prestodb/presto · error · IllegalArgumentException

Unsupported type:

Error message

Unsupported type: 

What it means

OrcMetadataWriter.toTypeKind() maps internal TypeKind values to ORC protobuf Type.Kind when writing ORC metadata. If an internal type kind has no case in the switch (e.g. a newly added type not yet mapped), it throws IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported type: ..."). It is an exhaustiveness guard for type serialization.

Source

Thrown at presto-orc/src/main/java/com/facebook/presto/orc/metadata/OrcMetadataWriter.java:208

            case CHAR:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.CHAR;
            case BINARY:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.BINARY;
            case DATE:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.DATE;
            case TIMESTAMP:
            case TIMESTAMP_MICROSECONDS:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.TIMESTAMP;
            case LIST:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.LIST;
            case MAP:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.MAP;
            case STRUCT:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.STRUCT;
            case UNION:
                return OrcProto.Type.Kind.UNION;
        }
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported type: " + orcTypeKind);
    }

    private static List<OrcProto.StringPair> toStringPairList(Map<String, String> attributes)
    {
        return attributes.entrySet().stream()
                .map(entry -> OrcProto.StringPair.newBuilder()
                        .setKey(entry.getKey())
                        .setValue(entry.getValue())
                        .build())
                .collect(toImmutableList());
    }

    private static OrcProto.ColumnStatistics toColumnStatistics(ColumnStatistics columnStatistics)
    {
        OrcProto.ColumnStatistics.Builder builder = OrcProto.ColumnStatistics.newBuilder();

        if (columnStatistics.hasNumberOfValues()) {
            builder.setNumberOfValues(columnStatistics.getNumberOfValues());

View on GitHub (pinned to 55bb57d202)

Solutions

1. Remove or replace the unsupported type in the table/schema being written
2. Upgrade presto-orc so toTypeKind covers the type kind
3. Check the message suffix for the exact orcTypeKind value and map it in toTypeKind() if maintaining a fork

Example fix

// before
TypeKind kind = type.getTypeKind(); // e.g. newly added JSON kind
writerBuilder.setType(...); // throws IllegalArgumentException
// after
checkArgument(EnumSet.of(BOOLEAN, LONG, DOUBLE, STRING, LIST, MAP, STRUCT, UNION).contains(kind), "Unsupported ORC type: %s", kind);

// Validate schema types before writing ORC
private static final Set<TypeKind> SUPPORTED = EnumSet.allOf(TypeKind.class); // keep in sync with toTypeKind
for (ColumnHandle col : columns) {
    checkArgument(SUPPORTED.contains(typeKind(col)), "Type not writable to ORC: %s", col);
}

boolean isWritableToOrc(Type t) {
    return !(t instanceof UnknownType) && orcdMappedKinds.contains(t.getTypeKind());
}

try {
    writer.appendRow(...);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Unsupported type:")) {
        throw new IllegalStateException("Schema contains a type the ORC writer cannot serialize: " + e.getMessage(), e);
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Writing an ORC file whose schema contains a TypeKind not covered by the switch, invoked from builder() during schema serialization.

Common situations: Using a Presto type that maps to a newer internal TypeKind than the writer supports; custom type plugins; version mismatch between type system and ORC writer.

Related errors

• Unsupported type:
• BIGQUERY_UNSUPPORTED_COLUMN_TYPE
• Unsupported type:
• Unsupported native type in set: with type
• Unsupported stream kind:

AI-assisted analysis of prestodb/presto@55bb57d202 (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aca5ea58b3e275b4. Report an issue: GitHub.