prestodb/presto · error · SemanticException

MISSING_TABLE

MISSING_TABLE

Error message

Table '${tableName}' does not exist

What it means

In visitShowGrants, when a table name is supplied to SHOW GRANTS, it is resolved to a QualifiedObjectName and must exist: the code accepts it only if it is a view or a table (getView or getTableHandle present). Otherwise a SemanticException MISSING_TABLE is thrown.

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/sql/rewrite/ShowQueriesRewrite.java:277

                    selectList(aliasedName("table_name", "Table")),
                    from(schema.getCatalogName(), TABLE_TABLES),
                    predicate,
                    ordering(ascending("table_name")));
        }

        @Override
        protected Node visitShowGrants(ShowGrants showGrants, Void context)
        {
            String catalogName = session.getCatalog().orElse(null);
            Optional<Expression> predicate = Optional.empty();

            Optional<QualifiedName> tableName = showGrants.getTableName();
            if (tableName.isPresent()) {
                QualifiedObjectName qualifiedTableName = createQualifiedObjectName(session, showGrants, tableName.get(), metadata);

                if (!metadataResolver.getView(qualifiedTableName).isPresent() &&
                        !metadataResolver.getTableHandle(qualifiedTableName).isPresent()) {
                    throw new SemanticException(MISSING_TABLE, showGrants, "Table '%s' does not exist", tableName);
                }

                catalogName = qualifiedTableName.getCatalogName();

                accessControl.checkCanShowTablesMetadata(
                        session.getRequiredTransactionId(),
                        session.getIdentity(),
                        session.getAccessControlContext(),
                        new CatalogSchemaName(catalogName, qualifiedTableName.getSchemaName()));

                predicate = Optional.of(combineConjuncts(
                        equal(identifier("table_schema"), new StringLiteral(qualifiedTableName.getSchemaName())),
                        equal(identifier("table_name"), new StringLiteral(qualifiedTableName.getObjectName()))));
            }
            else {
                if (catalogName == null) {
                    throw new SemanticException(CATALOG_NOT_SPECIFIED, showGrants, "Catalog must be specified when session catalog is not set");
                }

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

  1. Verify the fully qualified table name and correct typos.
  2. Confirm the table/view exists: `SHOW TABLES FROM <catalog>.<schema>` or SELECT from information_schema.tables.
  3. Run SHOW GRANTS without the ON clause to list grants you can see and find the correct object name.
  4. Check you are connected to the intended catalog/environment.

Example fix

// before
SHOW GRANTS ON hive.default.ording  -- typo
// after
SHOW GRANTS ON hive.default.ordering
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Confirm the table or view exists before SHOW GRANTS ON
boolean exists = !client.execute(
    "SELECT 1 FROM " + catalog + ".information_schema.tables " +
    "WHERE table_schema = '" + schema + "' AND table_name = '" + table + "'").getRows().isEmpty();
if (!exists) throw new IllegalArgumentException("Table not found: " + qualifiedName);

Try / catch

try {
    session.execute("SHOW GRANTS ON " + fqn);
} catch (SemanticException e) {
    if (e.getCode() == SemanticErrorCode.MISSING_TABLE) {
        // verify object name or list visible grants
    } else throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Running `SHOW GRANTS ON <catalog>.<schema>.<table>` where the named object is neither an existing table nor an existing view in the metadata resolver.

Common situations: Typo in the table name; querying grants on a table in the wrong catalog; the table was dropped/renamed; permissions let the statement parse but the object is invisible in that catalog.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c3423cd4f26d6cfc. Report an issue: GitHub.