hyperledger/fabric · error

not a chaincode type: %s

Error message

not a chaincode type: %s

What it means

Thrown by ChaincodeDefinitionIfDefined when the namespace metadata found in the lifecycle state has a Datatype other than ChaincodeDefinitionType, meaning the requested name exists in the lifecycle namespace but is not a chaincode definition (e.g. it is a collection or other namespace entry).

Source

Thrown at core/chaincode/lifecycle/lifecycle.go:262

		return true, &ChaincodeDefinition{
			EndorsementInfo: &lb.ChaincodeEndorsementInfo{
				InitRequired: false,
			},
			ValidationInfo: &lb.ChaincodeValidationInfo{},
		}, nil
	}

	metadata, ok, err := r.Serializer.DeserializeMetadata(NamespacesName, chaincodeName, state)
	if err != nil {
		return false, nil, errors.WithMessagef(err, "could not deserialize metadata for chaincode %s", chaincodeName)
	}

	if !ok {
		return false, nil, nil
	}

	if metadata.Datatype != ChaincodeDefinitionType {
		return false, nil, errors.Errorf("not a chaincode type: %s", metadata.Datatype)
	}

	definedChaincode := &ChaincodeDefinition{}
	err = r.Serializer.Deserialize(NamespacesName, chaincodeName, metadata, definedChaincode, state)
	if err != nil {
		return false, nil, errors.WithMessagef(err, "could not deserialize chaincode definition for chaincode %s", chaincodeName)
	}

	return true, definedChaincode, nil
}

func (r *Resources) LifecycleEndorsementPolicyAsBytes(channelID string) ([]byte, error) {
	channelConfig := r.ChannelConfigSource.GetStableChannelConfig(channelID)
	if channelConfig == nil {
		return nil, errors.Errorf("could not get channel config for channel '%s'", channelID)
	}

	if _, ok := channelConfig.PolicyManager().GetPolicy(LifecycleEndorsementPolicyRef); ok {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Verify the chaincode name is correct and actually approved/committed as a chaincode
2. Use 'peer lifecycle chaincode querycommitted' to list real committed chaincodes on the channel
3. Check the peer's lifecycle state (couchdb/leveldb) for corruption if the name should be a chaincode

Example fix

// before
ChaincodeInfo(channel: 'ch1', name: 'mycc_private_collection') // not a chaincode type
// after
ChaincodeInfo(channel: 'ch1', name: 'mycc') // use the chaincode name, not the collection name

ok, metadata, err := lifecycleQueryNamespaceMetadata(chname, ccname, state)
if err != nil { return err }
if ok && metadata.Datatype != lifecycle.ChaincodeDefinitionType {
    return fmt.Errorf("%s is not a chaincode namespace", ccname)
}

func isChaincodeDefinition(metadata *lb.StateMetadata) bool {
    return metadata != nil && metadata.Datatype == lifecycle.ChaincodeDefinitionType
}

_, def, err := resources.ChaincodeDefinitionIfDefined(ccname)
if err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "not a chaincode type") {
        // wrong namespace: check whether ccname is a collection or other entry
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling QueryChaincodeDefinition / ChaincodeInfo / CollectionInfo / ValidationInfo / ImplicitCollections for a name that maps to a non-chaincode metadata type in the lifecycle state store.

Common situations: Querying a private collection name as if it were a chaincode; typos in the chaincode name colliding with another namespace entry; corrupted or hand-edited lifecycle state on the peer.

Related errors

• failed listing installed chaincodes
• failed to parse collection config
• [channel %s] failed to get chaincode container info for %s
• chaincode '%s' does not require initialization but called as
• private data APIs are not allowed in chaincode Init()

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/011f0f137ca7def2. Report an issue: GitHub.