risingwavelabs/risingwave · error

protobuf file location not provided

Error message

protobuf file location not provided

What it means

When the encode format is Protobuf, the `row_schema_location` option (path/URL to the .pb protobuf descriptor or schema file) is mandatory. An empty value means the parser cannot obtain message descriptors, so parser construction fails immediately.

Source

Thrown at src/connector/src/parser/config.rs:223

                        topic: get_kafka_topic(&options_with_secret)?.clone(),
                    }
                } else {
                    SchemaLocation::File {
                        url: info.row_schema_location,
                        aws_auth_props: Some(
                            serde_json::from_value::<AwsAuthProps>(
                                serde_json::to_value(format_encode_options_with_secret).unwrap(),
                            )
                            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!(e))?,
                        ),
                    }
                };
                EncodingProperties::Avro(config)
            }
            (SourceFormat::Plain, SourceEncode::Protobuf)
            | (SourceFormat::Upsert, SourceEncode::Protobuf) => {
                if info.row_schema_location.is_empty() {
                    bail!("protobuf file location not provided");
                }
                let mut messages_as_jsonb = if let Some(messages_as_jsonb) =
                    format_encode_options_with_secret.get(PROTOBUF_MESSAGES_AS_JSONB)
                {
                    messages_as_jsonb.split(',').map(|s| s.to_owned()).collect()
                } else {
                    HashSet::new()
                };
                messages_as_jsonb.insert("google.protobuf.Any".to_owned());

                let mut config = ProtobufProperties {
                    message_name: info.proto_message_name.clone(),
                    key_message_name: info.key_message_name.clone(),
                    messages_as_jsonb,
                    ..Default::default()
                };
                config.schema_location = if info.use_schema_registry {
                    SchemaLocation::Confluent {

View on GitHub (pinned to 6469eb736d)

Solutions

1. Add `row_schema_location = 'path/to/file.pb'` to the ENCODE PROTOBUF options, pointing at the compiled FileDescriptorSet
2. Generate the descriptor with protoc --descriptor_set_out if only .proto files exist
3. Verify the option is present via SHOW SOURCE after creation

Example fix

-- before
FORMAT PLAIN ENCODE PROTOBUF ()
-- after
FORMAT PLAIN ENCODE PROTOBUF (row_schema_location='/path/to/schema.pb', row_message='my.package.MyMessage')

if (!protobufOptions.row_schema_location) throw new Error("row_schema_location is required for ENCODE PROTOBUF");

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a source with FORMAT PLAIN/Upsert ENCODE PROTOBUF without setting row_schema_location, or setting it to ''.

Common situations: Forgetting the option in the CREATE SOURCE DDL; copying a config from a non-protobuf source; the schema file path removed/left blank by templating.

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

• unused FORMAT ENCODE option: key.message='{name}'
• Unsupported format {:?} encode {:?}
• Can't find message proto {}
• {e}
• query_epoch not set in distributed lookup join

AI-assisted analysis of risingwavelabs/risingwave@6469eb736d (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c3f39af1652cb560. Report an issue: GitHub.