hyperledger/fabric · critical

the %s database [height=%d] is ahead of the block store [hei

Error message

the %s database [height=%d] is ahead of the block store [height=%d]. This is possible when the %s database is not dropped after a ledger reset/rollback. The %s database can safely be dropped and will be rebuilt up to block store height upon the next peer start

What it means

syncStateAndHistoryDBWithBlockstore returns this when a recoverable database's height is ahead of the block store height (nextRequiredBlock > lastBlockInBlockStore+1). This means the DB contains more blocks than the block store, which only happens when the DB was not dropped during a reset/rollback. Fabric requires the DB to be dropped; it will be rebuilt to block-store height at next start.

Source

Thrown at core/ledger/kvledger/kv_ledger.go:411

			return err
		}

		if l.bootSnapshotMetadata != nil {
			lastBlockInSnapshot := l.bootSnapshotMetadata.LastBlockNumber
			if nextRequiredBlock <= lastBlockInSnapshot {
				return errors.Errorf(
					"recovery for DB [%s] not possible. Ledger [%s] is created from a snapshot. Last block in snapshot = [%d], DB needs block [%d] onward",
					recoverable.Name(),
					l.ledgerID,
					lastBlockInSnapshot,
					nextRequiredBlock,
				)
			}
		}

		if nextRequiredBlock > lastBlockInBlockStore+1 {
			dbName := recoverable.Name()
			return fmt.Errorf("the %s database [height=%d] is ahead of the block store [height=%d]. "+
				"This is possible when the %s database is not dropped after a ledger reset/rollback. "+
				"The %s database can safely be dropped and will be rebuilt up to block store height upon the next peer start",
				dbName, nextRequiredBlock, lastBlockInBlockStore+1, dbName, dbName)
		}
		if recoverFlag {
			recoverers = append(recoverers, &recoverer{nextRequiredBlock, recoverable})
		}
	}
	if len(recoverers) == 0 {
		return nil
	}
	if len(recoverers) == 1 {
		return l.recommitLostBlocks(recoverers[0].nextRequiredBlock, lastBlockInBlockStore, recoverers[0].recoverable)
	}

	// both dbs need to be recovered
	if recoverers[0].nextRequiredBlock > recoverers[1].nextRequiredBlock {
		// swap (put the lagger db at 0 index)

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Drop the offending database directory (state or history under ledgersData) and restart the peer
2. Re-run peer node reset/rollback with correct ledgersData paths so all DBs are reset together
3. Restore a fully consistent backup of blockstore plus all DBs from the same point in time

Example fix

// before: rolled back blockstore but state DB still ahead
// after:
//   peer node rollback --channel myc --blockNumber 1000   # use built-in rollback which drops DBs
// or manually: rm -rf /var/hyperledger/production/ledgersData/state  # then restart peer

// Before rollback/reset, stop the peer and use the built-in command which handles DBs:
// peer node rollback --channel <c> --blockNumber <n>
// (it drops state/history/bookkeeper so their heights match the block store)

When it happens

Trigger: peer node rollback/reset applied to the block store without removing the state or history DB; the DB height exceeds blockstore height+1 when the ledger is opened by recoverDBs.

Common situations: Operator ran peer node rollback but a DB directory under ledgersData was skipped (wrong path, permission issue); manual blockstore replacement while keeping old DBs; mixed restore of blockstore from backup without matching DBs.

Related errors

• could not retrieve committed definition for chaincode '%s'
• error during commit to txmgr
• error decoding the block number
• error decoding the data hash
• error decoding the previous hash

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90b95de8a2b0db07. Report an issue: GitHub.