prestodb/presto · error · PrestoException

HIVE_SERDE_NOT_FOUND

HIVE_SERDE_NOT_FOUND

Error message

Serializer does not exist: 

What it means

When writing to a Hive table, Presto instantiates the SerDe class named in the table metadata via reflection. ClassNotFoundException means the class named by the table's serde_lib property does not exist on Presto's classpath, so no Serializer can be created. Other reflective failures are reported as HIVE_WRITER_DATA_ERROR instead.

Source

Thrown at presto-hive/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/hive/HiveWriteUtils.java:304

                            throws IOException
            {
                writer.close();
                if (!abort) {
                    length = target.getFileSystem(conf).getFileStatus(target).getLen();
                }
            }
        };
    }

    public static Serializer initializeSerializer(Configuration conf, Properties properties, String serializerName)
    {
        try {
            Serializer result = (Serializer) Class.forName(serializerName).getConstructor().newInstance();
            ((AbstractSerDe) result).initialize(conf, properties, null);
            return result;
        }
        catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
            throw new PrestoException(HIVE_SERDE_NOT_FOUND, "Serializer does not exist: " + serializerName);
        }
        catch (SerDeException | ReflectiveOperationException e) {
            throw new PrestoException(HIVE_WRITER_DATA_ERROR, e);
        }
    }

    public static ObjectInspector getJavaObjectInspector(Type type)
    {
        if (type.equals(BooleanType.BOOLEAN)) {
            return javaBooleanObjectInspector;
        }
        else if (type.equals(BigintType.BIGINT)) {
            return javaLongObjectInspector;
        }
        else if (type.equals(IntegerType.INTEGER)) {
            return javaIntObjectInspector;
        }
        else if (type.equals(SmallintType.SMALLINT)) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Install the missing SerDe JAR into the plugin/hive/ directory on every Presto worker and restart
2. Alter the table to use a built-in SerDe matching the storage format (e.g. org.apache.hadoop.hive.ql.io.parquet.serde.ParquetHiveSerDe)
3. Check the metastore (DESCRIBE FORMATTED / SDS table) for a wrong or outdated serde_lib value and correct it

Example fix

// before (table metadata)
SERDE 'com.example.CustomSerDe' -- not on Presto classpath
// after
ALTER TABLE t SET SERDE 'org.apache.hadoop.hive.serde2.lazy.LazySimpleSerDe';

String serdeName = table.getSerdeLib(); // from DESCRIBE FORMATTED / metastore
boolean available;
try { Class.forName(serdeName); available = true; } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) { available = false; }
if (!available) throw new IllegalStateException("SerDe missing on Presto classpath: " + serdeName);

try {
    insertInto(table);
} catch (PrestoException e) {
    if (e.getErrorCode() == HIVE_SERDE_NOT_FOUND.toErrorCode()) {
        // deploy the SerDe jar to plugin/hive/ or rewrite the table with a built-in SerDe
    } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: INSERT or CREATE TABLE AS into a Hive table whose SerDe fully-qualified class name (from the metastore's SDS.SERDE_LIB) cannot be loaded by Class.forName in the Presto JVM.

Common situations: Tables created with third-party or custom SerDes not deployed to Presto workers; metastore metadata pointing at a SerDe removed in newer Hive versions (e.g. old LazySimpleSerDe package names); typo in SERDE_LIB stored in the metastore.

Related errors

• HIVE_SERDE_NOT_FOUND
• HIVE_UNSUPPORTED_FORMAT
• HIVE_INVALID_METADATA
• GENERIC_INTERNAL_ERROR
• unsupported string field type:

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ccab89fa83e7c189. Report an issue: GitHub.