apache/seatunnel · error · CatalogException

Failed to truncate BigQuery table:

Error message

Failed to truncate BigQuery table: 

What it means

Thrown by BigQueryCatalog.truncateTable when the bigquery.query call running the TRUNCATE TABLE statement fails with any non-interrupt exception. The message names the fully-qualified table that could not be truncated and the wrapped BigQueryException carries the real API cause.

Source

Thrown at seatunnel-connectors-v2/connector-bigquery/src/main/java/org/apache/seatunnel/connectors/bigquery/catalog/BigQueryCatalog.java:376

        if (!tableExists(tablePath)) {
            if (ignoreIfNotExists) {
                return;
            }
            throw new TableNotExistException(catalogName, tablePath);
        }
        String query =
                String.format(
                        "TRUNCATE TABLE `%s.%s` ;",
                        getDatasetName(tablePath), tablePath.getTableName());
        QueryJobConfiguration queryConfig = QueryJobConfiguration.newBuilder(query).build();
        try {
            bigquery.query(queryConfig);
            log.info("BigQuery Table '{}' truncated successfully.", tablePath.getFullName());
        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
            Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
            throw new CatalogException("Truncate table interrupted", e);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new CatalogException(
                    "Failed to truncate BigQuery table: " + tablePath.getFullName(), e);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isExistsData(TablePath tablePath) {
        if (!tableExists(tablePath)) {
            return false;
        }
        String query =
                String.format(
                        "SELECT 1 FROM `%s.%s` LIMIT 1 ;",
                        getDatasetName(tablePath), tablePath.getTableName());
        QueryJobConfiguration queryConfig = QueryJobConfiguration.newBuilder(query).build();
        try {
            return bigquery.query(queryConfig).iterateAll().iterator().hasNext();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            log.warn(

View on GitHub (pinned to cf67b549a7)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped BigQueryException cause for the specific API error (404 table not found, 403 permission, 400 invalid query)
2. Confirm the table exists (catalog.tableExists) before truncating, or use ignoreIfNotExists=true semantics
3. Grant the service account bigquery.tables.deleteData / dataOwner permissions and bigquery.jobs.create
4. Check for an active streaming buffer on the table; TRUNCATE may be rejected while streaming writes are recent

Example fix

// before
bigquery.query(QueryJobConfiguration.newBuilder("TRUNCATE TABLE " + fullName).build());
// after
Table table = bigquery.getTable(dataset, tableName);
if (table != null) {
    bigquery.query(QueryJobConfiguration.newBuilder("TRUNCATE TABLE " + fullName).build());
}

if (!catalog.tableExists(tablePath)) {
    LOG.warn("Table " + tablePath.getFullName() + " does not exist; skipping truncate");
    return;
}
catalog.truncateTable(tablePath, false);

try {
    catalog.truncateTable(tablePath, false);
} catch (CatalogException e) {
    Throwable cause = e.getCause();
    LOG.error("Truncate failed: " + (cause == null ? e : cause.getMessage()), e);
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling truncateTable on a table that does not exist in BigQuery, when the service account lacks bigquery.tables.getData/deleteData and bigquery.jobs.create permissions, when the table is outside a dataset the caller can query, or on API quota/network errors while executing TRUNCATE TABLE.

Common situations: Save-mode 'truncate' configured against a target table not yet created in BigQuery; read-only service account; table name/dataset case-sensitivity mismatch; query quota exceeded (429); table locked by a streaming buffer (streaming inserts restrict DDL).

Understand the failure class

Background: "query failed", "%w: SQL error" — wrapped database query errors in Go libraries explained — this error's family across 3 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to execute custom SQL
• Failed to create BigQuery dataset:
• Failed to drop BigQuery dataset:
• Truncate table interrupted
• Truncate table failed

AI-assisted analysis of apache/seatunnel@cf67b549a7 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b7e9a9802fae4d05. Report an issue: GitHub.