[Condor-users] Error "Cannot access initial working directory": resolved

[Larry Clapp <larry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello, list,

I am a new Condor user.  I just spent a couple hours resolving a problem involving the error

Cannot access initial working directory /home/condor/execute/dir_21768: No such file or directory
Code 14 Subcode 2

and I thought I'd record my resolution here for posterity.

Basically when you submit a job, Condor notes the current directory, and tries to cd to that directory when the job runs.  A problem arises when you submit a Condor job from another Condor job.

Backing up a bit: when Condor runs a job, it cds to the initial directory (remembered from when you submitted it), creates a new directory for the job, cds to that, runs the job, and then removes the directory.

So the above problem occurs because the submitter exits and Condor removes its temporary current directory, and when the child job starts up that initial directory no longer exists.

The solution is to set "initialdir" in the submit file for both jobs to some comparatively static/long lived directory.  This overrides the remembered current directory from when the job was submitted.

This is true so far as I know.  I welcome correction from those more experienced in Condor than I.

-- Larry Clapp

p.s.  I'm using Google Mail so my apologies if this is in MIME format.