prestodb/presto · error · PrestoException

INCOMPATIBLE_CLIENT

INCOMPATIBLE_CLIENT

Error message

Client does not support transactions

What it means

START TRANSACTION requires the client protocol to support transaction handling (the client must be able to hold and pass the transaction ID). If the session does not declare client transaction support, Presto rejects the statement with INCOMPATIBLE_CLIENT.

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/StartTransactionTask.java:51

import static com.facebook.presto.sql.analyzer.SemanticErrorCode.INVALID_TRANSACTION_MODE;
import static com.google.common.util.concurrent.Futures.immediateFuture;

public class StartTransactionTask
        implements SessionTransactionControlTask<StartTransaction>
{
    @Override
    public String getName()
    {
        return "START TRANSACTION";
    }

    @Override
    public ListenableFuture<?> execute(StartTransaction statement, TransactionManager transactionManager, Metadata metadata, AccessControl accessControl, QueryStateMachine stateMachine, List<Expression> parameters, String query)
    {
        Session session = stateMachine.getSession();
        if (!session.isClientTransactionSupport()) {
            throw new PrestoException(StandardErrorCode.INCOMPATIBLE_CLIENT, "Client does not support transactions");
        }
        if (session.getTransactionId().isPresent()) {
            throw new PrestoException(StandardErrorCode.NOT_SUPPORTED, "Nested transactions not supported");
        }

        Optional<IsolationLevel> isolationLevel = extractIsolationLevel(statement);
        Optional<Boolean> readOnly = extractReadOnly(statement);

        TransactionId transactionId = transactionManager.beginTransaction(
                isolationLevel.orElse(TransactionManager.DEFAULT_ISOLATION),
                readOnly.orElse(TransactionManager.DEFAULT_READ_ONLY),
                false);

        stateMachine.setStartedTransactionId(transactionId);

        // Since the current session does not contain this new transaction ID, we need to manually mark it as inactive
        // when this statement completes.
        transactionManager.trySetInactive(transactionId);

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Upgrade the client (CLI/JDBC/ODBC driver) to a version supporting transactions.
2. Remove explicit START TRANSACTION statements and rely on implicit transaction handling.
3. Ensure the client sets the X-Presto-Started-Transaction-Id / client transaction capability headers.
4. Verify connection properties (e.g. JDBC) enable transaction support.

Example fix

// before (old driver)
stmt.execute("START TRANSACTION");
// after
// upgrade to a transaction-capable driver, or drop the explicit START TRANSACTION

// before issuing START TRANSACTION, check the driver/client supports transactions
boolean supported = connection.getMetaData().supportsTransactions();

// catch PrestoException with errorCode INCOMPATIBLE_CLIENT; upgrade the driver or fall back to autocommit mode

When it happens

Trigger: Executing START TRANSACTION (or an autocommit=false path invoking StartTransactionTask) from a session whose client did not advertise transaction support (session.isClientTransactionSupport() is false).

Common situations: Using an old CLI/JDBC driver or a client that doesn't implement the transaction protocol, running START TRANSACTION through a tool that strips transaction headers, or connecting via HTTP without the transaction-capable client tag.

Related errors

• Result set holdability must be HOLD_CURSORS_OVER_COMMIT
• Invalid transaction isolation level:
• NOT_IN_TRANSACTION
• NOT_SUPPORTED
• INVALID_TRANSACTION_MODE

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7d7ac60d9e3075f3. Report an issue: GitHub.