prestodb/presto · error · SemanticException

MISSING_TABLE

MISSING_TABLE

Error message

Table '%s' does not exist

What it means

Thrown by DropTableTask.execute when catalog and schema exist but metadataResolver.getTableHandle(tableName) returns empty and IF EXISTS was not specified. The relation is not registered as a table with the connector (materialized views are handled separately in the following check).

Source

Thrown at presto-main-base/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/execution/DropTableTask.java:66

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

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

        if (!metadataResolver.schemaExists(tableName.getCatalogSchemaName())) {
            throw new SemanticException(MISSING_SCHEMA, statement, "Schema '%s' does not exist", tableName.getSchemaName());
        }

        Optional<TableHandle> tableHandle = metadataResolver.getTableHandle(tableName);
        if (!tableHandle.isPresent()) {
            if (!statement.isExists()) {
                throw new SemanticException(MISSING_TABLE, statement, "Table '%s' does not exist", tableName);
            }
            return immediateFuture(null);
        }

        Optional<MaterializedViewDefinition> optionalMaterializedView = metadataResolver.getMaterializedView(tableName);
        if (optionalMaterializedView.isPresent()) {
            if (!statement.isExists()) {
                throw new SemanticException(NOT_SUPPORTED, statement, "'%s' is a materialized view, not a table. Use DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW to drop.", tableName);
            }
            return immediateFuture(null);
        }

        accessControl.checkCanDropTable(session.getRequiredTransactionId(), session.getIdentity(), session.getAccessControlContext(), tableName);

        metadata.dropTable(session, tableHandle.get());

        return immediateFuture(null);
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

  1. Run SHOW TABLES FROM <catalog>.<schema> and confirm the exact table name.
  2. Use DROP TABLE IF EXISTS to make the statement idempotent.
  3. If the target is a materialized view or view, use the matching DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW / DROP VIEW statement.
  4. Check the underlying storage/metastore for external deletion of the table.

Example fix

// before
DROP TABLE hive.default.events_tmp;
// after
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS hive.default.events_tmp;
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

-- pre-check table existence
SELECT table_name FROM <catalog>.information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema = 'default' AND table_name = 'events_tmp';

Try / catch

// JDBC client
try {
  stmt.execute("DROP TABLE hive.default.events_tmp");
} catch (SQLException e) {
  if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().contains("Table") && e.getMessage().contains("does not exist")) {
    // already dropped; continue
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: DROP TABLE where the table handle is absent and statement.isExists() is false; the name may resolve to a materialized view later, but if no table handle exists at all this error fires first.

Common situations: Table already dropped; typo in table name; case-sensitivity issues with quoted identifiers; table deleted in the underlying store (e.g. HDFS/metastore) so the connector no longer exposes it; targeting a view or materialized view with DROP TABLE.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dbd9818ad546dc5f. Report an issue: GitHub.