laravel/framework · error · RuntimeException

This database driver does not support fulltext index…

Error message

This database driver does not support fulltext index removal.

What it means

Grammar::compileDropFullText() throws RuntimeException on the base. PostgresGrammar and MySqlGrammar override it; SQLiteGrammar and SqlServerGrammar inherit the stub. It compiles a dropFullText()/dropIndex() command targeting a fulltext index.

Solutions

Run dropFullText on Postgres or MySQL only.
In tests on SQLite, skip the dropFullText call or avoid creating fulltext indexes there in the first place.
Drop the index with raw DDL appropriate to the engine as a fallback.

Example fix

// before - throws on SQLite/SQL Server
Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $t) {
    $t->dropFullText(['title', 'body']);
});

// after - gate by driver
Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $t) {
    if (in_array(config('database.default'), ['pgsql', 'mysql'])) {
        $t->dropFullText(['title', 'body']);
    }
});

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

$driver = Schema::getConnection()->getDriverName(); // 'pgsql','mysql','sqlite','sqlsrv'
if (! in_array($driver, ['pgsql', 'mysql'], true)) {
    throw new \DomainException("dropFullText is unsupported on driver '{$driver}'.");
}

Type guard

function supportsDropFullText(string $driverName): bool
{
    return in_array($driverName, ['pgsql', 'mysql'], true);
}

Try / catch

try {
    Schema::table('posts', fn ($t) => $t->dropFullText(['title', 'body']));
} catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
    if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'fulltext index removal')) {
        DB::statement('ALTER TABLE posts DROP INDEX ft_title_body');
    } else {
        throw $e;
    }
}

Prevention

Run dropFullText only on Postgres or MySQL.
Avoid creating fulltext indexes on SQLite test DBs so rollback does not need dropFullText.
Gate dropFullText by driver in cross-engine migrations.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling $table->dropFullText(...) or dropping an index named as fulltext on SQLite or SQL Server - engines whose grammars in this codebase do not override compileDropFullText.

Common situations: Rolling back a migration that created a fulltext index while testing on SQLite; a cross-engine migration set that drops fulltext indexes without gating by driver.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@e0f6eb3518 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dab1fb6c6d981af5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Database/Schema/Grammars/Grammar.php:240

     * @throws \RuntimeException
     */
    public function compileFulltext(Blueprint $blueprint, Fluent $command)
    {
        throw new RuntimeException('This database driver does not support fulltext index creation.');
    }

    /**
     * Compile a drop fulltext index command.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint  $blueprint
     * @param  \Illuminate\Support\Fluent  $command
     * @return string
     *
     * @throws \RuntimeException
     */
    public function compileDropFullText(Blueprint $blueprint, Fluent $command)
    {
        throw new RuntimeException('This database driver does not support fulltext index removal.');
    }

    /**
     * Compile a foreign key command.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint  $blueprint
     * @param  \Illuminate\Support\Fluent  $command
     * @return string
     */
    public function compileForeign(Blueprint $blueprint, Fluent $command)
    {
        // We need to prepare several of the elements of the foreign key definition
        // before we can create the SQL, such as wrapping the tables and convert
        // an array of columns to comma-delimited strings for the SQL queries.
        $sql = sprintf('alter table %s add constraint %s ',
            $this->wrapTable($blueprint),
            $this->wrap($command->index)
        );

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