prestodb/presto · error · SemanticException

CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED

CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED

Error message

Catalog must be specified when session catalog is not set

What it means

SHOW GRANTS without an ON <table> clause needs a catalog to enumerate grants across: either the statement names one, the table clause provided one, or the session has a default catalog. If catalogName is still null after those checks, visitShowGrants throws CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED.

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/sql/rewrite/ShowQueriesRewrite.java:294

                        !metadataResolver.getTableHandle(qualifiedTableName).isPresent()) {
                    throw new SemanticException(MISSING_TABLE, showGrants, "Table '%s' does not exist", tableName);
                }

                catalogName = qualifiedTableName.getCatalogName();

                accessControl.checkCanShowTablesMetadata(
                        session.getRequiredTransactionId(),
                        session.getIdentity(),
                        session.getAccessControlContext(),
                        new CatalogSchemaName(catalogName, qualifiedTableName.getSchemaName()));

                predicate = Optional.of(combineConjuncts(
                        equal(identifier("table_schema"), new StringLiteral(qualifiedTableName.getSchemaName())),
                        equal(identifier("table_name"), new StringLiteral(qualifiedTableName.getObjectName()))));
            }
            else {
                if (catalogName == null) {
                    throw new SemanticException(CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED, showGrants, "Catalog must be specified when session catalog is not set");
                }

                Set<String> allowedSchemas = listSchemas(session, metadata, accessControl, catalogName);
                for (String schema : allowedSchemas) {
                    accessControl.checkCanShowTablesMetadata(session.getRequiredTransactionId(), session.getIdentity(), session.getAccessControlContext(), new CatalogSchemaName(catalogName, schema));
                }
            }

            return simpleQuery(
                    selectList(
                            aliasedName("grantor", "Grantor"),
                            aliasedName("grantor_type", "Grantor Type"),
                            aliasedName("grantee", "Grantee"),
                            aliasedName("grantee_type", "Grantee Type"),
                            aliasedName("table_catalog", "Catalog"),
                            aliasedName("table_schema", "Schema"),
                            aliasedName("table_name", "Table"),
                            aliasedName("privilege_type", "Privilege"),

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

  1. Qualify the statement: `SHOW GRANTS FROM <catalog>` (or `SHOW GRANTS ON <catalog>.<schema>.<table>`).
  2. Set the session catalog first: `USE <catalog>.<schema>`.
  3. Configure the client/driver to connect with a default catalog.
  4. In generated SQL, always emit an explicit catalog for administrative SHOW statements.

Example fix

// before
SHOW GRANTS  -- session catalog unset
// after
SHOW GRANTS FROM hive
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (session.getCatalog() == null && !statementSpecifiesCatalog(showGrantsSql)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Set a session catalog or add FROM <catalog> to SHOW GRANTS");
}

Try / catch

try {
    session.execute("SHOW GRANTS");
} catch (SemanticException e) {
    if (e.getCode() == SemanticErrorCode.CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED) {
        session.execute("USE " + defaultCatalog + "." + defaultSchema);
        session.execute("SHOW GRANTS");
    } else throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Running bare `SHOW GRANTS` while the session has no catalog set (no USE, no default catalog at connect time) and the statement does not include a catalog-qualified schema/table.

Common situations: Fresh client sessions without a default catalog; BI tools issuing SHOW GRANTS before any USE; scripts assuming a session catalog configured on the server.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ef95474f98861981. Report an issue: GitHub.