How to fix java.net.SocketException: Broken pipe?

This is caused by:

• most usually, writing to a connection when the other end has already closed it;
• less usually, the peer closing the connection without reading all the data that is already pending at his end.

So in both cases you have a poorly defined or implemented application protocol.

There is a third reason which I will not document here but which involves the peer taking deliberate action to reset rather than properly close the connection.

I'd the same problem while I was developing a simple Java application that listens on a specific TCP. Usually, I had no problem, but when I run some stress test I noticed that some connection broke with error socket write exception.

After Investigation I found a solution that solves my problem. I know this question is quite old, but I prefer to share my solution, someone can find it useful.

The problem was on ServerSocket creation. I read from Javadoc there is a default limit of 50 pending sockets. If you try opening another connection, these will be refused. The solution consist simply in change this default configuration at server side. In the following case, I create a Socket server that listen at TCP port 10_000 and accept max 200 pending sockets.

new Thread(() -> {
      try (ServerSocket serverSocket = new ServerSocket(10_000, 200)) {
        logger.info("Server starts listening on TCP port {}", port);

        while (true) {
          try {
            ClientHandler clientHandler = clientHandlerProvider.getObject(serverSocket.accept(), this);
            executor.execute(clientHandler::start);
          } catch (Exception e) {
            logger.error(e.getMessage());
          }
        }

      } catch (IOException | SecurityException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
        logger.error("Could not open server on TCP port {}. Reason: {}", port, e.getMessage());
      }
    }).start();

From Javadoc of ServerSocket:

The maximum queue length for incoming connection indications (a request to connect) is set to the backlog parameter. If a connection indication arrives when the queue is full, the connection is refused.

The above answers illustrate the reason for this java.net.SocketException: Broken pipe: the other end closed the connection. I would like to share experience what happened when I encountered it:

1. in a client's request, the Content-Type header is mistakenly set larger than request body actually is (in fact there was no body at all)
2. the bottom service in tomcat socket was waiting for that sized body data (http is on TCP which ensures delivery by encapsulating and ...)
3. when 60 seconds expired, tomcat throws time out exception: Servlet.service() for servlet [dispatcherServlet] in context with path [] threw exception java.net.SocketTimeoutException: null
4. client receives a response with status code 500 because of the timeout exception.
5. client close connection (because it receives response).
6. tomcat throws java.net.SocketException: Broken pipe because client closed it.

Sometimes, tomcat does not throw broken pip exception, because timeout exception close the connection, why such a difference is confusing me too.

I noticed I was using the incorrect HTTP request url while making it, later which i changed that it resolved my problem. my upload url was : http://192.168.0.31:5000/uploader while i was using http://192.168.0.31:5000. that was a get call. and got a java.net.SocketException: Broken pipe? exception.

That was my reason. might lead you to check one more point when this issue

  public void postRequest()  {


        Security.insertProviderAt(Conscrypt.newProvider(), 1);

        System.out.println("mediafilename-->>" + mediaFileName);
        String[] dirarray = mediaFileName.split("/");
        String file_name = dirarray[6];
        //Thread.sleep(10000);

        RequestBody requestBody = new MultipartBody.Builder()
                    .setType(MultipartBody.FORM)
                    .addFormDataPart("file",file_name, RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("video/mp4"), new File(mediaFileName))).build();
        OkHttpClient okHttpClient = new OkHttpClient();
//        ExecutorService executor = newFixedThreadPool(20);
//        Request request = new Request.Builder().post(requestBody).url("https://192.168.0.31:5000/uploader").build();
        Request request = new Request.Builder().url("http://192.168.0.31:5000/uploader").post(requestBody).build();
//        Request request = new Request.Builder().url("http://192.168.0.31:5000").build();
        okHttpClient.newCall(request).enqueue(new Callback() {
            @Override
            public void onFailure(@NotNull Call call, @NotNull IOException e) {

//

                call.cancel();

                runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
                    @Override
                    public void run() {
                        Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),"Something went wrong:" + " ", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();

                    }
                });
                e.printStackTrace();

            }

            @Override
            public void onResponse(@NotNull Call call, @NotNull Response response) throws IOException {


                runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
                    @Override
                    public void run() {

                        try {
                            System.out.println(response.body().string());
                        } catch (IOException e) {
                            e.printStackTrace();
                        }
                    }
                });


                System.out.println("Response ; " + response.body().toString());
//                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), response.body().toString(),Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
                System.out.println(response);

            }
        });