pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

ZipFile.ErrorCreatingZip

Error message

ZipFile.ErrorCreatingZip

What it means

The ZipFile step wraps any Exception raised while streaming a source file into the zip output as this KettleException, from the read/write loop in zipFile(). It indicates the zip archive could not be created or completed — usually an unreadable source file, a missing parent directory for the target zip, or an I/O failure mid-write.

Solutions

1. Read the chained cause 'e' — it names the actual I/O problem (FileNotFoundException, disk full, etc.).
2. Verify the output zip's parent directory exists and is writable before running the step.
3. Verify all source files listed are readable at the moment the step runs (permissions, not locked/deleted).
4. Check free disk space on the volume holding the target zip.
5. Avoid concurrent steps writing to the same zip file.

Example fix

// before: output dir does not exist -> out.write fails
String zipFile = "/data/out/archive.zip";
// after: ensure parent dir first
Files.createDirectories(Paths.get("/data/out"));
String zipFile = "/data/out/archive.zip";

File out = new File(zipPath);
if (!out.getParentFile().canWrite()) throw new IllegalStateException("Cannot write to " + out.getParent());
if (!new File(sourcePath).canRead()) throw new IllegalStateException("Cannot read source " + sourcePath);

try {
    runTransformation(zipFileTrans);
} catch (KettleException e) {
    Throwable cause = e.getCause(); // inspect real I/O cause
    log.error("Zip creation failed: {}", cause != null ? cause.getMessage() : e.getMessage(), e);
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: zipFile() throws while in.read fails (source file unreadable/deleted), out.write fails (disk full, target zip path in non-existent directory, permissions), or the ZipOutputStream itself errors during create/close.

Common situations: Source file removed by another process between listing and zipping; output folder deleted at runtime; insufficient disk space; permission denied on the target zip path; concurrent runs writing the same zip file.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to write file", "Could not save figure", "Error saving remote file" — file write failed: causes and fixes across languages and libraries — this error's family across 38 libraries.

Related errors

• ' ' is not a directory
• Error opening new file
• ex.getMessage()
• GPG.ErrorCreatingTempFile
• GPG.ErrorWritingTempFile

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cf11e27cf1ec4e04. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/zipfile/ZipFile.java:435

        // Get full filename
        relativeName = KettleVFS.getFilename( data.sourceFile );

        if ( data.baseFolder != null ) {
          // Remove base folder
          data.baseFolder += Const.FILE_SEPARATOR;
          relativeName = relativeName.replace( data.baseFolder, "" );
        }
      }
      if ( !fileSet.contains( relativeName ) ) {
        out.putNextEntry( new ZipEntry( relativeName ) );

        int len;
        while ( ( len = in.read( buffer ) ) > 0 ) {
          out.write( buffer, 0, len );
        }
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      throw new KettleException( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "ZipFile.ErrorCreatingZip" ), e );
    } finally {
      try {
        if ( in != null ) {
          // Close the current file input stream
          in.close();
        }
        if ( out != null ) {
          // Close the ZipOutPutStream
          out.flush();
          out.closeEntry();
          out.close();
        }
        if ( buff != null ) {
          buff.close();
        }
        if ( dest != null ) {
          dest.close();
        }

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