clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error

Multiple databases found in config

Error message

Multiple databases found in config: {}. Please specify which database to use, or pass --no-config to use '{}' directly.

What it means

When a spacetime.json defines multiple database targets and the first positional argument of `call`/`subscribe`/`describe` (resolve_optional_database_parts / resolve_database_with_optional_parts, crates/cli/src/subcommands/db_arg_resolution.rs:44) doesn't match any configured target name, the CLI cannot know whether the word is a database or the command's own first argument, so it errors and lists all configured database names. Unlike `logs`/`delete`/`sql`, these commands cannot auto-fall through because their first positional is ambiguous.

Solutions

1. Use one of the listed configured names as the first argument: `spacetime call <listed-name> ...`.
2. Add the intended database as a target in spacetime.json so its name resolves.
3. Pass --no-config to address the database directly without config resolution: `spacetime call <name-or-identity> <fn> <args> --no-config`.

Example fix

# before: 'baz' matches no configured target (foo, bar)
spacetime subscribe baz 'SELECT * FROM Player'
# after: either use a configured target
spacetime subscribe foo 'SELECT * FROM Player'
# or bypass the config
spacetime subscribe baz 'SELECT * FROM Player' --no-config

# Before running ambiguous-arg commands, check the word against configured targets:
targets=$(jq -r '.databases | to_entries[] | .value.database' spacetime.json 2>/dev/null)
if [ -n "$targets" ] && [ "$(wc -l <<< "$targets")" -gt 1 ] && ! grep -qx "$1" <<< "$targets"; then
  echo "'$1' is not a configured database (configured: $(echo $targets))" >&2; exit 2
fi

When it happens

Trigger: Running `spacetime call some-name ...` or `spacetime subscribe some-name 'SELECT 1'` in a project whose spacetime.json declares two or more databases (e.g. foo on maincloud, bar on local) and some-name matches neither; misspelling a configured alias.

Common situations: Monorepos where one spacetime.json serves several databases; scripts written when the project had a single target, run after a second target was added; typos in configured database names.

Related errors

• Database ' ' is not in the config file. If you want to run…
• Failed to parse config file
• Unable to parse invalid saved server fingerprint as ECDSA…
• Cannot extract accessor name from query
• Cannot extract table name from query

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@fdd647dfac (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f50ff9d748a4f44a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/subcommands/db_arg_resolution.rs:48

#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
pub(crate) struct ConfigDbTarget {
    pub database: String,
    pub server: Option<String>,
}

#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
pub(crate) struct ResolvedDbArgs {
    pub database: String,
    pub server: Option<String>,
    pub remaining_args: Vec<String>,
}

/// Build an error for when the first positional arg doesn't match any configured database target.
fn unknown_database_error(db: &str, config_targets: &[ConfigDbTarget]) -> anyhow::Error {
    let known: Vec<&str> = config_targets.iter().map(|t| t.database.as_str()).collect();
    if known.len() > 1 {
        anyhow::anyhow!(
            "Multiple databases found in config: {}. Please specify which database to use, \
             or pass --no-config to use '{}' directly.",
            known.join(", "),
            db
        )
    } else {
        anyhow::anyhow!(
            "Database '{}' is not in the config file. \
             If you want to run against a database outside of the current project, pass --no-config.",
            db
        )
    }
}

pub(crate) fn load_config_db_targets(no_config: bool) -> anyhow::Result<Option<Vec<ConfigDbTarget>>> {
    if no_config {
        return Ok(None);
    }

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