ORA-39145: directory object parameter must be specified and non-null

If you, like me, tend to forget the varied syntax of the myriad of oracle commands that have been introduced over the years, you won't be surprised to get errors like that i am going to describe.

EXPDP is the data pump export introduced with Oracle version 10 and it comes with a somewhat funny syntax for what concerns the specification of the export folder, because, unless you are doing the export as a privileged user, a user presumably holding EXP_FULL_DATABASE role like the DBA, it expects that you specify the oracle directory object name along with the name of the file dump. See the linked document for additional possibilities.

This is why when i submitted the following command:

expdp schemas=yocoya dumpfile=testdp.dmp nologfile=Y

i got this verbose error message in return:

ORA-39001: invalid argument value
ORA-39000: bad dump file specification
ORA-39145: directory object parameter must be specified and non-null

Supposing you have defined a directory object called EXP_DIR, then the correct form of the command is the following:

expdp schemas=yocoya dumpfile=exp_dir:testdp.dmp nologfile=Y

or

expdp schemas=yocoya directory=exp_dir dumpfile=testdp.dmp nologfile=Y

As usual, the object name is case insensitive unless you have explicitly created it enclosed in double quotes. See also the related article about errors caused by the lack of read and write privileges on the destination folder or when an existing file is found.

See error translations for ORA-39145 and search additional resources.

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ORA-39145: il parametro oggetto directory deve essere specificato e diverso da null
ORA-39145: se debe especificar el parámetro de objeto de directorio y no ser nulo
ORA-39145: el paràmetre d''objecte de directori s''ha d''especificar i no pot ser nul
ORA-39145: le paramètre d'objet de répertoire doit être indiqué et il ne doit pas avoir la valeur Null
ORA-39145: Verzeichnisobjektparameter muss angegeben werden und darf nicht Null sein.
ORA-39145: η παράμετρος αντικειμένου καταλόγου πρέπει να προσδιοριστεί με τιμή διαφορετική της τιμής null
ORA-39145: katalogobjektparameter skal være angivet og ikke-NULL
ORA-39145: katalogobjektparametern måste anges och får inte vara null
ORA-39145: katalogobjektparameteren må være angitt og ikke være null
ORA-39145: hakemisto-objektiparametri on määritettävä, ja se ei saa olla tyhjä
ORA-39145: a könyvtárobjektum paramétert meg kell adni, nem lehet üres
ORA-39145: parametrul pentru obiectul director trebuie să fie specificat şi nenul
ORA-39145: een directoryobjectparameter moet worden opgegeven die niet NULL mag zijn
ORA-39145: o parâmetro de objeto de diretório deve ser especificado e não-nulo
ORA-39145: é necessário que o parâmetro do objecto do directório seja especificado e não seja nulo
ORA-39145: требуется задать параметр 'объект каталога' с определенным значением
ORA-39145: parametr objektu adresáře musí být zadán a nesmí být null
ORA-39145: parameter objektu adresára musí byť zadaný a nesmie mať hodnotu null
ORA-39145: parametr obiektu-katalogu musi być podany i nie może mieć wartości Null
ORA-39145: dizin nesnesi parametresi belirtilmeli ve null olmamalıdır
ORA-39145: directory object parameter must be specified and non-null

See message translations for ORA-39145 and search additional resources