t8y2/dbx · error

failed to parse constraint

Error message

failed to parse constraint %s referenced columns: %w

What it means

Same as the constraint-columns parse failure but for the referenced (foreign-key) column list: parseVastbaseConstraintAttributeNumbers on confkey fails, wrapped as 'failed to parse constraint %s referenced columns'. Only foreign-key constraints carry confkey data, so this surfaces during FK introspection when that text is malformed.

Solutions

1. Inspect the named constraint's confkey value in the catalog to see the malformed text.
2. Verify driver and server versions are compatible; update the driver for catalog format changes.
3. Re-check/recreate the constraint if catalog data is genuinely corrupted.
4. If empty confkey is legitimate for your server, patch/upgrade the driver to tolerate it.

var confkey string
err := db.QueryRow(`SELECT confkey::text FROM pg_constraint WHERE conname=$1 AND contype='f'`, cname).Scan(&confkey)
if err == nil {
    for _, tok := range strings.FieldsFunc(confkey, func(r rune) bool { return r == ',' || r == ' ' || r == '\t' }) {
        if _, e := strconv.Atoi(tok); e != nil {
            return fmt.Errorf("malformed confkey %q for FK %s", confkey, cname)
        }
    }
}

fks, err := srv.ListForeignKeys(schema, table)
if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "referenced columns") {
    // inspect confkey for the constraint named in the error
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Introspecting foreign key constraints when a constraint row's confkey text cannot be parsed into attribute numbers — empty string, NULL-ish rendering, or unexpected separators/characters.

Common situations: FK constraints against unusual server builds; driver/server catalog format mismatch; partially corrupted catalog metadata after failed migrations.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

• failed to parse constraint
• invalid attribute number
• ambiguous Vastbase relation name
• failed to read composite fields
• failed to read enum values

AI-assisted analysis of t8y2/dbx@c0390bff16 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fd42708fd5b01cfd. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at agents/drivers/vastbase-go/vastbase_metadata.go:1589

		refSchema, refTable                           sql.NullString
		matchType, onUpdate, onDelete                 sql.NullString
		deferrable, initiallyDeferred, valid, enabled bool
	}
	raw := []rawConstraint{}
	for rows.Next() {
		var item rawConstraint
		var columnsRaw, refColumnsRaw sql.NullString
		var validRaw, enabledRaw any
		if err := rows.Scan(&item.name, &item.kind, &item.definition, &columnsRaw, &item.refSchema, &item.refTable, &refColumnsRaw, &item.matchType, &item.onUpdate, &item.onDelete, &item.deferrable, &item.initiallyDeferred, &validRaw, &enabledRaw); err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
		item.columnNumbers, err = parseVastbaseConstraintAttributeNumbers(columnsRaw.String)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse constraint %s columns: %w", item.name, err)
		}
		item.refColumnNumbers, err = parseVastbaseConstraintAttributeNumbers(refColumnsRaw.String)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse constraint %s referenced columns: %w", item.name, err)
		}
		item.valid = parseVastbaseConstraintValid(validRaw)
		item.enabled = parseVastbaseConstraintEnabled(enabledRaw)
		raw = append(raw, item)
	}
	if err := rows.Err(); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	attributes, err := s.relationAttributesByNumber(catalog, prefix, effective, table)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	refAttributes := map[string]map[int]string{}
	result := make([]constraintInfo, 0, len(raw))
	for _, item := range raw {
		constraint := constraintInfo{
			Name: item.name, ConstraintType: vastbaseConstraintTypeName(item.kind), Definition: item.definition,

View on GitHub (pinned to c0390bff16)