go-gorm/gorm · error

failed to look up field with name: %s

Error message

failed to look up field with name: %s

What it means

Error "failed to look up field with name: %s" thrown in go-gorm/gorm.

Source

Thrown at migrator/migrator.go:382

			newTable = m.CurrentTable(stmt)
		} else {
			return err
		}
	}

	return m.DB.Exec("ALTER TABLE ? RENAME TO ?", oldTable, newTable).Error
}

// AddColumn create `name` column for value
func (m Migrator) AddColumn(value interface{}, name string) error {
	return m.RunWithValue(value, func(stmt *gorm.Statement) error {
		// avoid using the same name field
		if stmt.Schema == nil {
			return errors.New("failed to get schema")
		}
		f := stmt.Schema.LookUpField(name)
		if f == nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("failed to look up field with name: %s", name)
		}

		if !f.IgnoreMigration {
			return m.DB.Exec(
				"ALTER TABLE ? ADD ? ?",
				m.CurrentTable(stmt), clause.Column{Name: f.DBName}, m.DB.Migrator().FullDataTypeOf(f),
			).Error
		}

		return nil
	})
}

// DropColumn drop value's `name` column
func (m Migrator) DropColumn(value interface{}, name string) error {
	return m.RunWithValue(value, func(stmt *gorm.Statement) error {
		if stmt.Schema != nil {
			if field := stmt.Schema.LookUpField(name); field != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 1d6ce99528)

Solutions

1. Check the field name passed to the migrator matches a struct field name, not the column name.
2. Ensure the model passed to the migrator contains the field.
3. Verify the schema parsed successfully before calling the migrator method.

Example fix

Ensure the column/field name passed to migrator exists on the model schema before altering it.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at migrator/migrator.go:382 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of go-gorm/gorm@1d6ce99528 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c332d409c1e65cf2. Report an issue: GitHub.