apache/iceberg · error · UnsupportedOperationException

Cannot write manifest for table version: %s

Error message

Cannot write manifest for table version: %s

What it means

ManifestFiles.newWriter only supports manifest writers for table format versions 1 through 4 (via a switch); any other formatVersion falls through to this UnsupportedOperationException. It guards against writing manifests for table versions the library cannot emit.

Source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/org/apache/iceberg/ManifestFiles.java:284

      int formatVersion,
      PartitionSpec spec,
      EncryptedOutputFile encryptedOutputFile,
      Long snapshotId,
      Long firstRowId,
      Map<String, String> writerProperties) {
    switch (formatVersion) {
      case 1:
        return new ManifestWriter.V1Writer(spec, encryptedOutputFile, snapshotId, writerProperties);
      case 2:
        return new ManifestWriter.V2Writer(spec, encryptedOutputFile, snapshotId, writerProperties);
      case 3:
        return new ManifestWriter.V3Writer(
            spec, encryptedOutputFile, snapshotId, firstRowId, writerProperties);
      case 4:
        return new ManifestWriter.V4Writer(
            spec, encryptedOutputFile, snapshotId, firstRowId, writerProperties);
    }
    throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
        "Cannot write manifest for table version: " + formatVersion);
  }

  /**
   * Returns a new {@link ManifestReader} for a {@link ManifestFile}.
   *
   * @param manifest a {@link ManifestFile}
   * @param io a {@link FileIO}
   * @param specsById a Map from spec ID to partition spec
   * @return a {@link ManifestReader}
   */
  public static ManifestReader<DeleteFile> readDeleteManifest(
      ManifestFile manifest, FileIO io, Map<Integer, PartitionSpec> specsById) {
    Preconditions.checkArgument(
        manifest.content() == ManifestContent.DELETES,
        "Cannot read a data manifest with a DeleteManifestReader: %s",
        manifest);
    InputFile file = newInputFile(io, manifest);

View on GitHub (pinned to 86d9c8fc54)

Solutions

1. Upgrade the Iceberg library so it supports the table's format version
2. Pass formatVersion 1-4 (matching the table's format-version property) when creating writers manually
3. Do not mix older clients with tables using newer format versions

Example fix

// before
ManifestFiles.write(5, spec, outputFile, snapshotId);
// after
ManifestFiles.write(2, spec, outputFile, snapshotId);

int fv = table.ops().current().formatVersion();
if (fv < 1 || fv > 4) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("Unsupported format version for manifest write: " + fv);
}

try {
  ManifestFiles.write(formatVersion, spec, outputFile, snapshotId);
} catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
  LOG.error("Format version {} not supported by this Iceberg build", formatVersion, e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ManifestFiles.write or newWriter with a formatVersion outside 1-4, e.g., 0 or 5.

Common situations: Reading a table written by a newer Iceberg release supporting a higher format version with an older client; constructing writers with a hand-set formatVersion; corrupted metadata carrying an out-of-range version.

Understand the failure class

Background: UnsupportedOperationException and "is not supported" errors: when a library deliberately refuses a call — this error's family across 30 libraries.

Related errors

• Can't retrieve values from an empty struct
• Can't modify an empty struct
• %s doesn't implement cleanupLevel
• %s doesn't implement cleanExpiredMetadata
• Does not support schema getter

AI-assisted analysis of apache/iceberg@86d9c8fc54 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28262c7a0fbe6917. Report an issue: GitHub.