prestodb/presto · error · SemanticException

MISSING_SCHEMA

MISSING_SCHEMA

Error message

Schema '%s' does not exist

What it means

Thrown by DropSchemaTask.execute when the catalog exists but metadataResolver.schemaExists(schema) is false and the statement omits IF EXISTS. The schema-level check runs after catalog and before permission checks (checkCanDropSchema).

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/DropSchemaTask.java:69

    }

    @Override
    public ListenableFuture<?> execute(DropSchema statement, TransactionManager transactionManager, Metadata metadata, AccessControl accessControl, Session session, List<Expression> parameters, WarningCollector warningCollector, String query)
    {
        if (statement.isCascade()) {
            throw new PrestoException(NOT_SUPPORTED, "CASCADE is not yet supported for DROP SCHEMA");
        }

        CatalogSchemaName schema = createCatalogSchemaName(session, statement, Optional.of(statement.getSchemaName()), metadata);
        MetadataResolver metadataResolver = metadata.getMetadataResolver(session);

        if (!metadataResolver.catalogExists(schema.getCatalogName())) {
            throw new SemanticException(MISSING_CATALOG, "Catalog '%s' does not exist", schema.getCatalogName());
        }

        if (!metadataResolver.schemaExists(schema)) {
            if (!statement.isExists()) {
                throw new SemanticException(MISSING_SCHEMA, statement, "Schema '%s' does not exist", schema);
            }
            return immediateFuture(null);
        }

        accessControl.checkCanDropSchema(session.getRequiredTransactionId(), session.getIdentity(), session.getAccessControlContext(), schema);

        metadata.dropSchema(session, schema);

        return immediateFuture(null);
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Run SHOW SCHEMAS FROM <catalog> and correct the schema name.
2. Use DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS if the drop is conditional.
3. Confirm the schema wasn't already removed by another process or scheduled job.

Example fix

// before
DROP SCHEMA hive.default.tmp_etl;
// after
DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS hive.default.tmp_etl;

-- pre-check schema existence
SELECT schema_name FROM information_schema.schemata
WHERE catalog_name = 'hive' AND schema_name = 'default';

// client
try {
  stmt.execute("DROP SCHEMA hive.old_etl");
} catch (SQLException e) {
  if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().contains("Schema") && e.getMessage().contains("does not exist")) {
    // idempotent: already gone
  } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: DROP SCHEMA catalog.schema where schemaExists returns false and statement.isExists() is false.

Common situations: Typo in schema name; schema already dropped by a teammate/job; confusion between database and schema terminology for connectors like Hive where database==schema; case-sensitivity with quoted identifiers.

Related errors

• MISSING_SCHEMA
• MISSING_SCHEMA
• MISSING_SCHEMA
• MISSING_MATERIALIZED_VIEW
• NOT_SUPPORTED

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7521fddf2fcd4fd6. Report an issue: GitHub.