influxdata/influxdb · error · TableIndexCacheError

Failed to serialize initial table index conversion marker

Error message

Failed to serialize initial table index conversion marker

What it means

TableIndexCacheError::SerializeConversionMarkerError, thrown when serde_json fails to serialize the initial TableIndexConversionCompleted marker before it is written to the object store. Because the marker is a small, static struct, this almost always indicates a serde attribute/compatibility problem rather than bad input data.

Solutions

1. Check the inner serde_json::Error message to identify the exact field/type that failed
2. Pin or update serde/serde_json (and time-related crates like chrono) to compatible versions used by the InfluxDB 3 build
3. Verify Cargo feature flags (serde derives, arbitrary_precision, etc.) weren't disabled in a custom build
4. Report upstream if it occurs on an unmodified release build — the marker struct should always be serializable

// sanity-check the marker before serializing
fn marker_is_valid(m: &TableIndexConversionCompleted) -> bool {
    serde_json::to_value(m).is_ok()
}

match err {
    TableIndexCacheError::SerializeConversionMarkerError(e) => {
        error!(source=%e, "marker serialization failed — check serde/serde_json versions and feature flags");
        // abort init: marker must persist before conversion is deemed complete
        return Err(e.into());
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: First startup after enabling table indexes (or after conversion) when no marker exists: the cache builds a new conversion-completed marker (timestamp, snapshot info) and calls serde_json::to_vec / to_string; a serde_json::Error propagates as this variant.

Common situations: A non-string-map key or unsupported type in the marker struct after a code change; incompatible serde feature flags (e.g. missing chrono/serde_json feature) breaking timestamp serialization; downstream crate version mismatch altering field types.

Understand the failure class

Background: "JSON serialization failed", "not JSON serializable", "Failed to serialize": why JSON marshaling errors happen and how to fix them — this error's family across 46 libraries.

Related errors

• ' ' is a reserved column
• auto field family exists
• cache error
• can only accept once
• cannot fit duration into u64

AI-assisted analysis of influxdata/influxdb@06200ef96b (2026-09-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b6f00965040d3a4a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at influxdb3_write/src/table_index_cache.rs:84

    #[error("Failed to parse table index path from object store path")]
    TableIndexPath(#[source] crate::paths::PathError),

    #[error("Failed to list table index snapshots from object store")]
    ListSnapshots(#[source] object_store::Error),

    #[error("Failed to parse table index snapshot path from object store path")]
    TableIndexSnapshotPath(#[source] crate::paths::PathError),

    #[error("Failed to update table index: join task failed")]
    UpdateTaskFailed(#[source] tokio::task::JoinError),

    #[error("Failed to list object store metadata")]
    ListMetasError(#[source] object_store::Error),

    #[error("Failed to load table index conversion marker bytes from object store")]
    LoadConversionMarkerBytesError(#[source] object_store::Error),

    #[error("Failed to serialize initial table index conversion marker")]
    SerializeConversionMarkerError(#[source] serde_json::Error),

    #[error("Failed to put initial table index conversion marker to object store")]
    PutConversionMarkerError(#[source] object_store::Error),

    #[error("Failed to parse snapshot info file path")]
    ParseSnapshotPathError(#[source] anyhow::Error),

    #[error("Failed to split persisted snapshot into table snapshots")]
    SplitPersistedSnapshotError(#[source] crate::table_index::TableIndexError),

    #[error("Failed to load table index from object store")]
    LoadTableIndexFromObjectStoreError(#[source] crate::table_index::TableIndexError),

    #[error("Failed to update table index from object store")]
    UpdateTableIndexFromObjectStoreError(#[source] crate::table_index::TableIndexError),

    #[error("Failed to create table index from object store")]

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