hyperledger/fabric · error

Upgrading non-existent chaincode %s

Error message

Upgrading non-existent chaincode %s

What it means

On the lscc UPGRADE path, the validator requires the chaincode to already exist on the ledger (ccExistsOnLedger). Attempting to upgrade a chaincode that was never instantiated (or whose record is missing) fails this security check and the transaction is rejected.

Source

Thrown at core/handlers/validation/builtin/v13/lscc_validation_logic.go:538

			if pol == nil {
				return policyErr(fmt.Errorf("no instantiation policy was specified"))
			}
			// FIXME: could we actually pull the cds package from the
			// file system to verify whether the policy that is specified
			// here is the same as the one on disk?
			// PROS: we prevent attacks where the policy is replaced
			// CONS: this would be a point of non-determinism
			err := vscc.checkInstantiationPolicy(chid, env, pol, payl)
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}

		case lscc.UPGRADE:
			/**************************************************************/
			/* security check 1 - cc in the LCCC table of instantiated cc */
			/**************************************************************/
			if !ccExistsOnLedger {
				return policyErr(fmt.Errorf("Upgrading non-existent chaincode %s", cdsArgs.ChaincodeSpec.ChaincodeId.Name))
			}

			/**********************************************************/
			/* security check 2 - existing cc's version was different */
			/**********************************************************/
			if cdLedger.Version == cdsArgs.ChaincodeSpec.ChaincodeId.Version {
				return policyErr(fmt.Errorf("Existing version of the cc on the ledger (%s) should be different from the upgraded one", cdsArgs.ChaincodeSpec.ChaincodeId.Version))
			}

			/****************************************************************************/
			/* security check 3 validation of rwset (and of collections if enabled) */
			/****************************************************************************/
			// Only in v1.2, a collection can be updated during a chaincode upgrade
			if ac.V1_2Validation() {
				// do extra validation for collections
				err := vscc.validateRWSetAndCollection(lsccrwset, cdRWSet, lsccArgs, lsccFunc, ac, chid)
				if err != nil {
					return err

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Instantiate (deploy) the chaincode first, then upgrade.
2. Verify the chaincode name and channel you are targeting with lscc getchaincodes.
3. Check for typos or casing differences in the chaincode name in the upgrade proposal.
4. Confirm peers have the chaincode installed and the ledger actually contains its record.

Example fix

// before: upgrade on fresh channel
client.sendUpgradeProposal(req) // mycc never instantiated here
// after
if (!lscc.getChaincodes().contains("mycc")) { client.sendInstantiateProposal(req); } else { client.sendUpgradeProposal(req); }

// check instantiation exists before upgrading
resp, _ := lsccClient.Query("getchaincodes")
if !chaincodeListContains(resp, "mycc") {
    return errors.New("mycc not instantiated on this channel; instantiate first")
}

func isDeployed(codes []lscc.ChaincodeQueryResponse, name string) bool {
    for _, c := range codes { if c.Name == name { return true } }
    return false
}

catch (err) { if (String(err).includes('Upgrading non-existent chaincode')) { /* verify channel and name, then run instantiate first */ } }

When it happens

Trigger: Submitting an lscc upgrade for a chaincode name with no ChaincodeData record on the channel — e.g. upgrading before ever instantiating, upgrading on the wrong channel, or after the chaincode's lscc record was removed.

Common situations: Typos in the chaincode name during upgrade, running upgrade scripts against a fresh channel where instantiate never ran, channel mix-ups (upgrade issued on channel B while deployed on channel A), ledger restored to a state before deployment.

Related errors

• lscc's state for [%s] not found.
• Existing version of the cc on the ledger (%s) should be diff
• LSCC can only issue a single putState upon upgrade
• chaincode %s not found
• failed unmarshalling lscc read value into ChaincodeData

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/63a8123bc6495142. Report an issue: GitHub.