pola-rs/polars · error · RuntimeError

table named {table_name!r} not found in sheet {sheet_name!r}

Error message

table named {table_name!r} not found in sheet {sheet_name!r} / else / no named tables found in sheet {sheet_name!r} (looking for {table_name!r})

What it means

Raised by the openpyxl reader when `table_name` is given without `sheet_name` and the named table cannot be located in any worksheet. The message distinguishes between no tables existing at all and the specific table being absent.

Source

Thrown at py-polars/src/polars/io/spreadsheet/functions.py:1222

    has_header = read_options.pop("has_header", True)
    schema_overrides = schema_overrides or {}
    no_inference = infer_schema_length == 0
    header: list[str | None] = []

    if table_name and not sheet_name:
        ws, sheet_name, n_tables = None, None, 0
        for sheet in parser.worksheets:
            n_tables += 1
            if table_name in sheet.tables:
                ws, sheet_name = sheet, sheet.title
                break
        if ws is None:
            msg = (
                f"table named {table_name!r} not found in sheet {sheet_name!r}"
                if n_tables
                else f"no named tables found in sheet {sheet_name!r} (looking for {table_name!r})"
            )
            raise RuntimeError(msg)
    else:
        ws = parser[sheet_name]

    # prefer detection of actual table objects; otherwise read
    # data in the used worksheet range, dropping null columns
    if tables := getattr(ws, "tables", None):
        table = tables[table_name] if table_name else next(iter(tables.values()))
        rows = list(ws[table.ref])
        if not rows:
            return _empty_frame(raise_if_empty)
        if has_header:
            header.extend(cell.value for cell in rows.pop(0))
        else:
            header.extend(f"column_{n}" for n in range(len(rows[0])))
        if table.totalsRowCount:
            rows = rows[: -table.totalsRowCount]
        rows_iter = rows
    elif table_name:

View on GitHub (pinned to 5d8ebabf11)

Solutions

1. Confirm the named table exists in the target sheet; correct table_name or sheet_name.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at py-polars/src/polars/io/spreadsheet/functions.py:1219 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of pola-rs/polars@5d8ebabf11 (2026-08-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/736029358d73b0d0. Report an issue: GitHub.