POSTGIS | SQL Error [42501]: ERROR: permission denied to create "pg_catalog.geometry_dump"

On Thursday, March 26, 2026, Sérgio Duarte <duartes@gmail.com> wrote:

version
PostgreSQL 16.11 (Debian 16.11-1.pgdg12+1) on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu,
compiled by gcc (Debian 12.2.0-14+deb12u1) 12.2.0, 64-bit

create extension if not exists postgis with schema sigop;

Query execution failed

Reason:
SQL Error [42501]: ERROR: permission denied to create
"pg_catalog.geometry_dump"
Detail: System catalog modifications are currently disallowed.

This seems more likely to be user-error than a bug. At minimum you will
need to specify the version of PostGIS you are installing in addition to
the platform and server into which it is being installed. I’m also pretty
sure you don’t get to specify “with schema”. You probably need to re-read
the instructions for how to install PostGIS and follow them exactly. That
will likely result in an error-free installation. If not, you probably
should report any issues to them. If they have an issue with the core
server they can then report it here.

David J.

Thank you for your response and for pointing that out — I appreciate the
guidance.

Here are the details of my environment:

- PostgreSQL version: 16.11
- Operating system: Debian 12 (bookworm)
- PostGIS version: 3.6.2 (installed via PGDG repository, package
postgresql-16-postgis-3)

Initially, I attempted to install the extension using:

CREATE EXTENSION postgis WITH SCHEMA postgis;

However, I understand now that this may not be supported as PostGIS is not
relocatable.

Using the standard command:

CREATE EXTENSION postgis;

worked successfully in the postgres database.

However, when attempting the same in another database (pg_prd), I
encountered the following error:

ERROR: permission denied to create "pg_catalog.geometry_dump"
DETAIL: System catalog modifications are currently disallowed.

The current search_path for this database is:

public, "$user"

name default_version installed_version
postgis_sfcgal 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_raster-3 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_tiger_geocoder-3 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis-3 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_tiger_geocoder 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_sfcgal-3 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_topology 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_topology-3 3.6.2 [NULL]
postgis_raster 3.6.2 [NULL]

If needed, I can provide additional diagnostic queries or outputs.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Em qui., 26 de mar. de 2026 às 18:07, David G. Johnston <
david.g.johnston@gmail.com> escreveu: