hasura/graphql-engine · error

exporting seed data: %w

Error message

exporting seed data: %w

What it means

Thrown when the driver fails to export a data dump while creating a seed file with --from-table. ExportDatadump runs a COPY/table export query on the source database; any driver-level or connection failure surfaces here. Note --from-table is only supported for postgres sources on CLI V3+.

Source

Thrown at cli/commands/seed_create.go:140

	}

	createSeedOpts := seed.CreateSeedOpts{
		UserProvidedSeedName: o.SeedName,
		DirectoryPath:        filepath.Join(o.EC.SeedsDirectory, o.Source.Name),
	}
	// If we are initializing from a database table
	// create a hasura client and add table name opts
	if createSeedOpts.Data == nil {
		var body []byte

		if len(o.FromTableNames) > 0 {
			if o.Source.Kind != hasura.SourceKindPG && o.EC.Config.Version >= cli.V3 {
				return errors.E(op, "--from-table is supported only for postgres databases")
			}
			// Send the query
			bodyReader, err := o.Driver.ExportDatadump(o.FromTableNames, o.Source.Name)
			if err != nil {
				return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("exporting seed data: %w", err))
			}

			body, err = io.ReadAll(bodyReader)
			if err != nil {
				return errors.E(op, err)
			}
		} else {
			const defaultText = ""

			var err error

			body, err = editor.CaptureInputFromEditor(
				editor.GetPreferredEditorFromEnvironment,
				defaultText,
				"sql",
			)
			if err != nil {
				return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("cannot find default editor from env: %w", err))

View on GitHub (pinned to 724551b9ae)

Solutions

1. Verify the table exists in the source database and the name/schema is spelled correctly (check current_database()/search_path)
2. Check DB credentials/permissions for COPY or SELECT on the table
3. Upgrade metadata config to V3 and ensure the source is postgres when using --from-table

Example fix

// before
hasura seed create seed1 --from-table nonexistent_table
// after
hasura seed create seed1 --from-table public.users

// verify the table exists before exporting
var n int
err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = $1 AND table_name = $2`, schema, table).Scan(&n)
if err != nil || n == 0 {
    return fmt.Errorf("table %s.%s not found", schema, table)
}

if err := seedCreate.Run(); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "exporting seed data") {
        // inspect inner error: connectivity vs missing table
        log.Printf("export failed, check table name and DB access: %v", err)
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `hasura seed create --from-table <t>` where the postgres COPY/export query fails: table doesn't exist, insufficient permissions, or connection loss. Also triggered for non-postgres sources with --from-table when EC.Config.Version < cli.V3 (the kind guard is bypassed on older config versions).

Common situations: Typo in table name, table in a different schema, read-restricted role, or using --from-table with an MSSQL source on an old metadata config version.

Related errors

• error while applying seeds for database '%s': %w
• cannot find default editor from env: %w
• failed to create seed file: %w
• error serving console: %w
• operation failed: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hasura/graphql-engine@724551b9ae (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/19b01ef99a36fbf1. Report an issue: GitHub.