prestodb/presto · error · PrestoException

HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR

HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR

Error message

Database '%s' location is not set

What it means

getTableDefaultLocation derives a new table's default location from its parent database's location property in the metastore. If the database has no location set (empty or absent), Presto cannot determine where to place the table and throws HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR.

Source

Thrown at presto-hive/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/hive/HiveWriteUtils.java:424

        }
    }

    public static Path getTableDefaultLocation(ConnectorSession session, SemiTransactionalHiveMetastore metastore, HdfsEnvironment hdfsEnvironment, String schemaName, String tableName)
    {
        MetastoreContext metastoreContext = new MetastoreContext(
                session.getIdentity(),
                session.getQueryId(),
                session.getClientInfo(),
                session.getClientTags(),
                session.getSource(),
                getMetastoreHeaders(session),
                isUserDefinedTypeEncodingEnabled(session),
                metastore.getColumnConverterProvider(),
                session.getWarningCollector(),
                session.getRuntimeStats());
        Optional<String> location = getDatabase(session.getIdentity(), metastoreContext, metastore, schemaName).getLocation();
        if (!location.isPresent() || location.get().isEmpty()) {
            throw new PrestoException(HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR, format("Database '%s' location is not set", schemaName));
        }

        HdfsContext context = new HdfsContext(session, schemaName, tableName, location.get(), true);
        Path databasePath = new Path(location.get());
        if (!isS3FileSystem(context, hdfsEnvironment, databasePath)) {
            if (!pathExists(context, hdfsEnvironment, databasePath)) {
                throw new PrestoException(HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR, format("Database '%s' location does not exist: %s", schemaName, databasePath));
            }
            if (!isDirectory(context, hdfsEnvironment, databasePath)) {
                throw new PrestoException(HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR, format("Database '%s' location is not a directory: %s", schemaName, databasePath));
            }
        }

        return new Path(databasePath, tableName);
    }

    private static Database getDatabase(ConnectorIdentity identity, MetastoreContext metastoreContext, SemiTransactionalHiveMetastore metastore, String database)
    {

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Set the database location in the metastore: ALTER DATABASE schema SET LOCATION 'hdfs://.../schema' (Hive) or update the DBS.LOCATION_URI directly
2. Create the table with an explicit external location: CREATE TABLE ... LOCATION '/explicit/path'
3. Recreate the database with a valid LOCATION clause

Example fix

// before
CREATE TABLE ghostdb.t (i int); -- ghostdb has no location
// after
ALTER DATABASE ghostdb SET LOCATION 'hdfs://nn/user/hive/warehouse/ghostdb.db';
CREATE TABLE ghostdb.t (i int);

Database db = metastore.getDatabase(schema);
if (db.getLocation() == null || db.getLocation().isEmpty()) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Database has no location: " + schema);
}

try {
    createTable(schema, ...);
} catch (PrestoException e) {
    if (e.getErrorCode() == HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR.toErrorCode()) {
        // set the DB location or pass explicit LOCATION
    } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: CREATE TABLE in a database whose metastore entry has no 'location' field populated — typical for databases created by non-Hive tools or manually inserted metastore rows.

Common situations: Databases created via custom metastore scripts lacking the location URI; corrupted metastore rows; databases migrated between metastore backends losing the location property.

Related errors

• HIVE_METASTORE_ERROR
• NOT_SUPPORTED
• Table not found: ${databaseName}.${tableName}
• Table not found
• Constraint not found

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aaaf35d569098da1. Report an issue: GitHub.