pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotFile

Error message

ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotFile

What it means

Source-file validation in ZipFile.processRow: the configured source file exists but is not a regular file (it is a directory or special file), so it cannot be zipped. This fires after the existence check passed but the type check failed.

Solutions

  1. Point the source filename field at individual files, not the containing directory.
  2. Use a 'Get File Names' step with a wildcard filter to enumerate files, then feed each into ZipFile.
  3. Fix dynamic filename construction so the file name (not just the folder) is included.
  4. Add a validation step that checks the path is a file before zipping.

Example fix

// before
sourceFilename = "/data/exports";            // directory
// after
sourceFilename = "/data/exports/report.csv"; // actual file
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Before zipping, ensure the path is a regular file
File f = new File(sourceFilename);
if (f.exists() && f.isDirectory()) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException("ZipFile source must be a file, not a directory: " + sourceFilename);
}

Try / catch

try {
  transformation.execute();
} catch (KettleException e) {
  if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().contains("SourceFileNotFile")) {
    log.error("ZipFile source path is a directory - point to individual files", e);
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: data.sourceFile.exists() is true but data.sourceFile.getType() != FileType.FILE at ZipFile.java:163, i.e., the path resolves to a directory.

Common situations: User pointed the source filename field at a directory expecting the step to zip the whole folder; a glob or prefix match produced a directory path; dynamic filename construction lost the file extension/name portion.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a1ec61fcff8142fa. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/zipfile/ZipFile.java:163

        log.logError( toString(), BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileEmpty" ) );
        throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileEmpty" ) );
      }
      data.sourceFile = KettleVFS.getInstance( getTransMeta().getBowl() )
        .getFileObject( sourceFilename, this );

      // Check sourcefile
      boolean skip = false;
      if ( !data.sourceFile.exists() ) {
        log
          .logError( toString(), BaseMessages
            .getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotExist", sourceFilename ) );
        throw new KettleException( BaseMessages
          .getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotExist", sourceFilename ) );
      } else {
        if ( data.sourceFile.getType() != FileType.FILE ) {
          log.logError( toString(), BaseMessages
            .getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotFile", sourceFilename ) );
          throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString(
            PKG, "ZipFile.Error.SourceFileNotFile", sourceFilename ) );
        }
      }

      // get basefolder
      if ( data.indexOfBaseFolder > -1 ) {
        data.baseFolder = getInputRowMeta().getString( r, data.indexOfBaseFolder );
      }

      // get destination folder
      String moveToFolder = null;
      if ( data.indexOfMoveToFolder > -1 ) {
        moveToFolder = getInputRowMeta().getString( r, data.indexOfMoveToFolder );
        if ( Utils.isEmpty( moveToFolder ) ) {
          throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "ZipFile.Error.EmptyMoveToFolder" ) );
        }
      }

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)