EC
FileNotFoundException
JavaERRORCommonI/O

File does not exist or cannot be opened

Quick Answer

Use Files.exists() before opening and prefer absolute paths to avoid working-directory surprises.

What this means

Thrown when an attempt to open a file fails because the file does not exist or the path is inaccessible.

Why it happens
  1. 1Relative path resolves to wrong directory at runtime
  2. 2File was deleted between existence check and open

Fix

NIO2 with explicit existence check

NIO2 with explicit existence check
Path p = Paths.get("/etc/config.json");
if (Files.exists(p)) {
    try (var r = Files.newBufferedReader(p)) { /* read */ }
}

Why this works

Absolute paths eliminate working-directory confusion.

Code examples
Triggerjava
new FileInputStream("missing.txt"); // FileNotFoundException
NIO2 safe openjava
try (var in = Files.newInputStream(path)) {
    // read safely
} catch (NoSuchFileException e) {
    System.err.println("Not found: " + path);
}
Create parent dirs firstjava
Files.createDirectories(path.getParent());
Files.writeString(path, content);
Sources
Official documentation ↗

Java SE Documentation

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