@Rocky when querying

information_schema.tables

there are tables that doesnt have information even if they are populated already.

It sounds like you're encountering a situation where

information_schema.tables

shows empty or zeroed-out values (like

TABLE_ROWS

or

DATA_LENGTH

) for tables that you know contain data. Here are the most common reasons why this happens in StarRocks: 1. Catalog Context (Internal vs. External) Starting from StarRocks v3.0, the system uses a multi-catalog architecture. * The Default Behavior: By default,

information_schema.tables

queries information for the current catalog you are in (usually

default_catalog

for internal StarRocks tables). * External Catalogs: If your tables are in an external catalog (like Hive, Iceberg, or JDBC), they will not appear in the

information_schema.tables

of the

default_catalog

. * Solution: Since v3.2.0, StarRocks supports

information_schema

for external catalogs. To see data for an external catalog, you should switch to it first:

sql
    SET CATALOG <external_catalog_name>;
    SELECT * FROM information_schema.tables;

2. User Privileges StarRocks filters the results of

information_schema

based on user permissions. * If your user does not have at least

SELECT

or

USAGE

privileges on a specific table, that table may be excluded from the results or return

NULL

for certain fields. * Solution: Ensure the user has the necessary permissions:

sql
    GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN DATABASE <db_name> TO USER <user_identity>;

3. External Table Metadata For External Tables (the older style) or External Catalogs, metadata like

TABLE_ROWS

and

DATA_LENGTH

is often not updated automatically in real-time because StarRocks doesn't "own" the storage. * These values may remain

0

or

NULL

until statistics are collected. * Solution: Try running an

ANALYZE

command on the table to populate the statistics:

sql
    ANALYZE TABLE <table_name>;

4. Metadata Sync Latency (Internal Tables) For internal StarRocks tables,

TABLE_ROWS

and

DATA_LENGTH

are aggregated from the tablet information reported by the BEs (Backend nodes) to the FE (Frontend). * While this is usually very fast, there can be a slight delay immediately after a massive load. * Note: If you are using Primary Key tables, the row count reflected in

information_schema

might occasionally differ from a

COUNT(*)

because it represents the raw storage state before all deletions/updates are fully compacted in the background. 5.

information_schema.tables

vs

SHOW TABLE STATUS

In some older versions of StarRocks,

SHOW TABLE STATUS

might reflect metadata differently than the

information_schema.tables

view. * Try: Running

SHOW TABLE STATUS FROM <db_name> LIKE '<table_name>';

to see if the information appears there. Recommendation: To give you a more specific answer, could you check: 1. Which version of StarRocks are you using? 2. Is the table an internal table or from an external catalog? 3. Does the user have full privileges on that database? References • sql-reference/information_schema/tables.md • sql-reference/information_schema/statistics.md • sql-reference/information_schema/columns.md • sql-reference/information_schema/information_schema.md

It doesn't show up immediately. Give it couple minutes