influxdata/influxdb · error · Error

error from table buffer

Error message

error from table buffer: {0}

What it means

This transparent wrapper converts an error from the per-table `table_buffer` component (the in-memory columnar buffer that holds recent rows for query and dedup). It means the write reached a table's buffer but the buffer operation itself failed, with the underlying `table_buffer::Error` preserved as the source.

Solutions

1. Inspect the inner table_buffer::Error message for the specific failure
2. Check that written column types match the table's existing schema
3. Retry transient failures; report persistent ones with the inner error to influxdb3 maintainers

Example fix

// before
let _ = write_lp(db, lp, false); // swallows TableBufferError detail
// after
if let Err(WriteBufferError::TableBufferError(e)) = write_lp(db, lp, false) {
    log::error!("table buffer rejected write: {e}");
    return Err(e.into());
}

// ensure row types match table schema before buffering
for col in batch.columns() {
    let expected = table_schema.field(&col.name).unwrap();
    assert_eq!(expected.data_type(), col.data_type(), "column {} type mismatch", col.name);
}

fn is_table_buffer_error(e: &WriteBufferError) -> Option<&table_buffer::Error> {
    match e { WriteBufferError::TableBufferError(e) => Some(e), _ => None }
}

match write_result {
    Err(WriteBufferError::TableBufferError(e)) => {
        log::error!("buffer rejected write: {e}"); // inspect inner cause
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Appending rows into a table buffer during write processing: schema/row data does not fit the buffer's column definitions, internal buffer invariant violated, or buffer-level persistence/commit fails.

Common situations: Writes whose column types conflict with what the buffer already holds; concurrent writers corrupting buffer assumptions; bugs or unsupported data shapes (deeply nested types) in the buffer.

Related errors

• catalog update error
• column id in series key should be valid
• database name error
• Error creating record batch
• error in last cache

AI-assisted analysis of influxdata/influxdb@06200ef96b (2026-09-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/213c753b5dd3aae6. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at influxdb3_write/src/write_buffer/mod.rs:95

    ColumnTypeMismatch {
        name: String,
        existing: ColumnType,
        new: ColumnType,
    },

    #[error("catalog update error: {0}")]
    CatalogUpdateError(#[from] CatalogError),

    #[error("error from persister: {0}")]
    PersisterError(#[from] PersisterError),

    #[error("corrupt load state: {0}")]
    CorruptLoadState(String),

    #[error("database name error: {0}")]
    DatabaseNameError(#[from] DatabaseNameError),

    #[error("error from table buffer: {0}")]
    TableBufferError(#[from] table_buffer::Error),

    #[error("error in last cache: {0}")]
    LastCacheError(#[from] last_cache::Error),

    #[error("database not found {db_name:?}")]
    DatabaseNotFound { db_name: String },

    #[error("table not found {table_name:?} in db {db_name:?}")]
    TableNotFound { db_name: String, table_name: String },

    #[error("tried accessing database that does not exist")]
    DbDoesNotExist,

    #[error("tried creating database named '{0}' that already exists")]
    DatabaseExists(String),

    #[error("cannot write to soft-deleted database '{0}' - it is marked for deletion")]

View on GitHub (pinned to 06200ef96b)