quickwit-oss/quickwit · error

source type {} cannot be updated

Error message

source type {} cannot be updated

What it means

SourceConfig::validate_update's catch-all arm: when source types match but the specific SourceParams variant has no dedicated update validator (e.g. file, ingest, or void sources whose params are not updatable), the update is rejected with this message naming the current source type.

Source

Thrown at quickwit/quickwit-config/src/source_config/mod.rs:294

                SourceParams::File(FileSourceParams::Notifications(new)),
            ) => current.validate_update(new),
            (SourceParams::Kafka(current), SourceParams::Kafka(new)) => {
                current.validate_update(new)
            }
            (SourceParams::Kinesis(current), SourceParams::Kinesis(new)) => {
                current.validate_update(new)
            }
            (SourceParams::PubSub(current), SourceParams::PubSub(new)) => {
                current.validate_update(new)
            }
            (SourceParams::Pulsar(current), SourceParams::Pulsar(new)) => {
                current.validate_update(new)
            }
            (current, new) if current.source_type() != new.source_type() => Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "source type cannot be changed, current type {}",
                current.source_type(),
            )),
            _ => Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "source type {} cannot be updated",
                self.source_type(),
            )),
        }
    }
}

#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, Hash, Serialize, Deserialize, utoipa::ToSchema)]
#[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
pub enum FileSourceMessageType {
    /// See <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/notification-content-structure.html>
    S3Notification,
    /// A string with the URI of the file (e.g `s3://bucket/key`)
    RawUri,
}

#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, Hash, Serialize, Deserialize, utoipa::ToSchema)]
pub struct FileSourceSqs {

View on GitHub (pinned to a39730c5cd)

Solutions

1. Delete and recreate the source with the desired parameters (`quickwit source delete` then `quickwit source create`).
2. Only update source types that support in-place updates — kafka and pulsar sources validate param diffs; other types are effectively immutable.
3. If the parameters truly did not change, skip the update call in your automation (compare configs before pushing).

Example fix

# before (attempting update on an 'ingest' source)
quickwit source update --index my-index --source my-source --source-config cfg.yaml
# after
quickwit source delete --index my-index --source my-source
quickwit source create --index my-index --source-config cfg.yaml

const UPDATABLE_TYPES = new Set(['kafka', 'pulsar']);
if (!UPDATABLE_TYPES.has(sourceType)) {
  throw new Error(`source type ${sourceType} does not support updates; delete and recreate`);
}

const isUpdatableSourceType = (t) => ['kafka', 'pulsar'].includes(t);

try {
  await updateSource(indexId, sourceId, cfg);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes('cannot be updated')) {
    await deleteSource(indexId, sourceId);
    await createSource(indexId, sourceId, cfg);
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the source update API/CLI on a source whose type does not support parameter updates (its SourceParams variant has no validate_update implementation, falling to `_ =>`), even with the same type on both sides.

Common situations: Trying to edit an ingest or file source's params via `quickwit source update`; automation that regenerates source configs and pushes updates for every source type; assuming all source types are mutable like kafka/pulsar.

Understand the failure class

Background: UnsupportedOperationException and "is not supported" errors: when a library deliberately refuses a call — this error's family across 30 libraries.

Related errors

• source type cannot be changed, current type {}
• updating timestamp field is not allowed, current timestamp f
• index ID pattern `{pattern}` is invalid: patterns must not c
• index ID pattern `{pattern}` is invalid: an index ID must ha
• index config merge policy `max_merge_factor` must be superio

AI-assisted analysis of quickwit-oss/quickwit@a39730c5cd (2026-09-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8a6ff026b44c2946. Report an issue: GitHub.