What causes "no full snapshot found before snapshot %s" in rqlite/rqlite?

Resolve the latest snapshot ID instead, whose chain should include a full base

no full snapshot found before snapshot %s

Error message

no full snapshot found before snapshot %s

What it means

ResolveFiles resolves a snapshot ID into its DB file and WAL files by walking back to the most recent Full snapshot before it. This error means no Full snapshot exists earlier in the catalog than the requested snapshot, so its file set cannot be reconstructed.

Source

Thrown at snapshot/snapshot.go:424

	snap := ss.items[idx]

	// If the requested snapshot is full, return its DB file and any WAL files.
	if snap.typ == Full {
		return snap.dbFile, snap.walFiles, nil
	}

	// The requested snapshot is incremental. Walk backward to find the
	// nearest full snapshot, then collect WAL files from the full snapshot
	// and all incremental snapshots up to and including the requested one.
	fullIdx := -1
	for i := idx - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
		if ss.items[i].typ == Full {
			fullIdx = i
			break
		}
	}
	if fullIdx < 0 {
		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("no full snapshot found before snapshot %s", id)
	}

	dbFile = ss.items[fullIdx].dbFile
	for i := fullIdx; i <= idx; i++ {
		walFiles = append(walFiles, ss.items[i].walFiles...)
	}
	return dbFile, walFiles, nil
}

// indexOf returns the index of the snapshot with the given ID.
// If no snapshot is found, it returns -1.
func (ss SnapshotSet) indexOf(id string) int {
	for i, snapshot := range ss.items {
		if snapshot.id == id {
			return i
		}
	}
	return -1

View on GitHub (pinned to 7586a4d1bd)

Solutions

Resolve the latest snapshot ID instead, whose chain should include a full base
Restore the full snapshot that precedes the requested ID
Do not delete full snapshots that later incrementals depend on
Re-bootstrap the node from a valid backup if the base is unrecoverable

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

ss, err := catalog.Scan(dir)
if err == nil {
	idx := ss.IndexOf(id)
	if idx >= 0 && !hasFullBefore(ss, idx) {
		return fmt.Errorf("snapshot %s has no full base", id)
	}
}

Try / catch

dbFile, wals, err := catalog.ResolveFiles(id)
if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no full snapshot found") {
	// resolve the latest snapshot instead, or restore the missing base
	return err
}

Prevention

Treat full snapshots as the dependency root of the store
Resolve only recent snapshot IDs whose chain is intact
Re-snapshot fully after pruning operations

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ResolveFiles(id) for a snapshot whose chain of predecessors contains only Incremental snapshots — the full base is absent (deleted, pruned, or the ID refers to a snapshot before any full snapshot).

Common situations: Full snapshot removed by manual cleanup while incrementals remain; retention policy dropping the base; requesting a stale snapshot ID after the store was rebuilt.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of rqlite/rqlite@7586a4d1bd (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/96cab97995ae12ad. Report an issue: GitHub.