vitessio/vitess · error

source and target keyranges don't match: %v vs %v

Error message

source and target keyranges don't match: %v vs %v

What it means

After checking for overlaps, ValidateForReshard combines all source shard keyranges and all target shard keyranges and requires the combined ranges to be identical — the target shards must cover exactly the same keyspace region as the sources. If the totals differ (gap or extra range), this error is returned showing both combined ranges.

Source

Thrown at go/vt/topotools/split.go:47

// targetShards.
func ValidateForReshard(sourceShards, targetShards []*topo.ShardInfo) error {
	for _, source := range sourceShards {
		for _, target := range targetShards {
			if key.KeyRangeEqual(source.KeyRange, target.KeyRange) {
				return fmt.Errorf("same keyrange is present in source and target: %v", key.KeyRangeString(source.KeyRange))
			}
		}
	}
	sourcekr, err := combineKeyRanges(sourceShards)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	targetkr, err := combineKeyRanges(targetShards)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if !key.KeyRangeEqual(sourcekr, targetkr) {
		return fmt.Errorf("source and target keyranges don't match: %v vs %v", key.KeyRangeString(sourcekr), key.KeyRangeString(targetkr))
	}
	return nil
}

func combineKeyRanges(shards []*topo.ShardInfo) (*topodatapb.KeyRange, error) {
	if len(shards) == 0 {
		return nil, errors.New("there are no shards to combine")
	}
	result := shards[0].KeyRange
	krmap := make(map[string]*topodatapb.KeyRange)
	for _, si := range shards[1:] {
		krmap[si.ShardName()] = si.KeyRange
	}
	for len(krmap) != 0 {
		foundOne := false
		for k, kr := range krmap {
			newkr, ok := key.KeyRangeAdd(result, kr)
			if ok {

View on GitHub (pinned to 01a25a7d17)

Solutions

  1. Compare the two printed keyranges in the error to find the gap or extra range, then fix the target (or source) shard list so the union is identical.
  2. When splitting one shard, ensure the target keyranges tile the source range exactly with no gaps or overlaps (End of one equals Start of the next, last one open-ended).
  3. When merging, include every source shard of the range in the source list so both unions match.
  4. Re-run ValidateForReshard to confirm the corrected plan passes.

Example fix

// before: gap in targets for source 0-
targetShards := []string{"-40", "40-80"} // missing 80-
// after
targetShards := []string{"-40", "40-"}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

srcKr, err := combineKeyRanges(sourceShards)
if err != nil { return err }
tgtKr, err := combineKeyRanges(targetShards)
if err != nil { return err }
if !key.KeyRangeEqual(srcKr, tgtKr) {
    return fmt.Errorf("plan gap: source %v vs target %v", key.KeyRangeString(srcKr), key.KeyRangeString(tgtKr))
}

Type guard

func keyRangesMatch(source, target []*topo.ShardInfo) (bool, error) {
    s, err := combineKeyRanges(source)
    if err != nil { return false, err }
    t, err := combineKeyRanges(target)
    if err != nil { return false, err }
    return key.KeyRangeEqual(s, t), nil
}

Try / catch

if err := topotools.ValidateForReshard(sourceShards, targetShards); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "keyranges don't match") {
        return fmt.Errorf("target shards must cover exactly the source range: %w", err)
    }
    return err
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ValidateForReshard with target shards that collectively cover more or less of the keyspace than the source shards — e.g. splitting shard 0- into -40,40-80 (missing 80-), or merging shards without including all shards of the range.

Common situations: Manual shard-plan mistakes where one target shard's End is mistyped, leaving a gap; forgetting the final open-ended shard ('-'); merging only a subset of shards in a range so the union doesn't match.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vitessio/vitess@01a25a7d17 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8aa4bdbc5c0b93c4. Report an issue: GitHub.