How to create file on server with file path relative to application?

Question

In my Vaadin spring boot application, I need to upload files to the server and save them there.

Uploading files locally to my desktop works fine, But I want to deploy the application to a server, so I want to save the uploaded files in a directory relative to the base path of my application.

I created a folder called "input_files" as a direct child of the root application folder (applicationName -> input_files). When a file is uploaded, the content of the file is supposed to be written to a newly created file inside this "input_files" folder.

Code:

class FileReceiver implements Upload.Receiver, Upload.SucceededListener {
  private File file;

  public OutputStream receiveUpload(String filename, String mimeType) {
    String basePath = VaadinService.getCurrent().getBaseDirectory().getAbsolutePath();                
    FileOutputStream fileOutputStream;

    try {
      //this line would work:
      //file = new File("/Users/username/Desktop/input_files/" + filename);          

      //this line does not work:
      file = new File(basePath + "/input_files/" + filename);


      fileOutputStream = new FileOutputStream(file);
      labelFilename.setCaption(filename);
    }
    catch (final java.io.FileNotFoundException e) {
      new Notification("Could not open file", e.getMessage(), Notification.Type.ERROR_MESSAGE).show(Page.getCurrent());
      return null;
    }
    return fileOutputStream;
  }

  public void uploadSucceeded(Upload.SucceededEvent event) {

  }
};

The important line of code is this:

file = new File(basePathOfApplication + "/input_files/" + filename);

This line does not work. No file is created inside the input_files folder.

********************************UPDATE**********************************

Error message displayed on the screen:

Error message in the console:

com.vaadin.server.UploadException: Upload failed
    at com.vaadin.server.communication.FileUploadHandler.streamToReceiver(FileUploadHandler.java:631) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at com.vaadin.server.communication.FileUploadHandler.handleFileUploadValidationAndData(FileUploadHandler.java:460) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at com.vaadin.server.communication.FileUploadHandler.doHandleSimpleMultipartFileUpload(FileUploadHandler.java:413) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at com.vaadin.server.communication.FileUploadHandler.handleRequest(FileUploadHandler.java:290) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at com.vaadin.server.VaadinService.handleRequest(VaadinService.java:1568) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at com.vaadin.server.VaadinServlet.service(VaadinServlet.java:381) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:742) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:231) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.tomcat.websocket.server.WsFilter.doFilter(WsFilter.java:52) [tomcat-embed-websocket-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.RequestContextFilter.doFilterInternal(RequestContextFilter.java:99) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.HttpPutFormContentFilter.doFilterInternal(HttpPutFormContentFilter.java:105) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.HiddenHttpMethodFilter.doFilterInternal(HiddenHttpMethodFilter.java:81) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.CharacterEncodingFilter.doFilterInternal(CharacterEncodingFilter.java:197) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) [spring-web-4.3.10.RELEASE.jar:4.3.10.RELEASE]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:166) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:198) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:96) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.authenticator.AuthenticatorBase.invoke(AuthenticatorBase.java:478) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:140) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:80) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:87) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:342) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.service(Http11Processor.java:799) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.coyote.AbstractProcessorLight.process(AbstractProcessorLight.java:66) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol$ConnectionHandler.process(AbstractProtocol.java:868) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.doRun(NioEndpoint.java:1455) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.SocketProcessorBase.run(SocketProcessorBase.java:49) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142) [na:1.8.0_111]
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617) [na:1.8.0_111]
    at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:61) [tomcat-embed-core-8.5.16.jar:8.5.16]
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745) [na:1.8.0_111]
Caused by: com.vaadin.server.NoOutputStreamException: null
    at com.vaadin.server.communication.FileUploadHandler.streamToReceiver(FileUploadHandler.java:559) [vaadin-server-8.1.0.jar:8.1.0]
    ... 43 common frames omitted

Answer 1

Make sure that your application can create files in the directory /private/var/.... Most probably, it can not. I don't know much about Vaadin, but the folder itself may be a "read-only" / "temporary" directory to store unpacked classes and data required for the application. This directory may not be intended to store any uploads and dynamic content.

The documentation states:

Returns the context base directory. Typically an application is deployed in a such way that is has an application directory. For web applications this directory is the root directory of the web applications. In some cases applications might not have an application directory (for example web applications running inside a war).

So, it may be even null, which will break you code too.

IMHO, it's better to use another, dedicated directory for uploads that can be specified via application config. Or use a well-know location, like /tmp.

Also, make sure to create parent directories first with file.getParentFile().mkdirs().

Answer 2

You shouldn't save file in Vaadin service, according to Vaadin forum,

You should save files in app.getContext().getBaseDirectory()

• Note: where app is com.vaadin.Application

You can check a Sample which check also property in case it won't work:

 // cannot access example directory, possible security issue with
// Application Server or Servlet Container
// Try to read sample directory from web.xml parameter
if (application.getProperty("sampleDirectory") != null) {
                file = new File(application.getProperty("sampleDirectory"));
                if ((file != null) && (file.canRead())
                        && (file.getAbsolutePath() != null)) {
                    // Success using property
                    return file;
                }

Answer 3

Your folder don't have permission, try to give it full permission like /tmp has

drwxrwxrwt  15 root root 4.0K Nov  4 20:23 tmp

use sudo chmod 777 /opt/myapp/input_files/

after that try to execute your code.

Note: i have used /opt/ use can use any other folder too but remember to give permission to it.