influxdata/influxdb · error · ValidateDbNameError

db name with invalid retention policy, if providing a…

Error message

db name with invalid retention policy, if providing a retention policy name, must be of form '<db_name>/<rp_name>'

What it means

Variant `InvalidRetentionPolicy` of `ValidateDbNameError` in influxdb3_server/src/http.rs. When a name includes a retention policy it must be split with a forward slash as `<db_name>/<rp_name>`; any other separator or structure (multiple slashes, dots, empty rp) is rejected.

Solutions

1. Use the forward-slash form: `db=mydb/autogen` instead of `db=mydb.autogen`
2. Ensure exactly one slash separates db and rp, and neither part is empty
3. Update migration scripts/clients from InfluxDB 1.x dot notation to slash notation

Example fix

// before
curl 'host/api/v3/write?db=mydb.autogen' --data 'm v=1'
// after
curl 'host/api/v3/write?db=mydb/autogen' --data 'm v=1'

function validateDbRp(name) {
  if (name.includes('/') && !/^[^/]+\/[^/]+$/.test(name)) {
    throw new Error("use form '<db_name>/<rp_name>' with a single slash");
  }
}

const isDbRpForm = (n) => typeof n === 'string' && /^[^/]+\/[^/]+$/.test(n);

try {
  return await api.write(dbRp, data);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).includes('invalid retention policy')) {
    throw new ValidationError(`convert to <db>/<rp> form: '${dbRp}'`);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `db=mydb.rp` (dot notation), `db=mydb//rp`, or a db/rp string that does not match the single-slash form to the write/query endpoints.

Common situations: Migrating from InfluxDB 1.x where `db.rp` dot notation was used; copy-pasted DSN strings; programmatic concatenation that inserts the wrong delimiter.

Understand the failure class

Background: "invalid id" errors: invalid identifier format — why libraries reject IDs before lookup, and how to fix them — this error's family across 37 libraries.

Related errors

• db name cannot be empty
• db name did not start with a number or letter
• db name too long: max
• invalid character in database or rp name: must be ASCII…
• database name ' ' contains invalid character, character…

AI-assisted analysis of influxdata/influxdb@06200ef96b (2026-09-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bd2726de4dff7478. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at influxdb3_server/src/http.rs:2429

    Ok(())
}

// v1 supports 255 chars for the database name and 255 chars for the
// retention policy name; we support those combined with a forward slash so
// 255*2+1.
const MAXIMUM_DATABASE_NAME_LENGTH: usize = 511;

#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, thiserror::Error)]
pub enum ValidateDbNameError {
    #[error(
        "invalid character in database or rp name: must be ASCII, \
        containing only letters, numbers, underscores, or hyphens"
    )]
    InvalidChar,
    #[error("db name did not start with a number or letter")]
    InvalidStartChar,
    #[error(
        "db name with invalid retention policy, if providing a \
        retention policy name, must be of form '<db_name>/<rp_name>'"
    )]
    InvalidRetentionPolicy,
    #[error("db name cannot be empty")]
    Empty,
    #[error("db name too long: max {}", MAXIMUM_DATABASE_NAME_LENGTH)]
    NameTooLong,
}

async fn record_batch_stream_to_body(
    mut stream: Pin<Box<dyn RecordBatchStream + Send>>,
    format: QueryFormat,
) -> Result<ResponseBody, Error> {
    match format {
        QueryFormat::Pretty => {
            let batches = stream.try_collect::<Vec<RecordBatch>>().await?;
            Ok(bytes_to_response_body(Bytes::from(format!(

View on GitHub (pinned to 06200ef96b)