apache/cassandra · error · InvalidRequestException

Table '%s.%s' doesn't exist

Error message

Table '%s.%s' doesn't exist

What it means

A schema-description statement looked up a table that does not exist in the given keyspace. validateAndGetTable first validates the keyspace, then fails on a null table lookup; it additionally rejects non-regular tables (views/index tables) for the same operation.

Source

Thrown at src/java/org/apache/cassandra/cql3/statements/schema/SchemaDescriptionStatement.java:88

    }

    protected KeyspaceMetadata validateAndGetKeyspace(Keyspaces schema)
    {
        KeyspaceMetadata keyspace = schema.getNullable(keyspaceName);

        if (null == keyspace)
            throw ire("Keyspace '%s' doesn't exist", keyspaceName);

        return keyspace;
    }

    protected TableMetadata validateAndGetTable(Keyspaces schema, String tableName)
    {
        KeyspaceMetadata keyspaceMetadata = validateAndGetKeyspace(schema);

        TableMetadata tableMetadata = keyspaceMetadata.getTableOrViewNullable(tableName);
        if (null == tableMetadata)
            throw ire("Table '%s.%s' doesn't exist", keyspaceName, tableName);

        if (tableMetadata.kind != REGULAR)
            throw ire("Cannot set %s on non-regular table '%s.%s'",descriptionType.value, keyspaceName, tableName);

        return tableMetadata;
    }

    protected UserType validateAndGetType(Keyspaces schema, String typeName)
    {
        KeyspaceMetadata keyspaceMetadata = validateAndGetKeyspace(schema);

        UserType type = keyspaceMetadata.types.getNullable(bytes(typeName));
        if (null == type)
            throw ire("Type '%s.%s' doesn't exist", keyspaceName, typeName);

        return type;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 88fd0f6a0e)

Solutions

1. Verify the table exists: SELECT table_name FROM system_schema.tables WHERE keyspace_name='ks';
2. Correct the table name and ensure the right keyspace is used
3. If targeting a materialized view, use the statement/form appropriate for views rather than a regular table

Example fix

// before
DESCRIBE TABLE ks.metric;
// after
DESCRIBE TABLE ks.metrics;

var exists = session.execute("SELECT table_name FROM system_schema.tables WHERE keyspace_name=? AND table_name=?", ks, table).iterator().hasNext();
if (!exists) throw new IllegalArgumentException("Table " + ks + "." + table + " does not exist");

try { runDescription(); } catch (InvalidRequest e) { if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Table") && e.getMessage().contains("doesn't exist")) suggestMatchingTables(); else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Running a description/validation statement with a table name not present in the keyspace; typo in the table name; passing a materialized view name where only a REGULAR table is accepted; wrong keyspace selected.

Common situations: Typos; referencing views as tables; scripts written for a different environment; case-sensitivity issues with quoted identifiers.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Could not be found', 'does not exist', 'not found in database': the resource-not-found family when an ID, slug, key, or URI lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• Keyspace %s doesn't exist
• Column family {} not found
• Materialized view '%s.%s' doesn't exist
• Table '%s' doesn't exist
• Keyspace '%s' doesn't exist

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cassandra@88fd0f6a0e (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a33633f02c25ddac. Report an issue: GitHub.