hasura/graphql-engine · warning

failed to read metadata status: %w

Error message

failed to read metadata status: %w

What it means

After a successful `metadata reload`, the command automatically checks consistency by reading metadata status via projectmetadata handler. This error means that post-reload consistency read failed — reload worked, but the subsequent status query errored.

Source

Thrown at cli/commands/metadata_reload.go:69

func (o *MetadataReloadOptions) runWithInfo() error {
	var op errors.Op = "commands.MetadataReloadOptions.runWithInfo"

	o.EC.Spin("Reloading metadata...")
	err := o.run()
	o.EC.Spinner.Stop()

	if err != nil {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("failed to reload metadata: %w", err))
	}

	o.EC.Logger.Info("Metadata reloaded")
	icListOpts := &metadataInconsistencyListOptions{
		EC: o.EC,
	}

	err = icListOpts.read(projectmetadata.NewHandlerFromEC(icListOpts.EC))
	if err != nil {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("failed to read metadata status: %w", err))
	}

	if icListOpts.isConsistent {
		icListOpts.EC.Logger.Infoln("Metadata is consistent")
	} else {
		icListOpts.EC.Logger.Warnln(
			"Metadata is inconsistent, use 'hasura metadata ic list' command to see the inconsistent objects",
		)
	}

	return nil
}

func (o *MetadataReloadOptions) run() error {
	var (
		op  errors.Op = "commands.MetadataReloadOptions.run"
		err error
	)

View on GitHub (pinned to 724551b9ae)

Solutions

1. Simply re-run `metadata inconsistency status` — the reload already succeeded, only the verification failed
2. Retry `metadata reload` after a short delay if the server was momentarily busy settling
3. Check the wrapped error for auth/network specifics
4. If persistent, run `metadata inconsistency list` to verify the server state directly

Example fix

# before
hasura metadata reload  # reload OK, then: failed to read metadata status
# after
hasura metadata inconsistency status  # verify manually; reload itself succeeded

if err := reloadCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
  if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to read metadata status") {
    // reload itself succeeded; verify with `metadata inconsistency status`
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: `metadata reload` where the reload succeeds but the follow-up read of consistency status fails: transient network failure between the two calls, auth expiry mid-command, or the handler failing to parse the freshly reloaded metadata.

Common situations: Intermittent network issues between the two sequential server calls; server briefly unavailable immediately after reload (restart in progress); large metadata taking time to settle after reload causing read timeouts.

Related errors

• failed to read metadata status: %w
• failed to reload metadata: %w
• error building project metadata: %w
• exporting metadata from server: %w
• reading metadata from response: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hasura/graphql-engine@724551b9ae (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/607de01fd7e3fe31. Report an issue: GitHub.