prestodb/presto · error · PrestoException

HIVE_UNKNOWN_ERROR

HIVE_UNKNOWN_ERROR

Error message

Partition %s does not have a value for partition column %s

What it means

MetadataUtils.buildColumnDomain builds a TupleDomain predicate over partition keys for a set of Hive partitions. Each partition must carry a NullableValue for every partition column; if partition.getKeys() lacks the column, the code throws HIVE_UNKNOWN_ERROR because this represents an internal inconsistency (a partition without a full key set), not user error.

Source

Thrown at presto-hive-common/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/hive/MetadataUtils.java:149

        }

        return withColumnDomains(
                partitionColumns.stream()
                        .collect(toMap(identity(), column -> buildColumnDomain(column, partitions))));
    }

    private static Domain buildColumnDomain(ColumnHandle column, List<HivePartition> partitions)
    {
        checkArgument(!partitions.isEmpty(), "partitions cannot be empty");

        boolean hasNull = false;
        Set<Object> nonNullValues = new HashSet<>();
        Type type = null;

        for (HivePartition partition : partitions) {
            NullableValue value = partition.getKeys().get(column);
            if (value == null) {
                throw new PrestoException(HIVE_UNKNOWN_ERROR,
                        format("Partition %s does not have a value for partition column %s", partition, column));
            }

            if (value.isNull()) {
                hasNull = true;
            }
            else {
                nonNullValues.add(value.getValue());
            }

            if (type == null) {
                type = value.getType();
            }
        }

        if (!nonNullValues.isEmpty()) {
            Domain domain = Domain.multipleValues(type, ImmutableList.copyOf(nonNullValues));
            if (hasNull) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

Refresh/invalidate partition metadata (retry the query; clear affected caches) and re-list partitions.
Verify the partition column names in the table schema match those stored in the metastore (rename mismatch).
Check any custom connector/security plugin that constructs HivePartition objects for dropped keys.
If reproducible on stock Presto, file a bug with the query and table/partition DDL — this is an internal invariant violation.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

for (HivePartition p : partitions) {
    if (!p.getKeys().containsKey(column)) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("partition " + p + " missing key " + column);
    }
}

Type guard

boolean hasPartitionKey(HivePartition p, ColumnHandle col) {
    return p != null && p.getKeys() != null && p.getKeys().containsKey(col);
}

Try / catch

try {
    domain = MetadataUtils.buildColumnDomain(column, partitions, types);
} catch (PrestoException e) {
    if (e.getErrorCode() == HIVE_UNKNOWN_ERROR.toErrorCode()) {
        // drop pushdown for this column; fall back to full scan filter
    }
}

Prevention

Keep table schema and metastore partition columns in sync after renames.
Invalidate partition caches after schema changes.
Test custom connectors to ensure every HivePartition carries all partition keys.

When it happens

Trigger: createPredicate iterating partitions where a HivePartition's key map does not contain the requested partition column — typically a corrupted/incomplete partition object produced by metadata listing or a connector bug.

Common situations: Custom Hive connectors or interceptors returning partitions with missing keys; partition metadata partially loaded; bug after schema/partition-column rename where old cached partitions lack the new key.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2b6ae7b45966066a. Report an issue: GitHub.