prestodb/presto · error · SemanticException

MISSING_TABLE

MISSING_TABLE

Error message

Table '%s' does not exist

What it means

DropBranchTask.execute resolves the target table handle via metadata.getMetadataResolver(session).getTableHandle. When no handle is returned the table does not exist; unless IF EXISTS was specified, it throws SemanticException(MISSING_TABLE). With IF EXISTS the statement is a no-op.

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/DropBranchTask.java:55

public class DropBranchTask
        implements DDLDefinitionTask<DropBranch>
{
    @Override
    public String getName()
    {
        return "DROP BRANCH";
    }

    @Override
    public ListenableFuture<?> execute(DropBranch statement, TransactionManager transactionManager, Metadata metadata, AccessControl accessControl, Session session, List<Expression> parameters, WarningCollector warningCollector, String query)
    {
        QualifiedObjectName tableName = createQualifiedObjectName(session, statement, statement.getTableName(), metadata);
        Optional<TableHandle> tableHandleOptional = metadata.getMetadataResolver(session).getTableHandle(tableName);

        if (!tableHandleOptional.isPresent()) {
            if (!statement.isTableExists()) {
                throw new SemanticException(MISSING_TABLE, statement, "Table '%s' does not exist", tableName);
            }
            return immediateFuture(null);
        }

        Optional<MaterializedViewDefinition> optionalMaterializedView = metadata.getMetadataResolver(session).getMaterializedView(tableName);
        if (optionalMaterializedView.isPresent()) {
            throw new SemanticException(NOT_SUPPORTED, statement, "'%s' is a materialized view, and drop branch is not supported", tableName);
        }

        getConnectorIdOrThrow(session, metadata, tableName.getCatalogName());
        accessControl.checkCanDropBranch(session.getRequiredTransactionId(), session.getIdentity(), session.getAccessControlContext(), tableName);

        metadata.dropBranch(session, tableHandleOptional.get(), statement.getBranchName(), statement.isBranchExists());
        return immediateFuture(null);
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Verify the table with SHOW TABLES FROM <catalog>.<schema> and correct the name.
2. Add IF EXISTS: DROP BRANCH IF EXISTS ... ON <table> to make the drop idempotent.
3. Confirm the fully qualified name points at the intended catalog and schema.

Example fix

// before
DROP BRANCH b1 ON hive.default.events; -- table doesn't exist
// after (idempotent)
DROP BRANCH IF EXISTS b1 ON hive.default.events;

-- Confirm the table exists before DROP BRANCH
SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_catalog = 'hive' AND table_schema = 'default' AND table_name = 'events';

try {
  session.execute(`DROP BRANCH ${branch} ON ${table}`);
} catch (e) {
  if (/Table '.*' does not exist/.test(e.message)) {
    log.warn(`Skipping drop branch: ${table} missing`);
    return; // or use IF EXISTS next time
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Executing DROP BRANCH ON <table> (without IF EXISTS) where the qualified table name cannot be resolved to a TableHandle by the connector.

Common situations: Typo in table name; wrong catalog/schema qualification; table dropped concurrently by another session; querying a branch/tag name as if it were a table; connector metadata lag after ingestion.

Related errors

• MISSING_TABLE
• MISSING_TABLE
• MISSING_TABLE
• MISSING_TABLE
• NOT_SUPPORTED

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cab8d204891bf408. Report an issue: GitHub.