BerriAI/litellm · error · HTTPException

Database not connected

Error message

Database not connected

What it means

Raised by the GET endpoint for email event settings in LiteLLM Enterprise. The handler imports prisma_client from litellm.proxy.proxy_server and, when it is None (no Prisma database was initialized at proxy startup), returns HTTP 500 with 'Database not connected'. Email event settings are persisted in the database, so the endpoint cannot function without one.

Source

Thrown at enterprise/litellm_enterprise/enterprise_callbacks/send_emails/endpoints.py:124

        )


@router.get(
    "/email/event_settings",
    response_model=EmailEventSettingsResponse,
    tags=["email management"],
    dependencies=[Depends(user_api_key_auth)],
)
async def get_email_event_settings(
    user_api_key_dict: UserAPIKeyAuth = Depends(user_api_key_auth),
):
    """
    Get all email event settings
    """
    from litellm.proxy.proxy_server import prisma_client

    if prisma_client is None:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail="Database not connected")

    try:
        # Get existing settings
        settings_dict = await _get_email_settings(prisma_client)

        # Create a response with all events (enabled or disabled)
        response_settings = []
        for event in EmailEvent:
            enabled = settings_dict.get(event.value, False)
            response_settings.append(EmailEventSettings(event=event, enabled=enabled))

        return EmailEventSettingsResponse(settings=response_settings)
    except Exception as e:
        verbose_proxy_logger.exception(f"Error getting email settings: {str(e)}")
        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))


@router.patch(

View on GitHub (pinned to 6c2dcb801b)

Solutions

1. Set DATABASE_URL (or database_url in the proxy config YAML) to a valid PostgreSQL connection string and restart the proxy so Prisma connects
2. Verify the DB is up: check /health/liveliness or /health/readiness and prisma migration status before calling the endpoint
3. If you do not need email event settings, avoid the email management endpoints in DB-less deployments

Example fix

# before (config.yaml with no database)
general_settings:
  master_key: sk-123

# after
 general_settings:
  master_key: sk-123
litellm_settings:
  database_url: postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/litellm

import httpx
resp = httpx.get(f'{PROXY_URL}/health/readiness', headers=headers)
if resp.status_code != 200:
    raise RuntimeError('Proxy/DB not ready; skip email settings call')

try:
    r = httpx.get(f'{PROXY_URL}/email/settings-endpoint', headers=headers)
    r.raise_for_status()
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
    if e.response.status_code == 500 and 'Database not connected' in e.response.text:
        # DB missing on proxy: fix config, do not retry
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling GET on the email event settings endpoint (tagged 'email management', requires user_api_key_auth) on a proxy instance started without DATABASE_URL / a valid Prisma connection. Any deployment where prisma_client never got set (e.g. config missing database_url) hits this on every call.

Common situations: Running the proxy in DB-less mode (config-only, no virtual keys) but hitting admin/UI email settings endpoints; DATABASE_URL points at an unreachable PostgreSQL so Prisma init failed silently at startup; testing locally without a database.

Related errors

• DB not connected. This endpoint needs a database; set DATABA
• Error saving email settings to general_settings: {str(e)}
• DB not connected. This endpoint needs a database; set DATABA
• Setting tag based guardrail modes is only available in litel
• You must be a LiteLLM Enterprise user to use this feature. I

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@6c2dcb801b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e835c6951c3d9423. Report an issue: GitHub.