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

Validation in checkCatalogAndSessionPresent for the USE statement: the statement names only a schema (USE schema) and the session has no current catalog set, so there is no catalog in which to resolve the schema.

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/UseTask.java:74

            QueryStateMachine stateMachine,
            List<Expression> parameters,
            String query)
    {
        Session session = stateMachine.getSession();

        checkCatalogAndSessionPresent(statement, session);

        checkAndSetCatalog(statement, metadata, stateMachine, session, accessControl);

        checkAndSetSchema(statement, metadata, stateMachine, session, accessControl);

        return immediateFuture(null);
    }

    private void checkCatalogAndSessionPresent(Use statement, Session session)
    {
        if (!statement.getCatalog().isPresent() && !session.getCatalog().isPresent()) {
            throw new SemanticException(CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED, statement, "Catalog must be specified when session catalog is not set");
        }
    }

    private void checkAndSetCatalog(Use statement, Metadata metadata, QueryStateMachine stateMachine, Session session, AccessControl accessControl)
    {
        String catalog = statement.getCatalog()
                .map(Identifier::getValueLowerCase)
                .orElseGet(() -> session.getCatalog().map(String::toLowerCase).get());
        getConnectorIdOrThrow(session, metadata, catalog);
        if (!hasCatalogAccess(session.getIdentity(), session.getAccessControlContext(), catalog, accessControl)) {
            denyCatalogAccess(catalog);
        }
        stateMachine.setSetCatalog(catalog);
    }

    private void checkAndSetSchema(Use statement, Metadata metadata, QueryStateMachine stateMachine, Session session, AccessControl accessControl)
    {
        String catalog = statement.getCatalog()

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Wrap the USE statement execution site so that when neither the statement nor the session specifies a catalog, the error is surfaced with a corrected statement like USE catalog.schema instead of catalog-only or schema-only syntax
2. Configure a default session catalog (e.g. via the client's session properties or --catalog flag) so checkCatalogAndSessionPresent always has a catalog available
3. In tooling that builds USE statements programmatically, validate that a catalog is present before dispatching, or fall back to a fully qualified catalog.schema pair derived from the connection configuration

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/UseTask.java:74 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5ab9f4e19ef0b3b1. Report an issue: GitHub.