pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to save job entry of type 'SFTP' to the repository…

Error message

Unable to save job entry of type 'SFTP' to the repository for id_job=

What it means

JobEntrySFTP.saveRep() throws this KettleException when writing the SFTP entry's attributes (server, port, credentials, proxy fields, including encrypted password) to the repository fails with a KettleDatabaseException. The message is "Unable to save job entry of type 'SFTP' to the repository for id_job=" + id_job, with the database exception as cause — a repository persistence failure, not an SFTP connectivity issue.

Solutions

Check the cause KettleDatabaseException for the SQL error and resolve the repository-side problem (connection, privileges, space).
Grant the repository user write access to the job entry attribute tables.
Retry saving after restoring the repository connection; use Repository::test in Spoon to verify first.
If corruption persists, recreate the entry in a fresh job and re-save.

Example fix

// before: assuming save always succeeds
jobEntry.saveRep( rep, metaStore, id_job );
// after: guard with a connection check
if ( !rep.isConnected() ) throw new KettleException( "Repository not connected; cannot save SFTP entry" );
jobEntry.saveRep( rep, metaStore, id_job );

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if ( !rep.isConnected() ) throw new KettleException( "Repository not connected; cannot save SFTP entry" );

Try / catch

try {
  entry.saveRep( rep, metaStore, id_job );
} catch ( KettleException e ) {
  log.error( "SFTP entry repo save failed: " + e.getCause() );
  throw new KettleException( "Resolve repository DB issue (connection/privileges) and retry", e );
}

Prevention

Verify repository write access for the DB user.
Test the repository connection before bulk saves.
Watch for DB disk-full or read-only maintenance windows.
Retry saves once after transient connectivity errors before escalating.

When it happens

Trigger: Saving a job containing the SFTP entry when the repository write fails: broken DB connection, read-only database, insufficient INSERT/UPDATE privileges on r_jobentry_attribute, constraint violations, or transaction rollback.

Common situations: Repository database offline or network interruption during save; user lacks write rights to repository tables; disk full on the DB server; save conflicts from concurrent edits.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3fee2e77beac437a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/get-file-sftp/impl/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/job/entries/sftp/JobEntrySFTP.java:272

      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "remove", remove );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "isaddresult", isaddresult );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "createtargetfolder", createtargetfolder );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "copyprevious", copyprevious );

      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "usekeyfilename", usekeyfilename );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "keyfilename", keyfilename );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "keyfilepass", Encr
        .encryptPasswordIfNotUsingVariables( keyfilepass ) );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "compression", compression );

      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "proxyType", proxyType );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "proxyHost", proxyHost );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "proxyPort", proxyPort );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "proxyUsername", proxyUsername );
      rep.saveJobEntryAttribute( id_job, getObjectId(), "proxyPassword", Encr
        .encryptPasswordIfNotUsingVariables( proxyPassword ) );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException(
        "Unable to save job entry of type 'SFTP' to the repository for id_job=" + id_job, dbe );
    }
  }

  /**
   * @return Returns the directory.
   */
  public String getScpDirectory() {
    return sftpDirectory;
  }

  /**
   * @param directory
   *          The directory to set.
   */
  public void setScpDirectory( String directory ) {
    this.sftpDirectory = directory;
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)