hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · QueryException

Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB

Error message

Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB

What it means

Error "Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/dialect/function/json/CockroachDBJsonTableFunction.java:169

				sqlAppender,
				new ClauseLevelDocumentExpression( clauseLevel ),
				JsonPathHelper.parseJsonPathElements( jsonPath ),
				true,
				null,
				walker
		);
		sqlAppender.appendSql( ' ' );
		sqlAppender.appendSql( definition.name() );
	}

	@Override
	protected void renderJsonQueryColumnDefinition(SqlAppender sqlAppender, JsonTableQueryColumnDefinition definition, int clauseLevel, SqlAstTranslator<?> walker) {
		// jsonb_path_query functions error by default
		if ( definition.errorBehavior() != null && definition.errorBehavior() != JsonQueryErrorBehavior.ERROR ) {
			throw new QueryException( "Can't emulate on error clause on CockroachDB" );
		}
		if ( definition.emptyBehavior() != null && definition.emptyBehavior() != JsonQueryEmptyBehavior.NULL ) {
			throw new QueryException( "Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB" );
		}
		final JsonQueryWrapMode wrapMode = definition.wrapMode();

		if ( wrapMode == JsonQueryWrapMode.WITH_WRAPPER ) {
			sqlAppender.appendSql( "jsonb_build_array(" );
		}
		final String jsonPath = definition.jsonPath() == null
				? "$." + definition.name()
				: definition.jsonPath();
		CockroachDBJsonQueryFunction.appendJsonQuery(
				sqlAppender,
				new ClauseLevelDocumentExpression( clauseLevel ),
				JsonPathHelper.parseJsonPathElements( jsonPath ),
				true,
				null,
				walker
		);
		if ( wrapMode == JsonQueryWrapMode.WITH_WRAPPER ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Remove the ON EMPTY clause for CockroachDB.

When it happens

Trigger: Triggered when the application calls a Hibernate dialect feature that the configured database dialect cannot provide: Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB.

Common situations: Common when running against a database whose dialect lacks this capability, when a mapping or HQL/Criteria query requests unsupported functionality, or when the wrong dialect is configured for the database in use. Error: Can't emulate on empty clause on CockroachDB.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/94a8fa963a63d471. Report an issue: GitHub.