What causes "attempted to drop non-BSim database" in NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra?

Verify the target file is actually a BSim H2 database by checking for the expected tables.

NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · SQLException

attempted to drop non-BSim database

Error message

attempted to drop non-BSim database

What it means

Thrown as an SQLException by H2FileFunctionDatabase.dropDatabase() when the database file exists and is connectable, but its schema does not contain the expected BSim tables (keyvaluetable, desctable, weighttable). This is a safety guard that prevents dropping a non-BSim H2 file that happens to live at the same path.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/file/H2FileFunctionDatabase.java:152

			// ignore request and return
			return;
		}

		// Connect to database and examine schema
		HashSet<String> tableNames = new HashSet<>();
		try (Connection c = initConnection(); Statement st = c.createStatement()) {
			try (ResultSet rs = st.executeQuery(
				"SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = 'public' ORDER BY table_name")) {
				while (rs.next()) {
					tableNames.add(rs.getString(1));
				}
			}
		}

		// Spot check for a few BSim table names that always exist
		if (!tableNames.contains("keyvaluetable") || !tableNames.contains("desctable") ||
			!tableNames.contains("weighttable")) {
			throw new SQLException("attempted to drop non-BSim database");
		}

		fileDs.dispose(); // disconnect before deleting database

		BSimServerInfo serverInfo = fileDs.getServerInfo();
		if (!fileDs.delete()) {
			throw new SQLException("failed to delete H2-file database: " + serverInfo);
		}

		Msg.info(this, "Deleted BSim H2-file database: " + serverInfo);

	}

	/**
	 * Create vector map which maps vector ID to {@link VectorStoreEntry}
	 * @return vector map
	 * @throws SQLException if error occurs while reading map data
	 */

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

Verify the target file is actually a BSim H2 database by checking for the expected tables.
If the database is a partial/failed creation, manually delete the file rather than using dropDatabase().
Ensure the correct BSim URL is being used for the drop operation.
If the file is genuinely not a BSim database, do not attempt to drop it via BSim APIs.

Example fix

// before
db.dropDatabase(); // throws if tables missing

// after
if (!isBsimDatabase(fileDs)) {
    // manually clean up non-BSim or partial file
    Files.deleteIfExists(dbPath);
} else {
    db.dropDatabase();
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Verify the H2 file is a BSim database before dropping
Set<String> bsimTables = Set.of("keyvaluetable", "desctable", "weighttable");
try (Connection c = fileDs.getConnection(); Statement st = c.createStatement();
        ResultSet rs = st.executeQuery(
            "SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema='public'")) {
    Set<String> found = new HashSet<>();
    while (rs.next()) found.add(rs.getString(1));
    if (!found.containsAll(bsimTables)) {
        throw new IllegalStateException(
            "Not a BSim database; missing tables: " + Sets.difference(bsimTables, found));
    }
}

Try / catch

try {
    database.dropDatabase();
} catch (SQLException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().equals("attempted to drop non-BSim database")) {
        // This is not a BSim DB; if it's a stale partial, delete manually
        if (forceDeleteNonBsim) {
            Files.deleteIfExists(dbPath);
        } else {
            showErrorDialog("Not a BSim Database",
                "The file is not a valid BSim database and will not be dropped.");
        }
    } else {
        throw e;
    }
}

Prevention

Validate the H2 file contains BSim tables before calling dropDatabase().
Use distinct file paths/names for BSim databases to avoid collisions with other H2 files.
If a previous createDatabase failed partially, clean up the file manually rather than via dropDatabase().
Never point BSim operations at arbitrary H2 files.

When it happens

Trigger: Occurs when the information_schema query returns table names but the three mandatory BSim tables are absent. This happens when: the H2 file at the path is a different application's database, a partially-created BSim database that failed before all tables were written, or a file that was manually modified or replaced.

Common situations: Pointing a BSim drop command at an arbitrary H2 file. A previous createDatabase call failed partway through, leaving an incomplete schema. The file path collides with another tool's H2 database.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f8248e05f319f2a8. Report an issue: GitHub.