phalcon/cphalcon · error · Phalcon\Mvc\Model\MetaData\Exceptions\CorruptedMetaData

The meta-data is invalid or is corrupt

Error message

The meta-data is invalid or is corrupt

What it means

MetaData::getAttributes(model) returns the full list of mapped attribute (column) names for a model, reading slot MODELS_ATTRIBUTES from the model's metadata record. The slot must be an array; if the stored value is any other type (string, int, null), Phalcon treats the record as damaged and throws CorruptedMetaData rather than return a value that would produce broken SQL. The record is populated from the cache adapter, the model's metaData() method, or the metadata strategy on first miss.

Source

Thrown at phalcon/Mvc/Model/MetaData.zep:210

    /**
     * Returns table attributes names (fields)
     *
     *```php
     * print_r(
     *     $metaData->getAttributes(
     *         new Invoices()
     *     )
     * );
     *```
     */
    public function getAttributes(<ModelInterface> model) -> array
    {
        var data;

        let data = this->readMetaDataIndex(model, self::MODELS_ATTRIBUTES);

        if unlikely typeof data != "array" {
            throw new CorruptedMetaData();
        }

        return data;
    }

    /**
     * Returns attributes that must be ignored from the INSERT SQL generation
     *
     *```php
     * print_r(
     *     $metaData->getAutomaticCreateAttributes(
     *         new Invoices()
     *     )
     * );
     *```
     */
    public function getAutomaticCreateAttributes(<ModelInterface> model) -> array
    {

View on GitHub (pinned to b7419de9cd)

Solutions

1. Flush the metadata storage and let Phalcon regenerate it: $metaData->reset() plus deleting the 'meta-*' entries (or the adapter directory/keys).
2. Fix any custom metaData() method so MODELS_ATTRIBUTES maps to an array of column names.
3. After Phalcon upgrades, change the metadata adapter prefix or key so old and new entries cannot mix, and use the same serializer on every server.
4. Never call writeMetaDataIndex() with non-array payloads for the MODEL_* constants.

Example fix

// before
public function metaData(): array
{
    return [
        MetaData::MODELS_ATTRIBUTES => 'inv_id,inv_cst_id', // string corrupts the slot
    ];
}

// after
public function metaData(): array
{
    return [
        MetaData::MODELS_ATTRIBUTES => ['inv_id', 'inv_cst_id'], // array of column names
    ];
}

use Phalcon\Mvc\Model\MetaData;

$data = $metaData->readMetaData($model);
if (null !== $data && !is_array($data[MetaData::MODELS_ATTRIBUTES] ?? null)) {
    $metaData->reset();                 // drop the in-memory copy
    clearMetadataBackend($metaData);    // adapter-specific: delete 'meta-*' entries
}

function metadataSlotIsArray(?array $record, int $index): bool
{
    return null === $record || is_array($record[$index] ?? null);
}

use Phalcon\Mvc\Model\MetaData\Exceptions\CorruptedMetaData;

try {
    $attributes = $metaData->getAttributes($model);
} catch (CorruptedMetaData $e) {
    $metaData->reset();
    clearMetadataBackend($metaData); // adapter-specific flush
    $attributes = $metaData->getAttributes($model); // regenerate exactly once
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling getAttributes($model) (directly, or indirectly through model assign/save/query building) after the cached 'meta-*' entry for the model holds a non-array in its MODELS_ATTRIBUTES slot, or after a custom metaData() method / writeMetaDataIndex() call stored a non-array there.

Common situations: Metadata cache (Redis, Libmemcached, APCu, Stream files) still holding entries written by an older Phalcon version with a different structure; deploying schema changes without flushing metadata; a custom metaData() method mapping MODELS_ATTRIBUTES to a comma-separated string; serializer mismatch (igbinary vs serialize) between servers sharing the backend.

Related errors

• No annotations were found in class {className}
• Identity column '{identityField}' isn't part of the table co
• Column '{column}' have not defined a data type in '{classNam
• Column '{column}' isn't part of the table columns in '{class
• A dependency injection container is required to access inter

AI-assisted analysis of phalcon/cphalcon@b7419de9cd (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7f4f48ce24e7205c. Report an issue: GitHub.