Harvest Error FAQ -- Overview

Harvester Guide Pages

Error Type	Page
Getting Started	What is Harvesting? | Understanding Harvest Errors
Quick Lookup	FAQ Overview | Quick Reference
Date & Time	Date Format Errors (modified, issued)
Update Frequency	accrualPeriodicity Errors
License	License Field Errors
Contact Info	Email Format Errors (contactPoint.hasEmail)
Keywords/Tags	Missing Keywords | Keyword Format
Missing Fields	Missing Required Fields (modified, keyword, description)
File Structure	Transformation Errors (ISO 19115, XML, file problems)
Other Issues	Duplicates, Sync Failures, Unrecognized Records

About this FAQ

This FAQ documents the most frequently encountered errors in harvest.data.gov jobs. It is based on analysis of 1,470 errors across 81 active harvest sources. Each error type has its own page with a plain-language explanation of the cause and step-by-step fix instructions. Use the summary below to identify your error type and go to the right page.

If you are not sure what your error means or where to start, see Understanding your harvest error notification first. That page walks through how to read an error message from the beginning.

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Error types at a glance

Harvest errors fall into two main categories.

Validation errors occur when a metadata field value does not conform to the DCAT-US schema. The record can be read, but a specific field value is wrong or missing. These make up about 66% of all errors.

Transformation errors occur before validation. The record cannot be read or converted at all. These make up about 32% of all errors.

The remaining errors are less common types covered on the other errors page.

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Validation errors – find your field

If your error message contains $.fieldname near the start, it is a validation error. Find the field name below.

• modified or issued – date value is malformed: date format errors

• accrualPeriodicity – plain English instead of a code: accrualPeriodicity errors

• license – free text instead of a URL: license errors

• contactPoint.hasEmail – email address is malformed: email format errors

• keyword – field is present but wrong format: keyword format errors

If your error message says 'fieldname' is a required property, the field is missing entirely:

• Missing modified or keyword: missing required fields

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Transformation errors

If your error message starts with record failed to transform, it is a transformation error. See transformation errors.

Common subtypes:

• element 'linkage' is missing – ISO 19115-2 record is missing a required element

• ISO 19115-2 file did not contain a gmi:MI_Metadata element – wrong schema type configured

• XML file is not well formed – the metadata file is corrupted or invalid XML

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Other errors

• Duplicate identifier – same dataset identifier exists in two sources

• ExternalRecordToClass – record structure is unrecognized

• SynchronizeException – transient sync failure, usually resolved by re-running the job

See other errors for details on all three.