NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · SQLException

Could not create database:

Error message

Could not create database: 

What it means

Thrown by PostgresFunctionDatabase.createDatabase() wrapping any SQLException during the multi-step database creation: creating the lshvector extension, the vectable and its GIN index, the vector stored functions, GRANT statements, weight loading, or setting synchronous_commit. The original SQLException message is appended for diagnostics.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/client/PostgresFunctionDatabase.java:239

				st.executeUpdate("GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA PUBLIC TO PUBLIC");
				st.executeUpdate("GRANT USAGE ON ALL SEQUENCES IN SCHEMA PUBLIC TO PUBLIC");

				serverLoadWeights(db);

				// Tell server to do asynchronous commits. This speeds up large
				// ingests with a (slight) danger of
				// losing the most recent commits if the server crashes (NOTE:
				// database integrity should still be recoverable)
				if (asynchronous) {
					st.executeUpdate("SET SESSION synchronous_commit TO OFF");
				}
				else {
					st.executeUpdate("SET SESSION synchronous_commit to ON");
				}
			}
		}
		catch (final SQLException err) {
			throw new SQLException("Could not create database: " + err.getMessage());
		}
	}

	@Override
	protected void dropDatabase() throws SQLException {

		if (getStatus() == Status.Busy || postgresDs.getActiveConnections() != 0) {
			throw new SQLException("database in use");
		}

		BSimServerInfo serverInfo = postgresDs.getServerInfo();
		BSimServerInfo defaultServerInfo =
			new BSimServerInfo(DBType.postgres, serverInfo.getUserInfo(),
				serverInfo.getServerName(), serverInfo.getPort(), DEFAULT_DATABASE_NAME);

		BSimPostgresDataSource defaultDs =
			BSimPostgresDBConnectionManager.getDataSource(defaultServerInfo);
		if (getStatus() == Status.Ready) {

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Install the BSim PostgreSQL extension (lshvector) on the target server before calling createDatabase.
2. Ensure the connecting user has CREATEDB and CREATE EXTENSION privileges.
3. Inspect the wrapped SQLException message to identify the exact failing SQL statement.
4. If a partial create left orphaned tables, manually drop them or the database before retrying.

Example fix

// before
db.createDatabase(config); // throws "Could not create database: extension \"lshvector\" does not exist"

// after — install extension on the server first
// (run on the PostgreSQL host, once)
//   CREATE EXTENSION lshvector;
// then retry
db.createDatabase(config);

// Verify the lshvector extension is installed before createDatabase
try (Connection c = dataSource.getConnection();
     Statement st = c.createStatement();
     ResultSet rs = st.executeQuery(
         "SELECT 1 FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'lshvector'")) {
    if (!rs.next()) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("lshvector extension not installed on server");
    }
}

try {
    db.createDatabase(config);
} catch (SQLException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Could not create database")) {
        // inspect root cause; install extension, fix privileges, clean partial tables
        throw e;
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling createDatabase(config) on a PostgresFunctionDatabase when any SQL step fails — most commonly the CREATE EXTENSION lshvector fails because the extension is not installed on the PostgreSQL server, or table/index creation fails due to insufficient privileges.

Common situations: The PostgreSQL server does not have the BSim lshvector extension installed. The connecting user lacks CREATEDB or CREATE EXTENSION privileges. A table or index name already exists from a prior partial create. PostgreSQL version incompatibility with the extension.

Related errors

• database in use
• attempted to drop non-BSim database
• Did not get vector id after insertion
• Did not get result code after deletion
• Bad vectable rowid

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ad83f77415e9fece. Report an issue: GitHub.