pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ValidationFailed.Message (validation failure details for…

Error message

ValidationFailed.Message (validation failure details for subject, one per line)

What it means

RepositoryImporter.validateImportedElement aggregates all ImportValidationFeedback errors for an imported element into a multi-line message and throws this KettleException when validation rules fail. It is the importer's gate that rejects transformations/jobs/databases that do not conform to the configured import rules (name conflicts, missing dependencies, rule violations).

Solutions

Read the per-line feedback in the message — each '- ' line is one concrete validation failure; fix the first listed issue and re-run.
Adjust the import rules (ImportRuleSet) passed to the importer to permit the conflicting element, or enable the overwrite/rename option.
Rename or delete conflicting elements in the target repository before importing.
Set a validation listener / RulesController to skip failed elements instead of aborting the whole import.

Example fix

// before: import fails on any validation rule violation
importer.validateImportedElement(transMeta, directory);

// after: pre-check name conflicts and rename before import
if (rep.exists(transMeta.getName(), directory)) {
  transMeta.setName(transMeta.getName() + "-imported");
}
importer.validateImportedElement(transMeta, directory);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// pre-check name conflicts in target folder
boolean conflicts = rep.exists(element.getName(), directory);

Try / catch

try {
  importer.validateImportedElement(element, directory);
} catch (KettleException e) {
  // message has one ' - ' line per failed rule
  List<String> failures = Arrays.stream(e.getMessage().split("\n"))
      .filter(l -> l.startsWith(" - ")).collect(Collectors.toList());
  log.error("Validation failures: " + failures);
}

Prevention

Review the configured ImportRuleSet before bulk imports
Pre-check for name collisions in the target directory and rename ahead
Treat each ' - ' feedback line as a separate fixable issue
Run a dry-run import into a test repository first

When it happens

Trigger: Calling loadSharedObjects, importTransformation, or importJob when an imported element violates an active ImportRuleInterface rule set — e.g. no rules executed errors, element name already exists in target folder, or a validation rule like 'transformation must have a description' fails.

Common situations: Bulk import where target repository already contains elements with the same names; importing shared objects (connections, etc.) that conflict with existing ones; importing without the validation rule set the original export assumed.

Understand the failure class

Background: Schema validation failed / invalid input schema: payload rejected because its shape doesn't match the expected schema — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6fed6f0697c5332b. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/repository/RepositoryImporter.java:319

   * @param importRules
   *          import rules to validate against.
   * @param subject
   * @throws KettleException
   */
  public static void validateImportedElement( ImportRules importRules, Object subject ) throws KettleException {
    List<ImportValidationFeedback> feedback = importRules.verifyRules( subject );
    List<ImportValidationFeedback> errors = ImportValidationFeedback.getErrors( feedback );
    if ( !errors.isEmpty() ) {
      StringBuilder message =
          new StringBuilder( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "RepositoryImporter.ValidationFailed.Message", subject
              .toString() ) );
      message.append( Const.CR );
      for ( ImportValidationFeedback error : errors ) {
        message.append( " - " );
        message.append( error.toString() );
        message.append( Const.CR );
      }
      throw new KettleException( message.toString() );
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void addLog( String line ) {
    log.logBasic( line );
  }

  @Override
  public void setLabel( String labelText ) {
    log.logBasic( labelText );
  }

  @Override
  public boolean transOverwritePrompt( TransMeta transMeta ) {
    return overwrite;
  }

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