pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to load job entry from the repository for…

Error message

Unable to load job entry from the repository for id_jobentry={}

What it means

HL7MLLPAcknowledge.loadRep() reads the entry's attributes (server, port, variable) from the Pentaho repository. A KettleDatabaseException while fetching these attributes is caught and rethrown as a KettleException: 'Unable to load job entry from the repository for id_jobentry=<id>' with the database error as cause.

Solutions

Check the chained KettleDatabaseException cause for the actual repository DB error
Verify the repository database is reachable and credentials are valid
Inspect r_jobentry_attribute for rows with the given id_jobentry; re-save the job entry if missing
Re-create the job entry in the repository if its attributes are orphaned

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try { entry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobentry, dbs, slaves); } catch (KettleException e) { log.error("Repo load failed for id_jobentry=" + idJobentry, e.getCause()); }

Prevention

Monitor repository DB health before batch job loads
Avoid manual deletes in r_jobentry_attribute
Back up the repository before migrations

When it happens

Trigger: Calling loadRep when rep.getJobEntryAttributeString(idJobentry, ...) throws — typically because the r_jobentry_attribute rows for that id_jobentry are missing or the repository database is unreachable/errors out.

Common situations: Repository row corruption or partial save; connecting to a repository where the job exists but its attributes do not; repository database connectivity/authentication failures; orphaned job entries after failed migrations.

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/182f4d7501b145e0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/hl7/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/hl7mllpack/HL7MLLPAcknowledge.java:113

      super.loadXML( entrynode, databases, slaveServers );

      server = XMLHandler.getTagValue( entrynode, "server" );
      port = XMLHandler.getTagValue( entrynode, "port" );
      variableName = XMLHandler.getTagValue( entrynode, "variable" );
    } catch ( KettleXMLException xe ) {
      throw new KettleXMLException( "Unable to load job entry from XML node", xe );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void loadRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId idJobentry, List<DatabaseMeta> databases,
      List<SlaveServer> slaveServers ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      server = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobentry, "server" );
      port = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobentry, "port" );
      variableName = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobentry, "variable" );
    } catch ( KettleException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Unable to load job entry from the repository for id_jobentry=" + idJobentry, dbe );
    }
  }

  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_job ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "server", server );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "port", port );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "variable", variableName );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Unable to save job entry of type 'ftp' to the repository for id_job=" + id_job, dbe );
    }
  }

  public Result execute( Result previousResult, int nr ) {
    Result result = previousResult;

    try {

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