Table 'dbuser.mt8k_log_bot_request' doesn't exist - in plugin BotTracking

Support & Bugs
1

I installed Matomo On-Premise on a web hosting using Softaculous Apps Installer, to analyze several websites:

Version de Matomo: 5.7.1
Version de MySQL: 11.4.10-MariaDB
Version de PHP: 8.4.17

The archiving process failed as soon as one of the websites received a visit. Each website that has received at least one visit generates an error message in the log :

Error: Got invalid response from API request: ?module=API&method=CoreAdminHome.archiveReports&idSite=12&period=day&date=2026-02-06&format=json&trigger=archivephp. Response was '{“result”:“error”,“message”:"Mysqli prepare error: Table ‘dbuser.mt8k_log_bot_request’ doesn’t exist - in plugin BotTracking.

The Table ‘mt8k_log_bot_request’ is indeed missing from the database, even if the BotTracking plugin is activated, but the diagnostic tool did not identify any integrity issues.

I then completely uninstalled Matomo and reinstalled it from scratch, with the same result.

A temporary solution is to disable the BotTracking plugin, trigger an archiving process, and then re-enable the plugin: the archiving process runs correctly, but the problem reappears as soon as one of the websites receives a new visit, causing subsequent archiving processes to fail.

Any ideas for a definitive solution?

2

FYI, the problem comes from the Softaculous Apps Installer, since a manual installation (with the Matomo installer) works correctly. So be careful with the Softaculous Apps Installer…

3

Hey, I’ve seen this kind of issue before, it’s really frustrating when everything is fresh install but still breaks like this.

From what you described, it feels like BotTracking plugin is enabled but its DB schema (that mt8k_log_bot_request table) never got created properly, so every archive run is crashing as soon as a visit hits.

I faced something similar once in a Matomo setup after upgrade—table missing but plugin still active.

What worked for me:

  • Run Matomo console updates (core:update) to force schema sync

  • Check plugin version compatibility with your Matomo 5.7 + MariaDB 11.4

  • Sometimes reinstalling just the plugin (not full Matomo) fixes missing tables

Not sure if it helps, but I also temporarily disabled heavy plugins during traffic spikes.

Did you try checking plugin install logs or SQL install script for BotTracking?