What causes "Not support type conversion for pinot data type: %s" in prestodb/presto?

Upgrade the Presto-Pinot connector to a version whose PinotColumnUtils maps the offending DataType

prestodb/presto · error · PinotException

PINOT_UNSUPPORTED_COLUMN_TYPE

PINOT_UNSUPPORTED_COLUMN_TYPE

Error message

Not support type conversion for pinot data type: %s

What it means

getPrestoTypeFromPinotType hits its default branch when a Pinot column DataType has no mapping to a Presto type. The connector refuses to expose the column rather than guessing a lossy conversion (PINOT_UNSUPPORTED_COLUMN_TYPE).

Source

Thrown at presto-pinot-toolkit/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/pinot/PinotColumnUtils.java:153

                return DoubleType.DOUBLE;
            case INT:
                return IntegerType.INTEGER;
            case LONG:
                return BigintType.BIGINT;
            case STRING:
                return VarcharType.VARCHAR;
            case BYTES:
                return VarbinaryType.VARBINARY;
            case TIMESTAMP:
                return TimestampType.TIMESTAMP;
            case JSON:
                return JsonType.JSON;
            case BIG_DECIMAL:
                return DecimalType.createDecimalType();
            default:
                break;
        }
        throw new PinotException(PINOT_UNSUPPORTED_COLUMN_TYPE, Optional.empty(), "Not support type conversion for pinot data type: " + dataType);
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

Upgrade the Presto-Pinot connector to a version whose PinotColumnUtils maps the offending DataType
Exclude the unsupported column from your query (select only supported columns instead of *)
Change the Pinot table schema to use a supported type for that column
Add a mapping case in PinotColumnUtils.getPrestoTypeFromPinotType if you build the connector yourself

Example fix

// before
SELECT * FROM pinot.mytable  -- includes unsupported column type
// after
SELECT supportedCol1, supportedCol2 FROM pinot.mytable

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Check Pinot schema types before selecting a column
curl -s http://<controller>:9000/tables/<table>/schema | jq '.columnDataTypes'

Prevention

List explicit columns instead of SELECT * when schema may contain exotic types
Keep connector and Pinot versions aligned (new Pinot DataTypes need newer mappings)
Validate table schemas against supported types before exposing them in Presto
If self-building, extend PinotColumnUtils with a mapping for the new DataType

When it happens

Trigger: A Pinot table schema contains a column of a DataType the connector doesn't translate (e.g. newer Pinot types like JSON/BIG_DECIMAL/UNKNOWN on an older connector, or truly unmapped types).

Common situations: Upgraded Pinot introduced new column types before the connector supports them; SELECT * pulls in a column with an unsupported type; schema evolved to add exotic types (BYTES variants, GEO types) mid-flight.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2047873da0e5604e. Report an issue: GitHub.