apache/cassandra · error · InvalidRequestException

Static column '%s' cannot be part of the PRIMARY KEY

Error message

Static column '%s' cannot be part of the PRIMARY KEY

What it means

Thrown from CreateTableStatement's builder while validating the PRIMARY KEY clause when one of the referenced columns was declared STATIC. Static columns hold a single value per partition and therefore cannot contribute to partition or clustering identity, so mixing a static column into the PRIMARY KEY is rejected.

Source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cql3/statements/schema/CreateTableStatement.java:318

            AbstractType<?> type = properties.type;
            if (type.isMultiCell())
            {
                CQL3Type cqlType = properties.cqlType;
                if (type.isCollection())
                    throw ire("Invalid non-frozen collection type %s for PRIMARY KEY column '%s'", cqlType, column);
                else
                    throw ire("Invalid non-frozen user-defined type %s for PRIMARY KEY column '%s'", cqlType, column);
            }

            if (type.isCounter())
                throw ire("counter type is not supported for PRIMARY KEY column '%s'", column);

            if (type.referencesDuration())
                throw ire("duration type is not supported for PRIMARY KEY column '%s'", column);

            if (staticColumns.contains(column))
                throw ire("Static column '%s' cannot be part of the PRIMARY KEY", column);
        });

        List<ColumnProperties> partitionKeyColumnProperties = new ArrayList<>();
        List<ColumnProperties> clusteringColumnProperties = new ArrayList<>();

        partitionKeyColumns.forEach(column ->
        {
            ColumnProperties columnProperties = columns.remove(column);
            partitionKeyColumnProperties.add(columnProperties);
        });

        clusteringColumns.forEach(column ->
        {
            ColumnProperties columnProperties = columns.remove(column);
            boolean reverse = !clusteringOrder.getOrDefault(column, true);
            clusteringColumnProperties.add(reverse ? columnProperties.withReversedType() : columnProperties);
        });

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)

Solutions

1. Remove the STATIC keyword from the column used in the PRIMARY KEY
2. Remove the column from the PRIMARY KEY if it is genuinely intended to be partition-static
3. Introduce a separate static column for partition-level data

Example fix

// before
CREATE TABLE t (k int, s int STATIC, PRIMARY KEY (k, s));
// after
CREATE TABLE t (k int, s int STATIC, PRIMARY KEY (k));

if (keyColumns.stream().anyMatch(c -> staticColumns.contains(c))) throw new IllegalArgumentException("static columns cannot be part of PRIMARY KEY");

try { session.execute(ddl); } catch (InvalidRequestException e) { if (e.getMessage().contains("Static column") && e.getMessage().contains("PRIMARY KEY")) { /* drop STATIC from the key column or remove it from the key */ } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: `CREATE TABLE t (k int, s int STATIC, v int, PRIMARY KEY (k, s))` — a STATIC column listed in partition or clustering columns.

Common situations: Misunderstanding the STATIC keyword; generated DDL accidentally adding static flags to key columns; converting regular columns to STATIC after they were already keys.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• %s constraint can not be specified on a %s key column '%s'
• Static columns are only useful (and thus allowed) if the tab
• Cannot re-add previously dropped column '%s' of kind %s, inc
• Cannot drop PRIMARY KEY column %s
• Unknown column '%s' referenced in PRIMARY KEY for table '%s'

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d98843a4841c3ff9. Report an issue: GitHub.