pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

TransHopMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveTransformationHopInfo

Error message

TransHopMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveTransformationHopInfo

What it means

Thrown by saveTransHopMeta() when inserting a transformation hop (the link between two steps) into the repository fails with a KettleDatabaseException. The transformation ObjectId is appended to the message. Failures in insertTransHop() (FK violations, SQL errors) are wrapped here.

Solutions

Save all StepMeta objects first so their ObjectIds are set before saving hops
Verify id_transformation exists (save the transformation header before hops)
Inspect the chained KettleDatabaseException for the SQL/FK error
Ensure the DB user has INSERT rights on R_TRANS_HOP

Example fix

// before
TransHopMeta hop = new TransHopMeta(stepA, stepB, true);
delegate.saveTransHopMeta(hop, transId); // steps not saved yet

// after
delegate.saveTransformation(transMeta); // persists steps, sets ObjectIds
TransHopMeta hop = new TransHopMeta(stepA, stepB, true);
delegate.saveTransHopMeta(hop, transId);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// Java: steps must be persisted before hops
boolean stepsSaved = transHopMeta.getFromStep().getObjectId() != null
    && transHopMeta.getToStep().getObjectId() != null
    && idTransformation != null;
if (!stepsSaved) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("Save transformation and steps before hops");
}

Try / catch

try {
  delegate.saveTransHopMeta(hop, transId);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  log.error("Hop save failed for transformation " + transId + ": " + e.getCause(), e);
  throw e; // roll back partial save
}

Prevention

Save the transformation header, then steps, then hops — in that order
Never construct hops from steps lacking ObjectIds when persisting manually
Check FK errors in the cause chain immediately
Prefer rep.save(transMeta, ...) which handles ordering internally

When it happens

Trigger: Saving a transformation whose hops reference steps with null ObjectIds (steps not yet saved), or where id_transformation does not exist in R_TRANSFORMATION, causing insertTransHop() to fail.

Common situations: Ordering bug when saving a transformation manually step-by-step before the steps themselves, FK constraint on R_TRANS_HOP pointing at missing R_TRANSFORMATION/R_STEP rows, or DB connection loss during save.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/10d811e4b3e0c67a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/repository/kdr/delegates/KettleDatabaseRepositoryTransDelegate.java:1103

    } catch ( KettleException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "TransDependency.Exception.UnableToSaveTransformationDepency" )
        + id_transformation, dbe );
    }
  }

  public void saveTransHopMeta( TransHopMeta transHopMeta, ObjectId id_transformation ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      // See if a transformation hop with the same fromstep and tostep is
      // already available...
      ObjectId id_step_from = transHopMeta.getFromStep() == null ? null : transHopMeta.getFromStep().getObjectId();
      ObjectId id_step_to = transHopMeta.getToStep() == null ? null : transHopMeta.getToStep().getObjectId();

      // Insert new transMeta hop in repository
      transHopMeta.setObjectId( insertTransHop( id_transformation, id_step_from, id_step_to, transHopMeta
        .isEnabled() ) );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
        PKG, "TransHopMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveTransformationHopInfo" )
        + id_transformation, dbe );
    }
  }

  public TransHopMeta loadTransHopMeta( ObjectId id_trans_hop, List<StepMeta> steps ) throws KettleException {
    TransHopMeta hopTransMeta = new TransHopMeta();
    try {
      hopTransMeta.setObjectId( id_trans_hop );

      RowMetaAndData r = getTransHop( id_trans_hop );

      hopTransMeta.setEnabled( r.getBoolean( "ENABLED", false ) );

      long id_step_from = r.getInteger( "ID_STEP_FROM", 0 );
      long id_step_to = r.getInteger( "ID_STEP_TO", 0 );

      StepMeta fromStep = StepMeta.findStep( steps, new LongObjectId( id_step_from ) );

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)