risingwavelabs/risingwave · error · anyhow::Error

`catalog.type` must be set

Error message

`catalog.type` must be set

What it means

RisingWave's Iceberg connector validates an external catalog configuration in `validate_connection`. When the config does not use `hosted_catalog`, the `catalog.type` field must be set so the connector knows which catalog backend (e.g. glue, rest, jdbc) to use. The library bails out with this error because a catalog connection cannot be created or tested without it.

Source

Thrown at src/connector/src/connector_common/connection.rs:292

                bail!("`catalog.type` must not be set when `hosted_catalog` is set");
            }
            if common.catalog_uri.is_some() {
                bail!("`catalog.uri` must not be set when `hosted_catalog` is set");
            }
            if common.catalog_name.is_some() {
                bail!("`catalog.name` must not be set when `hosted_catalog` is set");
            }
            if self.jdbc_user.is_some() {
                bail!("`catalog.jdbc.user` must not be set when `hosted_catalog` is set");
            }
            if self.jdbc_password.is_some() {
                bail!("`catalog.jdbc.password` must not be set when `hosted_catalog` is set");
            }
            return Ok(());
        }

        if common.catalog_type.is_none() {
            bail!("`catalog.type` must be set");
        }

        // Test catalog
        let iceberg_common = common.clone();

        let mut java_map = HashMap::new();
        if let Some(jdbc_user) = &self.jdbc_user {
            java_map.insert("jdbc.user".to_owned(), jdbc_user.to_owned());
        }
        if let Some(jdbc_password) = &self.jdbc_password {
            java_map.insert("jdbc.password".to_owned(), jdbc_password.to_owned());
        }
        let catalog = iceberg_common
            .resolve_catalog_config(java_map)?
            .create_catalog()
            .await?;
        // test catalog by `table_exists` api
        let test_table_ident = IcebergTableIdentifier {

View on GitHub (pinned to 6469eb736d)

Solutions

1. Add `catalog.type = '<backend>'` to the connection properties (e.g. 'rest', 'glue', 'jdbc').
2. If you intended RisingWave to host the catalog, set `hosted_catalog` instead.
3. Double-check property spelling: the key must be exactly `catalog.type` in the WITH clause.

Example fix

// before
CREATE CONNECTION iceberg_conn WITH (type = 'iceberg', catalog.uri = 'https://glue...');
// after
CREATE CONNECTION iceberg_conn WITH (type = 'iceberg', catalog.type = 'glue', catalog.uri = 'https://glue...');

// Validate Iceberg connection props before issuing CREATE CONNECTION
fn validate_iceberg_props(props: &serde_json::Value) -> Result<(), String> {
    let obj = props.as_object().ok_or("props must be an object")?;
    if !obj.contains_key("hosted_catalog") && obj.get("catalog.type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).map_or(true, str::is_empty) {
        return Err("`catalog.type` must be set when hosted_catalog is not used".into());
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn has_catalog_type(props: &serde_json::Value) -> bool {
    props.get("catalog.type").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).map_or(false, |s| !s.is_empty())
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling CREATE CONNECTION / CREATE SINK / CREATE TABLE with an Iceberg catalog config that omits `catalog.type` while also not setting `hosted_catalog`.

Common situations: Users writing Iceberg connection SQL from scratch and forgetting the `catalog.type` key; copying examples that only show hosted catalog setups; typos like `catalog_type` instead of `catalog.type`.

Understand the failure class

Background: "is required", "must be set", "missing required field": configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 36 libraries.

Related errors

• `warehouse.path` must be set in {} catalog
• create iceberg catalog for pk-index sink
• Failed to list iceberg namespaces.
• Failed to load iceberg table.
• Failed to drop iceberg table.

AI-assisted analysis of risingwavelabs/risingwave@6469eb736d (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/515ff576740e53b2. Report an issue: GitHub.