pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to load job entry of type 'get pop' exists from the…

Error message

Unable to load job entry of type 'get pop' exists from the repository for idJobEntry=<idJobEntry>

What it means

JobEntryGetPOP's repository-loading constructor wraps any KettleException from reading the job entry's attributes into 'Unable to load job entry of type 'get pop' exists from the repository for idJobEntry=<idJobEntry>'. It means the POP/IMAP job entry's stored settings could not be read from the repository database.

Solutions

Check repository database connectivity and that the job entry rows exist for the given idJobEntry
Re-save the job entry from Spoon to regenerate its repository attributes
Verify Pentaho and repository schema versions are compatible

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before loading the job from repository:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM r_jobentry_attribute WHERE id_jobentry = ?;

Try / catch

try { jobEntry.loadRep(rep, metaStore, idJobEntry, databases, metaStore); } catch (KettleException e) {
  log.error("Load from repository failed (idJobEntry=" + idJobEntry + "): " + e.getMessage(), e);
  // re-save the entry or fall back to a .kjb export
}

Prevention

Back up and verify the repository schema after Pentaho upgrades
Confirm DB connectivity before opening repository-based jobs
Re-save job entries if attribute rows look stale or missing

When it happens

Trigger: JobEntryGetPOP (public) loadRep called with an idJobEntry: rep.getJobEntryAttributeString/Boolean throws (DB connection failure, missing rows, bad schema) while reading tags like AFTER_GET_IMAP or USE_PROXY.

Common situations: Repository database unavailable or migrated, r_jobentry_attribute rows missing/corrupt, loading a job from a repository written by an incompatible Pentaho version.

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/172261152758f1c3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/email-messages/impl/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/getpop/JobEntryGetPOP.java:504

      bodySearch = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobEntry, TAG_BODY_SEARCH );
      notTermBodySearch = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_NOT_TERM_BODY_SEARCH );
      conditionReceivedDate = MailConnectionMeta.getConditionByCode( Const.NVL( rep.getJobEntryAttributeString(
          idJobEntry, TAG_CONDITION_RECEIVED_DATE ), "" ) );
      notTermReceivedDateSearch = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_NOT_TERM_RECEIVED_DATE_SEARCH );
      receivedDate1 = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobEntry, TAG_RECEIVED_DATE_1 );
      receivedDate2 = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobEntry, TAG_RECEIVED_DATE_2 );
      actiontype = MailConnectionMeta.getActionTypeByCode( Const.NVL( rep.getJobEntryAttributeString(
          idJobEntry, TAG_ACTION_TYPE ), "" ) );
      moveToIMAPFolder = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobEntry, TAG_MOVE_TO_IMAP_FOLDER );
      createMoveToFolder = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_CREATE_MOVE_TO_FOLDER );
      createLocalFolder = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_CREATE_LOCAL_FOLDER );
      aftergetimap = MailConnectionMeta.getAfterGetIMAPByCode( Const.NVL( rep.getJobEntryAttributeString(
          idJobEntry, TAG_AFTER_GET_IMAP ), "" ) );
      includeSubfolders = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_INCLUDE_SUBFOLDERS );
      useProxy = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( idJobEntry, TAG_USE_PROXY );
      proxyUserName = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( idJobEntry, TAG_PROXY_USER_NAME );
    } catch ( KettleException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException(
        "Unable to load job entry of type 'get pop' exists from the repository for idJobEntry=" + idJobEntry,
        dbe );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void saveRep( Repository rep, IMetaStore metaStore, ObjectId id_job ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_SERVERNAME, serverName );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_USERNAME, userName );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_PASSWORD,
        Encr.encryptPasswordIfNotUsingVariables( password ) );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_USE_SSL, useSsl );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_SSL_PORT, sslPort );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY, outputDirectory );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_FILENAME_PATTERN, filenamePattern );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_RETRIEVE_MAILS, retrieveMails );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), TAG_FIRST_MAILS, firstMails );

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