clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error

Invalid sequence: max_value must be greater than min_value

Error message

Invalid sequence: max_value must be greater than min_value

What it means

Second invariant in Sequence::new: max_value must be strictly greater than min_value, otherwise the sequence range is empty and the constructor panics. Triggered by sequence definitions where MAXVALUE <= MINVALUE, including the equal-bounds case. It is a schema validation failure surfaced as a panic during DDL application.

Source

Thrown at crates/datastore/src/locking_tx_datastore/sequence.rs:36

}

impl MemoryUsage for Sequence {
    fn heap_usage(&self) -> usize {
        // MEMUSE: intentionally ignoring schema
        self.value.heap_usage()
    }
}

impl Sequence {
    pub(super) fn new(schema: SequenceSchema, previous_allocation: Option<i128>) -> Self {
        if schema.start < schema.min_value || schema.start > schema.max_value {
            panic!(
                "Invalid sequence: start value {} is out of bounds for sequence with min_value {} and max_value {}",
                schema.start, schema.min_value, schema.max_value
            );
        }
        if schema.max_value <= schema.min_value {
            panic!("Invalid sequence: max_value must be greater than min_value");
        }
        if schema.increment == 0 {
            panic!("Invalid sequence: increment must be non-zero");
        }
        if schema.increment.unsigned_abs() >= (schema.max_value - schema.min_value) as u128 {
            panic!(
                "Invalid sequence: increment must be less than or equal to the range between min_value and max_value"
            );
        }
        let start = if let Some(prev) = previous_allocation {
            if prev < schema.min_value || prev > schema.max_value {
                // Previous versions set allocated to 0 as a default,
                // so we have this special case.
                if prev == 0 {
                    schema.start
                } else {
                    panic!(
                        "Invalid sequence: previous allocation value {prev} is out of bounds for sequence with min_value {} and max_value {}",

View on GitHub (pinned to 6dee26c6ef)

Solutions

1. Set MAXVALUE strictly greater than MINVALUE.
2. Omit both clauses to accept the schema's default bounds when exact limits are not required.
3. Add a lint in migration tooling that asserts max > min before applying DDL.

Example fix

-- before: empty range (max == min)
CREATE SEQUENCE s MINVALUE 10 MAXVALUE 10;

-- after: non-empty range
CREATE SEQUENCE s MINVALUE 10 MAXVALUE 100;

fn bounds_non_empty(s: &SequenceSchema) -> Result<(), String> {
    (s.max_value > s.min_value)
        .then_some(())
        .ok_or_else(|| format!("max_value {} must be > min_value {}", s.max_value, s.min_value))
}

fn valid_sequence_schema(s: &SequenceSchema) -> bool {
    s.min_value <= s.start && s.start <= s.max_value
        && s.max_value > s.min_value
        && s.increment != 0
        && s.increment.unsigned_abs() < (s.max_value - s.min_value) as u128
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a sequence with MAXVALUE equal to or less than MINVALUE, e.g. MINVALUE 10 MAXVALUE 10, or a negative MAXVALUE with a default zero MINVALUE.

Common situations: Copy-paste errors swapping MINVALUE/MAXVALUE clauses; programmatic schema builders that default both bounds to the same value; migrations that tighten bounds incorrectly.

Related errors

• Invalid sequence: start value {} is out of bounds for sequen
• Invalid sequence: increment must be non-zero
• Invalid sequence: increment must be less than or equal to th
• Index '${indexLabel}' on table '${tableLabel}' must define a
• Event tables cannot be used as the lookup table in subscript

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@6dee26c6ef (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/59180b5c6dfb71ed. Report an issue: GitHub.