prestodb/presto · error · TableNotFoundException

Table not found

Error message

Table not found

What it means

dropConstraint in ThriftHiveMetastore first fetches the target table via getTable; if the metastore returns no such table it throws TableNotFoundException, reported to users as 'Table not found'. This is a pre-check so the caller gets a clear table-missing error instead of a raw metastore exception.

Source

Thrown at presto-hive-metastore/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/hive/metastore/thrift/ThriftHiveMetastore.java:1651

                                    privileges.addAll(parsePrivilege(hiveObjectPrivilege.getGrantInfo(), Optional.of(grantee)));
                                }
                                return privileges.build();
                            })));
        }
        catch (TException e) {
            throw new PrestoException(HIVE_METASTORE_ERROR, e);
        }
        catch (Exception e) {
            throw propagate(e);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public MetastoreOperationResult dropConstraint(MetastoreContext metastoreContext, String databaseName, String tableName, String constraintName)
    {
        Optional<org.apache.hadoop.hive.metastore.api.Table> source = getTable(metastoreContext, databaseName, tableName);
        if (!source.isPresent()) {
            throw new TableNotFoundException(new SchemaTableName(databaseName, tableName));
        }

        try {
            retry()
                    .stopOnIllegalExceptions()
                    .run("dropConstraint", stats.getDropConstraint().wrap(() ->
                            getMetastoreClientThenCall(metastoreContext, client -> {
                                client.dropConstraint(databaseName, tableName, constraintName);
                                return null;
                            })));
            return EMPTY_RESULT;
        }
        catch (NoSuchObjectException e) {
            throw new TableConstraintNotFoundException(Optional.of(constraintName));
        }
        catch (TException e) {
            throw new PrestoException(HIVE_METASTORE_ERROR, e);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Verify the table exists: run SHOW TABLES IN <catalog>.<schema> or call metastore.getTable before dropping the constraint.
2. Correct the databaseName/tableName spelling and case (Hive names are lowercase).
3. Confirm you are connected to the intended metastore/catalog (environment mismatch is common).
4. Recreate the table if it was dropped concurrently, or skip the drop if the table no longer exists.

Example fix

// before: unconditional drop
metastore.dropConstraint(context, db, table, constraintName);

// after: check existence first
if (metastore.getTable(context, db, table).isPresent()) {
    metastore.dropConstraint(context, db, table, constraintName);
}

Optional<Table> t = metastore.getTable(metastoreContext, db, table.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT));
if (t.isEmpty()) { throw new IllegalArgumentException("Table " + db + "." + table + " does not exist"); }

try {
    metastore.dropConstraint(context, db, table, constraint);
} catch (TableNotFoundException e) {
    // table absent: log and skip
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling dropConstraint(metastoreContext, databaseName, tableName, constraintName) where databaseName/tableName do not exist in the Hive metastore (getTable returns Optional.empty()).

Common situations: Typo in table or schema name, table was dropped by another job/user, case-sensitivity mismatch (Hive stores lowercase names), pointing at a different metastore environment (staging vs prod) than expected.

Related errors

• Table not found: ${databaseName}.${tableName}
• HIVE_DATABASE_LOCATION_ERROR
• HIVE_METASTORE_ERROR
• NOT_SUPPORTED
• Table not found: ${databaseName}.${tableName}

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/67d04d58f5785f47. Report an issue: GitHub.