gastownhall/beads · error

database %s has no child data sources

Error message

database %s has no child data sources

What it means

When the reference resolves as a database, ResolveDataSourceReference expects db.DataSources to contain at least one entry with a non-empty ID so it can fetch the child data source. A database with an empty/missing data_sources list triggers this error.

Source

Thrown at internal/notion/client.go:227

	}
	identifier := ExtractNotionIdentifier(ref)
	if identifier == "" {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("could not extract a Notion ID from %q", ref)
	}
	if ds, err := client.RetrieveDataSource(ctx, identifier); err == nil {
		return &ResolvedDataSource{
			InputID:      identifier,
			DataSourceID: ds.ID,
			DataSource:   ds,
			ViewURL:      strings.TrimSpace(ref),
		}, nil
	} else {
		db, dbErr := client.RetrieveDatabase(ctx, identifier)
		if dbErr != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("resolve %q as data source: %w; as database: %v", ref, err, dbErr)
		}
		if len(db.DataSources) == 0 || strings.TrimSpace(db.DataSources[0].ID) == "" {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("database %s has no child data sources", db.ID)
		}
		resolvedID := strings.TrimSpace(db.DataSources[0].ID)
		resolvedDS, err := client.RetrieveDataSource(ctx, resolvedID)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("retrieve child data source %s: %w", resolvedID, err)
		}
		return &ResolvedDataSource{
			InputID:      identifier,
			DataSourceID: resolvedID,
			DataSource:   resolvedDS,
			Database:     db,
			ViewURL:      strings.TrimSpace(ref),
		}, nil
	}
}

func (c *Client) doRequest(ctx context.Context, method, path string, requestBody interface{}) ([]byte, error) {
	if c == nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Raise the Notion-Version header to one that populates data_sources on database responses (2025+ versions).
2. Upgrade the notion client library so Database parsing includes data_sources.
3. Reference the data source URL directly instead of going through the database fallback.
4. Confirm the referenced object is a database and not a plain page whose stub response lacks data_sources.

Example fix

// before
req.Header.Set("Notion-Version", "2022-06-28")
// after
req.Header.Set("Notion-Version", "2025-09-03") // data_sources populated on databases

db, err := client.RetrieveDatabase(ctx, id)
if err == nil && (db == nil || len(db.DataSources) == 0) {
    return fmt.Errorf("database %s exposes no data sources; update Notion-Version", id)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ResolveDataSourceReference with a legacy database ID whose RetrieveDatabase response contains no data_sources array (pre data-source-model API version), or a database object returned with data_sources omitted by the pinned Notion-Version.

Common situations: Pinning an old Notion-Version header that predates the data_sources field; referencing an old-style database from before the 2025 API migration; a mock server or cached response lacking the field.

Related errors

• target is missing required Notion properties: %s
• resolve %q as data source: %w; as database: %v
• retrieve child data source %s: %w
• pidfile: legacy schema
• clone from %s succeeded, but the database needs %d schema %s

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f7b4d17cc533d0b9. Report an issue: GitHub.