dbt-labs/dbt-core · error

get_temp_relation_path: relation.database is required

Error message

get_temp_relation_path: relation.database is required

What it means

An InvalidOperation minijinja error from get_temp_relation_path stating that `relation.database` is required. The callable extracts database and identifier attributes from a relation Value; if database is missing, not a string, or an empty string, no valid temp path can be built and the error is thrown.

Source

Thrown at crates/dbt-adapter/src/adapter/mod.rs:4161

            "get_temp_relation_path" => {
                // model: Any, batch_id: str = ""
                let iter = ArgsIter::new(name, &["relation"], args);
                let relation_val = iter.next_arg::<&Value>()?;
                let batch_id = iter.next_kwarg::<Option<&str>>("batch_id")?.unwrap_or("");
                iter.finish()?;
                let database = relation_val
                    .get_attr("database")
                    .ok()
                    .and_then(|v| {
                        if v.is_undefined() || v.is_none() {
                            None
                        } else {
                            v.as_str().map(|s| s.to_owned())
                        }
                    })
                    .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
                    .ok_or_else(|| {
                        minijinja::Error::new(
                            minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                            "get_temp_relation_path: relation.database is required",
                        )
                    })?;
                let identifier = relation_val
                    .get_attr("identifier")
                    .ok()
                    .and_then(|v| {
                        if v.is_undefined() || v.is_none() {
                            None
                        } else {
                            v.as_str().map(|s| s.to_owned())
                        }
                    })
                    .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
                    .ok_or_else(|| {
                        minijinja::Error::new(
                            minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,

View on GitHub (pinned to 0267ce9170)

Solutions

1. Ensure the relation has a non-empty string `database` before calling, e.g. `this.database` from a fully qualified relation.
2. If your adapter legitimately has no database, provide a default database name in profiles/relations instead of leaving it empty.
3. Fix the relation construction so database is set (check quoting/`render` of the relation object).
4. Guard the call: only invoke get_temp_relation_path when `relation.database` is truthy.

Example fix

// before
{% set path = get_temp_relation_path(relation, batch_id) %} // relation.database == ''
// after
{% if relation.database %}{% set path = get_temp_relation_path(relation, batch_id) %}{% endif %}

{% if relation.database is not defined or not relation.database %}
  {% do exceptions.raise_compiler_error('relation.database required for temp relation path') %}
{% endif %}

fn has_database(v: &Value) -> bool {
    v.get_attr("database").ok().and_then(|d| d.as_str().map(|s| !s.is_empty())).unwrap_or(false)
}

match database { Some(db) if !db.is_empty() => ..., _ => Err(invalid_operation("relation.database is required")) }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling get_temp_relation_path with a relation whose `database` attribute is absent, null, an empty string, or a non-string Value (e.g. an object from a custom relation class that overrides database).

Common situations: Databases that intentionally have no database concept (e.g. SQLite/DuckDB-style) combined with temp-relation features; relations built by hand without database; cross-project relations where quoting dropped the field.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• get_temp_relation_path: relation.identifier is required
• {} relation creation from Jinja values
• Unknown method on BaseRelationObject: '{name}'
• Unknown method on StaticBaseRelationObject: '{name}'
• Failed to convert quoting to resolved quoting

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ec10fb1e41467eed. Report an issue: GitHub.