What causes "Unable to get all database IDs" in pentaho/pentaho-kettle?

Verify the pur repository connection is healthy (connect() succeeded, user authenticated).

pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to get all database IDs

Error message

Unable to get all database IDs

What it means

PurRepository.getDatabaseIDs() lists all repository files of type DATABASE under the shared-objects root and converts their IDs to Kettle ObjectIds. Any failure in the underlying Pentaho Repository (JCR/PUC) file listing or ID conversion is wrapped in a KettleException with this message.

Solutions

Verify the pur repository connection is healthy (connect() succeeded, user authenticated).
Check that the /etc/databases (shared databases) area exists in the repository and the user has read permission.
Inspect the cause chain of the KettleException for the underlying PentahoRepositoryException.
Retry after fixing repository/network; fall back to getDatabaseNames() if only names are needed.

Example fix

// before
List<ObjectId> ids = repository.getDatabaseIDs(false);
// after
List<ObjectId> ids;
try {
  ids = repository.getDatabaseIDs(false);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  logError("Repository unreadable, using empty database list", e);
  ids = Collections.emptyList();
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// ensure connected before listing
if (!repository.isConnected()) { repository.connect(user, pass); }
List<RepositoryFile> dbs = repository.getAllFilesOfType? // n/a; verify via repository.exists(folder) if available

Type guard

boolean canList = repository != null && repository.isConnected();

Try / catch

try { ids = repository.getDatabaseIDs(false); } catch (KettleException e) { log.error("db id listing failed", e); ids = new ObjectId[0]; }

Prevention

Always connect and verify repository before repository metadata calls.
Log e.getCause() — the KettleException is only a wrapper.
Grant repository users read access to shared settings.
Use PurRepositoryConnector health checks / connection test in Spoon.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling getDatabaseIDs(boolean) when the repository connection fails, the databases folder is missing/corrupt, or the file service throws while listing children.

Common situations: PDI spoon connecting to a Pentaho repository with network/auth issues; a pur repository where shared database connections were deleted or the folder permissions deny listing.

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/97cf0cd1daf33449. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/pur/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/repository/pur/PurRepository.java:1151

      } else {
        return null;
      }
    } finally {
      readWriteLock.readLock().unlock();
    }
  }

  @Override
  public ObjectId[] getDatabaseIDs( boolean includeDeleted ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      List<RepositoryFile> children = getAllFilesOfType( null, RepositoryObjectType.DATABASE, includeDeleted );
      List<ObjectId> ids = new ArrayList<ObjectId>( children.size() );
      for ( RepositoryFile file : children ) {
        ids.add( new StringObjectId( file.getId().toString() ) );
      }
      return ids.toArray( new ObjectId[ 0 ] );
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Unable to get all database IDs", e );
    }
  }

  protected List<RepositoryFile> getAllFilesOfType( final ObjectId dirId, final RepositoryObjectType objectType,
                                                    final boolean includeDeleted ) throws KettleException {
    return getAllFilesOfType( dirId, Collections.singletonList( objectType ), includeDeleted );
  }

  protected List<RepositoryFile> getAllFilesOfType( final ObjectId dirId, final List<RepositoryObjectType> objectTypes,
                                                    final boolean includeDeleted ) throws KettleException {

    List<RepositoryFile> allChildren = new ArrayList<RepositoryFile>();
    List<RepositoryFile> children = getAllFilesOfType( dirId, objectTypes );
    allChildren.addAll( children );
    if ( includeDeleted ) {
      String dirPath = null;
      if ( dirId != null ) {
        // derive path using id

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