pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to save job entry of type 'DTDvalidator' to the…

Error message

Unable to save job entry of type 'DTDvalidator' to the repository for id_job=${id_job}

What it means

JobEntryDTDValidator.saveRep() failed while persisting the entry's attributes (xmlfilename, dtdfilename, dtdintern) to the repository for id_job. The wrapped KettleDatabaseException means the repository insert/update failed at the database level.

Solutions

Check repository database connectivity and error details in the wrapped KettleDatabaseException
Verify the repository user has INSERT/UPDATE privileges on the repository tables
Check for locks or concurrent modifications and retry the save
Verify repository database has free space and is writable

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// pre-check repository write access
if ( !rep.getSecurityProvider().isReadOnly() ) { /* proceed */ } else { throw new KettleException( "Repository is read-only" ); }

Try / catch

try {
  saveJobToRepository( rep, metaStore, jobId );
} catch ( KettleException e ) {
  if ( e.getMessage().contains( "Unable to save job entry" ) ) {
    logError( "Repository write failed, cause: " + e.getCause() );
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

Confirm repository user has write privileges before committing saves
Monitor repository DB connectivity during long editing sessions
Avoid concurrent edits of the same job by multiple users
Keep the repository database from running out of space

When it happens

Trigger: saveRep() calls rep.saveJobEntryAttribute(...) for id_job and the repository throws KettleDatabaseException — connection loss, constraint violation, read-only repository, or oversized attribute values.

Common situations: Repository database offline or connection dropped mid-save; user lacks write permissions on repository tables; repository storage full; concurrent edits causing lock contention.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/54058482cf07072d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/xml/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/dtdvalidator/JobEntryDTDValidator.java:124

      List<SlaveServer> slaveServers ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      xmlfilename = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "xmlfilename" );
      dtdfilename = rep.getJobEntryAttributeString( id_jobentry, "dtdfilename" );
      dtdintern = rep.getJobEntryAttributeBoolean( id_jobentry, "dtdintern" );

    } catch ( KettleException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Unable to load job entry of type 'DTDvalidator' from the repository for id_jobentry="
          + id_jobentry, dbe );
    }
  }

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

  public String getRealxmlfilename() {
    return environmentSubstitute( xmlfilename );
  }

  public String getRealDTDfilename() {
    return environmentSubstitute( dtdfilename );
  }

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

    String realxmlfilename = getRealxmlfilename();
    String realDTDfilename = getRealDTDfilename();

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