cube-js/cube · error · Error

CreateOptions.dbType was removed in v1.7.0. Use…

Error message

CreateOptions.dbType was removed in v1.7.0. Use driverFactory instead (return a DriverConfig `{ type, ... }`), or set the CUBEJS_DB_TYPE environment variable. See https://github.com/cube-js/cube/blob/master/DEPRECATION.md#dbtype

What it means

sanitizeOptions (invoked from OptsHandler's constructor via options()) rejects the legacy CreateOptions.dbType option, which was removed in Cube v1.7.0. Passing dbType now aborts startup immediately with a deprecation error directing users to driverFactory or the CUBEJS_DB_TYPE env variable. This is an intentional hard break to migrate from the old option API.

Solutions

Remove dbType from CreateOptions
Move the db type into the driverFactory return value: driverFactory: async () => ({ type: 'postgres' })
Or set the CUBEJS_DB_TYPE environment variable instead
Consult the DEPRECATION.md#dbtype section linked in the error

Example fix

// before
create({ dbType: 'postgres', dbFactory: () => ({ host: 'localhost' }) })
// after
create({ driverFactory: async () => ({ type: 'postgres', host: 'localhost' }) })

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function assertNoLegacyDbType(options) {
  if ('dbType' in options) {
    throw new Error('dbType was removed in v1.7.0: use driverFactory ({ type, ... }) or CUBEJS_DB_TYPE');
  }
}
assertNoDbType(myCreateOptions);

Type guard

function usesModernDriverOptions(opts) {
  return !('dbType' in opts) && (typeof opts.driverFactory === 'function' || !!process.env.CUBEJS_DB_TYPE);
}

Try / catch

try {
  const server = await create(opts);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('CreateOptions.dbType was removed')) {
    // migrate: move dbType into driverFactory return or CUBEJS_DB_TYPE
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Remove dbType from all create() calls when upgrading to v1.7.0+
Follow DEPRECATION.md#dbtype migration steps before upgrading
Search the codebase and scaffolding scripts for `dbType:` in CreateOptions
Prefer driverFactory returning a DriverConfig as the modern pattern

When it happens

Trigger: Calling cubejs-server-core's create/initialization with `dbType` in the CreateOptions object after upgrading to v1.7.0+, e.g. create({ dbType: 'postgres', ... }).

Common situations: Upgrading a project from pre-1.7 Cube following old tutorials/docs; copy-pasted bootstrap code; scaffolding tools that still emit dbType.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of cube-js/cube@7d981676b3 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1ad9eee3fd62b993. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/cubejs-server-core/src/core/OptsHandler.ts:65

    this.initializedOptions = this.initializeCoreOptions(options);
  }

  private decoratedFactory = false;

  public isCustomDriverFactory(): boolean {
    return !this.decoratedFactory;
  }

  /**
   * driverFactory function result type.
   */
  private driverFactoryType: undefined | 'BaseDriver' | 'DriverConfig';

  private initializedOptions: ServerCoreInitializedOptions;

  private sanitizeOptions<T extends CreateOptions>(opts: T): T {
    if ((opts as any).dbType) {
      throw new Error(
        'CreateOptions.dbType was removed in v1.7.0. ' +
        'Use driverFactory instead (return a DriverConfig `{ type, ... }`), ' +
        'or set the CUBEJS_DB_TYPE environment variable. ' +
        'See https://github.com/cube-js/cube/blob/master/DEPRECATION.md#dbtype'
      );
    }

    const validated = validateOptions(opts);

    // Probed for its throw: the only consumer is per-request code (normalizeQuery)
    getEnv('defaultTimezone');

    if (
      !this.isDevMode() &&
      !process.env.CUBEJS_DB_TYPE &&
      !opts.driverFactory
    ) {
      throw new Error(

View on GitHub (pinned to 7d981676b3)