BerriAI/litellm · error · ValueError

User doesn't exist in db. 'user_id'={user_id}. Create user v

Error message

User doesn't exist in db. 'user_id'={user_id}. Create user via `/user/new` call. Got error - {e}

What it means

Raised by get_user_object when the underlying DB lookup for user_id throws (typically record not found); the failure is wrapped in a ValueError telling you the key references a user that is not in LiteLLM_UserTable, with instructions to create it via /user/new. The original exception text is appended for diagnosis.

Source

Thrown at litellm/proxy/auth/auth_checks.py:2215

        # save the user object to cache
        await user_api_key_cache.async_set_cache(
            key=user_id,
            value=_response,
            model_type=LiteLLM_UserTable,
            ttl=get_management_object_ttl(user_api_key_cache),
        )

        # save to db access time
        _update_last_db_access_time(
            key=db_access_time_key,
            value=response_dict,
            last_db_access_time=last_db_access_time,
        )

        return _response
    except Exception as e:  # if user not in db
        _log_budget_lookup_failure("user", e)
        raise ValueError(
            f"User doesn't exist in db. 'user_id'={user_id}. Create user via `/user/new` call. Got error - {e}"
        )


async def _cache_management_object(
    key: str,
    value: BaseModel | Mapping[str, object],
    user_api_key_cache: UserApiKeyCache,
    proxy_logging_obj: ProxyLogging | None,
    *,
    model_type: type[BaseModel],
):
    """
    Persist management objects via ``UserApiKeyCache`` (in-memory + optional Redis).

    ``UserApiKeyCache`` serializes with ``model_type`` so Redis and in-memory stay aligned.
    """
    await user_api_key_cache.async_set_cache(

View on GitHub (pinned to 77b7c6c40c)

Solutions

Create the missing user: POST /user/new with the same user_id
Or rebind the key to an existing user via /key/update
Audit for other orphaned keys pointing at deleted users

Example fix

# before: key generated for a user that was never created
curl -X POST /key/generate -d '{"user_id": "user-123"}'  # user-123 missing

# after: create the user first
curl -X POST /user/new -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-admin" -d '{"user_id": "user-123"}'
curl -X POST /key/generate -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-admin" -d '{"user_id": "user-123"}'

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# provisioning script: create user before key
import requests

def ensure_user(proxy_url, admin_key, user_id):
    resp = requests.post(
        f"{proxy_url}/user/new",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {admin_key}"},
        json={"user_id": user_id},
    )
    resp.raise_for_status()

ensure_user(proxy_url, admin_key, "user-123")
# then create the key bound to user-123

Try / catch

try:
    resp = client.chat.completions.create(**payload)
except Exception as e:
    if "User doesn't exist in db" in str(e):
        raise RuntimeError("orphaned key: user row missing - create via /user/new") from e
    raise

Prevention

Order provisioning: /user/new first, then /key/generate with user_id
When deleting users, revoke their keys in the same operation
After DB restores, run an audit that every key's user_id exists

When it happens

Trigger: A virtual key created with a user_id that has no corresponding user row (deleted via /user/delete, never created, or DB reset while keys survived); provisioning scripts that create keys before users.

Common situations: Users cleaned up during GDPR-style deletion leaving orphaned keys; database wiped/restored without the user table; typo'd user_id when generating keys via the API.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@77b7c6c40c (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d3f203b595a45b4d. Report an issue: GitHub.