

      rep.saveDatabaseMetaJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "connection", "id_database", connection );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "TableExists.Meta.UnableSaveRep", "" + id_job ), dbe );
    }
  }

  public void setTablename( String tablename ) {
    this.tablename = tablename;
  }

  public String getTablename() {
    return tablename;
  }

  public String getSchemaname() {
    return schemaname;
  }

  public void setSchemaname( String schemaname ) {
    this.schemaname = schemaname;
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)