Error message, "Driver class was not specified," when running Liquibase

Applies to

• Liquibase Pro
• Liquibase Open Source (Community)

Conditions

• Any supported database

Issue Summary

When running Liquibase, the process fails with an error message stating that the driver class was not specified and could not be determined from the database URL. This issue prevents Liquibase from connecting to the database and executing the desired commands.

Error Message

Unexpected error running Liquibase: Driver class was not specified and could not be determined from the url

Root Cause

The error occurs because Liquibase cannot determine the correct database driver to use. This could happen due to one or more of the following reasons:

1. The url parameter is malformed or does not match a recognized database type.
2. The necessary database driver JAR is not included in the Liquibase classpath.
3. The liquibase.properties file or command-line arguments are missing the driver parameter.

Resolution

Step 1: Check the Database URL

Ensure the database URL is correct and matches the format Liquibase expects.

For example:

• PostgreSQL: jdbc:postgresql://host:port/database
• MySQL: jdbc:mysql://host:port/database
• Oracle: jdbc:oracle:thin:@host:port:SID

You can find a complete list of examples on the Liquibase Database Tutorials page.

Step 2: Add the Database Driver to the Classpath

Ensure that the appropriate database driver JAR file is available in the Liquibase classpath.

1. Download the driver JAR for your database (e.g., postgresql-<version>.jar for PostgreSQL).
2. Place the JAR file in the liquibase/lib directory.

You can find a complete list of drivers on the Liquibase Database Tutorials page.

Step 3: Verify and Specify the Database Driver

Ensure that the correct database driver is specified in the liquibase.properties file or as a command-line argument.

Example in liquibase.properties:

driver=org.postgresql.Driver
url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/my_database
username=my_user
password=my_password

Command-line Example:

liquibase --driver=org.postgresql.Driver --url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/my_database --username=my_user --password=my_password update

You can find a complete list of driver classes on the Liquibase Database Tutorials page.

Related Article(s)

• Liquibase Database Tutorials
• Supported Databases